Apple Dumplings - Blues City Cafe Syle

I visited Memphis last week (see previous post), and when we had dinner at the Blues City Cafe, people were buying their apple dumplings like crazy. Our table was near the counter, and so I was able to watch the cook/chef put the dish together several times. This is how he did it:

Apple Dumplings - Blues City Cafe Style

(1) Take a small cast iron skillet (one-serving size), place it in the oven until it is piping hot.

(2) Toss a scoop of butter in the skillet (probably a tablespoon) - it will sizzle and melt.

(3) Take an apple dumpling (They had them pre-made and packaged individually on a small paper plate covered with plastic wrap) and heat it in the microwave. Then dump the dumpling in the skillet.

(4) Place a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of the dumpling.

(5) Drizzle caramel syrup all over it.

(6) Enjoy

They’d bring the apple dumplings to the table in the skillet with a little potholder fitted on the handle. They had a small wooden tray under the skillet. They were selling like hotcakes.

Two of the teachers in our group of ten ordered the dumplings and passed them around for everyone to taste. I declined - don’t ask me why. Everyone raved on and on about how delicious it was! Even the next day some of them were still talking about it. I was sorry I didn’t taste it myself.

The question now is: How did they make the apple dumplings? I don’t know their recipe, but here’s how I’ve made them in the past:

Cut up some apples - very thin slices, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon or apple pie spice. Wrap a pie crust (or a flattened, uncooked canned biscuit) around about 1/4 cup of apple slices. Crimp the edges to seal it. Use a knife to make a couple vents in the top. Dot with butter. Make however many apple dumplings you want. One per serving. Bake at 350 until golden brown.

Once they’re cooked you can add ice cream, caramel sauce - whatever sounds good. I remember once I made apple dumplings with whole apples - coring them, filling the center with brown sugar and nuts, wrapping pastry around them and baking them. They were good - but much too big for a single serving.