Apple Dumplings with Spiced Rum Caramel Sauce

These apples are topped with butter, brown sugar and cinnamon, then wrapped in puff pastry and baked until golden brown. Top them off with a spiced rum caramel glaze before serving.

 

Before you know it, Fall will be upon us.  I have already seen the pumpkin recipes starting in early August!

Don’t get me wrong, I love pumpkin recipes as much as the next girl, but you know what bothers me?  Apple season gets skipped over WAY too quickly.

Apples are one of my favorite fruits, and when they are in season, you can’t help but want to eat them like crazy!  What’s even better? BAKING with them! There is nothing like the scent of apples and spices baking to make your whole kitchen smell heavenly.

Last year, I made this Apple Kuchen.  It became an instant family favorite!

 

 

 

It was time again for another Fantastical Food Fight recipe.  What’s that you ask?  It’s a group of bloggers I joined in last month, and every month we have an ingredient or type of food challenge.  Last month is it was ice cream.  I made Lemon Ice Cream, boy was that good!

This month the ingredient is rum, because today is National Rum Day!

I don’t know about you, but when I hear rum my mind instantly goes on vacation.  Sipping something tropical on a beach in Jamaica.  So, initially I thought I would make a cocktail.

 

But a cocktail seemed like I wasn’t challenging myself enough.  Then my mind started working toward something savory.  Nothing was tripping my trigger.  I kept coming back to rum sauces.

I had been wanting to make apple dumplings for a while now, so I figured doing them together would be a win-win situation.

A Little back story??  If you’ve been around a while, you have probably heard me talk about my first job, at Wendy’s. Yep, I was that girl at the counter asking “Will this be for the dining room tonight?” Or taking your drive-thru order.

 Back in the day, Wendy’s had Apple Dumplings.  They were SO GOOD.  I never could figure out whey they did away with them?  I tried to make the ones that use crescent roll dough, they were just okay.  I love using puff pastry, so I decided that was the ticket!

 

You need one sheet of puff pastry, cut into quarters, and 2 Granny Smith apples, cut in half, peeled and cored.  Lay and apple in the center, top with a pat of butter, brown sugar and cinnamon and nutmeg.

Wrap the puff pastry around the apple, and pinch to seal.  Place in a shallow baking dish and brush with melted butter. Bake until golden brown.  While baking prepare your spiced rum caramel sauce.

Melt butter in a saucepan, and add in brown sugar and spiced rum. Whisk while sugar dissolves.  Add in cream and whisk while it thickens.

 

Plate dumpling.  Give yourself a little pat on the back. It’s a perfect little bundle, isn’t it?

 

Give it a nice pour of warm spiced rum caramel sauce.

 

Listen to the angels sing.

 

I took it one better.  I cut into the dumpling, that flaky golden brown outside, and that warm spiced apple inside?  HEAVEN.  Then you know what I did??

 

I filled that warm center with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and a small handful of walnuts, and just a little more of that delicious rum sauce.

 

Yea, baby!

 

Dig in and enjoy.  Every.Single.Bite.

 

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More apple recipes to love….

 

 

 

#FantasticalFoodFight