Lovin’ Fresh: Apple Dumpling Recipe

Lovin’ Fresh is a series of recipes designed to showcase produce gathered from local farms or grown in my own garden.
Homemade old-fashioned apple dumplings were a thing of sheer indulgence during my childhood. We didn’t have them all that often, but when we did, it meant life was good. Truth be told though, I’d almost forgotten about them until a month or so ago, when I was eating out and saw them on the menu. Of course I ordered a dumpling for dessert, but it just wasn’t what I’d hoped it would be. The apple dumplings of my childhood were large - gianormous really - made with a whole apple brimming with cinnamon sugary delight and snuggly down in a flaky sugary crust. What I had at the restaurant was a small half apple with scant cinnamon and a dark egg-washed glossy crust around it. I knew then and there that I’d have to recreate the apple dumplings of my memory.


As summer rolls into fall and fall goes screaming into winter, one’s culinary palate yearns for the muted flavors of braises and stews, the consoling warmth of roasts and for me, the comfort of fried chicken. Yes, I said Fried Chicken.





I’ve been a HUGE fan of the freestone Italian Prune Plum, sometimes called “Stanley” plums, since one of the farmers from my previous restaurants invited me to have a look around his orchard. Sweet and tangy at the same time without being cloying or astringent. They are at their peak right now, at least here in the Pacific Northwest.