Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 1 ½ cups water
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- 8 drops of red food coloring
- 3 tbsp butter
- 2 cups sifted unbleached flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ cup milk
- ⅔ cup shortening
- 6 apples, peeled and cored, apples may be whole, quartered or sliced.
- sanding sugar
Directions:
- Pre-heat oven to 375º
- To make the syrup, mix the first 5 ingredients, bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add butter.
- Sift together dry ingredients, cutting in shortening until the mixture resembles course crumbs. Add all the milk, stir until the flour is moistened. On a lightly floured surface, roll into a 18x12 rectangle.
- Cut the rectangle into six inch squares. Place apple on center of each square. Sprinkle generously with sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and a slice of butter. Moisten edges of the squares, bring the corners to the center and pinch edges together.
- Place 1 inch apart in a 11x7x1 1/2 inch baking pan. Pour syrup over dumplings, sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake at 375º for 35 minutes or until apples are tender.
- Serve warm with ice cream.