Well, we certainly picked a good time to do home renovations. In the midst of these crazy times, we are actually having our entire deck removed and replacing it with a new one. The guys are working strictly outside, and are eager for the work, so my husband and I decided to move forward as planned.
While we’re okay without a deck for a while, getting our dogs outside is a bit of a struggle. The only other entrance to the yard is downstairs through a storage space. My husband was home from work the first day, so he took on the responsibility of letting the dogs out the basement entrance all day.
Usually, my husband lets the dogs out in the morning, and I let them out for the rest of the day. Since I stay up later than he does, I also let them out for the last time at night.
The first thing the men had done was removed the railings off the deck. I had gone onto the deck to take some pictures for my blog, and it was scary without the railings. But by the nighttime I completely forgot about the lack of railings. When it was time to let the dogs out at night, I opened the kitchen door, as I usually do. In an instant, I remembered the situation. I ran out in such a panic! One of the dogs listens, but the other is rather unruly. Lucky for me, the dogs saw that I was hysterical. Trying to grab both their collars, I fell full force onto my knees and scrambled to catch them before they got very far. Thankfully they both stopped, and I was able to grab both of them and get them back into the house safely.
I let them out through the basement, but was still upset for a good while after. Now I have a sign up on the door and I put electrical tape over it so you can’t open it.
After that incident, I needed a little bit of cheering up, so I decided that these very easy, Country Dumplings were the cure for my anxiety. They did the job. The crescent dough is the perfect crisp holder around the soft cooked apples. They had a nice sweet taste from the butter and sugar. The cinnamon was the savory touch it needed, and the maple syrup gives gooey goodness to every bite. This one is a “keeper!”
This recipe is one of mine and will serve 16 people who will love this rich treat any time of day.
Ingredients for Country Apple Dumplings:
3 to 4 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored
2 (10 ounce) cans refrigerated crescent roll dough
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 (10-ounce) bottle of no sodium seltzer water
1/2 cup of maple syrup
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish.
Cut each apple into 8 wedges and set aside.
Separate the crescent roll dough into triangles. Roll each apple wedge in crescent roll dough starting at the smallest end.
Pinch to seal and place in the baking dish.
Melt butter in a small saucepan and stir in the sugar and cinnamon.
Pour over the apple dumplings.
Mix together the maple syrup and seltzer.
Pour syrup mixture over the dumplings.
Bake for 35 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.
It’s that simple!
