Okay, this recipe goes against everything I stand for. I’m a staunch supporter of homemade pie crusts and am not a huge fan of refrigerated crescent rolls. Cooking with soda is one of those Southern traditions like eating squirrel and pickling okra that I just have a hard time getting behind. And yet…this is easily in my top 3 dessert recipes. Ever. It is up there with pizzookies and that is saying a lot. Maybe it’s the radioactive nature of Mountain Dew or the sheer amount of butter involved, but these are A. MAZ. ING. Food-gasmic. Dumplightful, as my husband once called them. Okay, we might be heading in the wrong direction here…
I first found this recipe on The Pioneer Woman’s cooking blog. From many vehement comments over there, I discovered that this recipe has dark and mysterious origins–some people claim it comes from Allrecipes, others say that it’s from an old Pillsbury cookbook, their grandma, or Recipezaar. I don’t know what the truth is, but I do know that the world is a happier place with magical Mountain Dew-spiked slices of apple wrapped in cheap, canned pastry. So no knocking these until you’ve tried them. Seriously.
Ingredients Needed
- Granny Smith apples
- Crescent rolls
- Butter
- Granulated Sugar
- Vanilla
- Can of soda – Mountain Dew or Sprite
How to Make Easy Apple Dumplings
- Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9×13 pan with non-stick cooking spray. Peel apples and cut into 8ths.
- Open a can of crescent roll dough and carefully separate the dough along the perforations. Place 1/8 of an apple on one segment of dough and then roll/wrap the apple in the dough. Place in the prepared pan and repeat with remaining apples and dough. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, melt butter and add sugar and vanilla. Stir to combine. Pour butter/sugar mixture over the apples, then pour the can of Mountain Dew or Sprite on top of everything. Sprinkle everything with cinnamon and bake for 40 minutes.
- When the dumplings are done, remove from oven and serve with a ladle of sauce. I usually plan on two dumplings per person, before they go back for seconds. And then breakfast. Then second breakfast. Then a little snack. For true transcendent awesomeness, serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Storing and Other Tips
- These apple dumplings are definitely at their peak fresh from the oven, but leftovers can certainly be reheated. Store any cooled leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge and consume within 2-3 days for best results.
Frequently Asked Questions
While I haven’t tried these with other forms of dough, they would likely be ok with other canned biscuit doughs!
Readers have reported great results using peaches! Other fruits you could try would be pears, plums, or nectarines.
This is an old recipe that has been making the rounds for decades. Other versions use orange juice or other soda flavors in place of the Mountain Dew, so feel free to try out other options!
The sugar is what cooks down to form the sauce, which is why it calls for so much. However, readers have reported cutting it down by up to half and still enjoying good results!
Easy (and Amazing!) Apple Dumplings
Ingredients
- 2 medium Granny Smith apples
- 2 cans crescent rolls
- 1 cup butter
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- cinnamon for sprinkling
- 12 ounces Mountain Dew or Sprite (1 can)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9×13 pan with non-stick cooking spray. Peel apples and cut into 8ths.
- Open a can of crescent roll dough and carefully separate the dough along the perforations. Place 1/8 of an apple on one segment of dough and then roll/wrap the apple in the dough. Place in the prepared pan and repeat with remaining apples and dough. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, melt butter and add sugar and vanilla. Stir to combine. Pour butter/sugar mixture over the apples, then pour the can of Mountain Dew (or Sprite, although I’ve never actually tried it), on top of everything. Sprinkle the pan with cinnamon and bake for 40 minutes.
- When the dumplings are done, remove from oven and serve with a ladle-ful of sauce. I usually plan on two dumplings per person, before they go back for seconds. And then breakfast. Then second breakfast. Then a little snack. For true transcendent awesomeness, serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Notes
- These apple dumplings are definitely at their peak fresh from the oven, but leftovers can certainly be reheated. Store any cooled leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge and consume within 2-3 days for best results.
- While I haven’t tried these with other forms of dough, they would likely be good with other canned biscuit doughs!
Questions & Reviews
Delicious! I baked them this morning for Labor Day breakfast. I halved the recipe though, and it was perfect. Not too many leftovers!
Margaret, you totally made my night! 🙂 And can you believe I haven't seen Julie and Julia yet?? I'm hoping to go with my friend this week if I can manage to shake off the kiddos and the husband…
I just wanted to let you know, after watching Julia and Julie – OUR BEST BITES is my FAVORITE BLOG! I thought I should let you know 🙂 I was SO bummed when I couldn't log on for 2 days…it felt like forever..and I knew you had something wonderful for me to cook this weekend! I have been following you for quite sometime, and you never let me down. THANKS!
Yum, my husband would LOVE those!! Just wanted to leave a comment to say that I absolutely LOVE your blog!!!! I'm new to it and last week I made 4 new recipes from your blog and every single one was delicious!! Thanks for much for sharing, can't wait to try some more. By the way I think that the Pizza rolls will be one of our weekly staples!! My boys devoured them 🙂
Um, wow. We made these for girls night tonight. We were skeptical, with the soda and the butter to apple ratio :), but you haven't let us down yet and seriously, amazing! When are you coming out with a cookbook?
My dad actually made these for us! He's a little on the lazy side so he didn't peel the apples (and used sprite) but they were still delicious. The other thing he did differently was to make them in a dutch oven! I guess they have also been adapted by the boy scouts as a camping dessert.
I endeavor to visit your site on a full stomach. It's hopeless if I visit hungry. Even on a full tummy, I couldn't resist these apple dumplings. Made them today and they are better than good. Thanks!
Glad you liked it Brooke! I store it in the fridge. It does harden when chilled, but you can soften it again by putting it in the microwave at half-power for about 30 seconds.
hi ladies,
i made your baked scones and homemade honey butter for my family this morning and it was delicious!! i have a question though, how do you store the left over honey butter? in the fridge or shelf? i have never made it before, so i am not sure. thank you.
I'm glad your blog is back again! That was just wrong to be able to see the post behind the IE warning but not be able to scroll down to read more! =)