Recipes Discovered

Apple Dumpling Recipe

Cinnamon Ice Cream Recipe

One of my favorite things to get at the Bloomsburg Fair is the apple dumplings from Bissinger’s. They are served fresh from the oven with a scoop of cinnamon ice cream. Unfortunately with Seth’s travel schedule, 2007 was the first I was actually at the Bloomsburg Fair in quite awhile. The apple dumplings were still as good as I remember though, and I have been craving them ever since. To put an end to this, I was determined to make my own. I asked my mom for an apple dumpling recipe, which she got from her friend, and found a recipe for Cinnamon Ice Cream in a ice cream cookbookwhich has yet to let me down.

Since the ice cream had to freeze overnight, I started with that. It’s a standard custard recipe that is infused with cinnamon sticks. I didn’t have any whole milk, so I substituted 2 cups of half-and-half for 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of cream. Since half-and-half is a combination of whole milk and cream anyway, it didn’t make much of a difference. Once the half-and-half, sugar, salt, and cinnamon sticks were warm, I covered the pan and let it steep for an hour. Once infused, I rewarmed the mixture, removed the cinnamon sticks, and then slowly poured the warm liquid into the egg yolks, whisking it constantly. It’s importantly to do this slowly so the eggs don’t scramble. Once combined, I poured the custard back into the pan and continued to cook it until it thickened, which took maybe 5 minutes. Then I poured the custard through a strainer, into a large bowl that had the cream and vanilla it it. I stirred this mixture over an ice bath until it cooled down, about 10 minutes, and then put it in the refrigerator it for 2 hours to chill. Once chilled, I froze the ice cream in my ice cream maker and then stashed it in the freezer. Of course, I did taste the ice cream while transferring it, and it was amazing. >>

Making the apple dumplings seemed fairly easy. Although my mom told me to use Cortland apples, I couldn’t find them, so I used Rome apples. Although they tasted good after baking, they turned out a little mushy for my taste, so I probably wouldn’t use them again. Maybe a Golden Delicious or Braeburn, although I’m sure Cortland is the best. Anyway, I peeled the apples, and then cored them. Since I don’t actually have an apple corer, and I needed the apple to be whole, it was a bit tricky, but I finally managed to get the cores out with a knife. To make the dough, I mixed together flour, baking powder, and salt, and then cut in shortening to make crumbs, a lot like pie dough. I added milk to form the dough, and then rolled it out on a floured surface. Since I was just making dumplings for Seth and I, I only made a third of the original recipe. Unfortunately, I am not an expert dough roller and I couldn’t roll the dough this enough without tearing it to fit around the apples. So, I tossed the dough and started over with half of the recipe. It went a lot better that time, and I did discard some of the extra dough once I got the apples wrapped. Before I closed up the apples, I filled each core with about a tablespoon of brown sugar, a sprinkle of cinnamon, and a chunk of butter. Once the dumplings were in a baking dish, I made a syrup by boiling brown sugar, water, butter, and cinnamon. I poured the hot syrup over the apple dumplings and then put them in a 375 degree oven. After 30 minutes, the tops were getting a little too brown for me, so I covered them loosely with foil and baked them another 15 minutes until the apples were tender. I tested the apples by piercing the tops with a knife. Once the dumplings came out of the over, I actually managed to let them set for about 10 minutes before serving them with a big scoop (or two) of cinnamon ice cream.

I can’t tell you how good these were. Although the apple was a bit mushy, it still had a lot of flavor. The dough was crisp on the outside, and soft on the inside. The syrup turned out thick and sweet, with just the right amount of cinnamon. And the ice cream on the side couldn’t have been a better match to the hot dumpling. It was absolutely perfect. And I didn’t even have to stand in line.