Apple Dumplings with Mountain Dew

I'm officially getting cabin fever but got a nice distraction getting Valentine's Day ready for my husband and I. Since we've been together, he has always taken me for a fancy dinner somewhere new each year (except that one year he forgot and planned a mountain biking trip to Georgia... it's ok, I had a great Galentine's Day that year!). But this year, I wanted to do something special for him. So I kicked him out of the house for an hour and set up our tent in the house along with a bunch of decor from our wedding last year, such as the lanterns and plaid blanket.

Along with the tent, I served some fancier finger foods, cheeses, meats, and fresh fruit with chocolate fondu. We seriously just had a blast eating in the tent, in bed, watching season 2 X File episodes (the truth is out there).

Jordan's biggest treat however, were the apple dumplings. Let me make it clear that these are NOT healthy! I repeat, NOT HEALTHY AT ALL! But they are damn good! I only make these as a VERY special treat since he has the biggest sweet tooth and has no self control when it comes to these little devils. He will eat 3-4 in one sitting and end up shaking. A good friend of mine found this recipe a few years ago on Pinterest and we have never looked back since. You can find the original here by Uncommon Artistic Endeavors.

I love this recipe because it's soooo simple, and uses easy, ready made products making this a great go to for parties. You will always make a good impression if you show up at the door with this! It also goes great with vanilla ice cream. Again, since I have a husband I need to ration with these, I made half a batch. It's very easy to divide or double as long as you have a pan to hold them.

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Apple Dumplings with Mountain Dew Makes 8 dumplings

1 can Pillsbury® Crescent Rolls (I used Grands® Big and Flaky Crescents here) 1 granny smith apple, peeled, cored, and sliced into 8 wedges 1 stick of butter 3/4 cup sugar 1/2 tsp cinnamon (I always use a little more) 1/2 tsp vanilla 4oz Mountain Dew Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beginning at wide end, roll each apple wedge in a crescent roll pinching the ends closed as well as you can. Place in a greased 9x9 baking dish. In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla to the melted butter and mix until combined. Pour this butter mixture over rolls coating each one. Pour Mountain Dew around the rolls. Bake for 30-40 minutes until golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes. When serving, spoon some of the syrup from the pan on top.

Tealy just can't stand it. I know Tealy, they smell amazing. Too bad sugar is so bad for you.

I would recommend Granny Smith apples for these dumplings. The tartness gets balanced out with all the sugar in this recipe. But I went ahead and used a Honey Crisp I had in the fridge cause I'm a grown woman and do what i want. It wasn't bad at all, so not a bad substitution if you forgot your Apple Dumpling specific apples at the grocery store.

Feel free to melt your butter in the microwave if you prefer that method.

The color of this varies depending on how much cinnamon you use. I like cinnamon flavor a lot, so I added extra.

Mmmmmm... My husband is already starting to circle...

and so is Tealy... right in front of the oven trying to shorten distance to her mouth.

Ta da! When they are done, they will be soft and gooey in the center and crispy on the top. This is because of the sugar and butter poured over the tops, so be sure to try and coat them as much as you can with the butter mixture before popping them in the oven.

Hubba hubba! Get in my belly!

Ok... I'm gonna go eat some of the leftovers. Bye!

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