Learn how to make beautiful, colored whole apple dumplings by basting them with tinted cream. These dumplings are delicious and can be tinted in different colors!
How to Make Whole Apple Dumplings
Have you made apple dumplings using the whole apple? It is a fun way to make a pretty dessert! Let’s go over some of the basics for making this dessert.
Use Baking Apples
First, pick out fresh baking apples and refrigerate them. Some examples of baking apples are Braeburn, Granny Smith, Fuji, Gala, Pink Lady, Honeycrisp, and Gold Delicious. Baking apples hold their shape better when baked, which these dumplings need, so they look like real apples for tinting.
Be careful not to use apples that don’t hold their shape when cooked. For instance, McIntosh apples break down and can collapse when baked, which lets the outer crust collapse too.
Peel and Core the Apples for Whole Apple Dumplings
Start the recipe by peeling the apples because they will be rolled in a sugar-cinnamon mixture later. The peel helps hold the apple together when baked; however, it is removed because the sugar mixture sticks better to peeled apples.
Remove Most of the Core
Cut out the core, leaving the bottom intact to make a cup to hold the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Use a small spoon to help dig out the apple core or a tomato/fruit huller spoon with a claw to quickly remove it.
Roll the Apples in a Sugar Mixture
Roll the freshly-peeled apple in a sugar, flour, and cinnamon mixture. Then pack the same sugar mixture into the core cup, leaving a little space at the top. Finish by pressing softened butter into the hole.
Use Refrigerated Pie Crust for Whole Apple Dumplings
Use an 8-inch prepared and refrigerated pie crust to make these dumplings, or use your favorite homemade crust instead. First, cut the crust in half, ball it up, and then roll it with a rolling pin to make a circle of dough that will fold over the apple. Cut off any extra dough from the top. You will re-roll the leftover dough to cut out leaves. The amount of crust needed depends on how many apple dumplings you want to bake.
Smooth Out the Dough
Pat the apple to help smooth the dough. Check the bottom of the apple for cracks made during the smoothing process. Seal any cracks by patting or applying extra dough. Be careful not to stretch the dough when placing it on the apples. Any stretched dough can shrink during baking, leaving cracks in the finished apple dumplings.
Adding Leaves
Cut the apple leaves with a small cookie cutter or by hand with a knife. Shape a stem out of dough and place on the apple or use the apple’s own stem and insert it after baking.
Tint the Whole Apple Dumplings
The apple dumplings are almost ready to bake at this point. The last thing to do is to baste the apples in heavy cream with a small basting brush. But here is where you can have some fun by coloring the dough. You can color the cream with food coloring or with all-natural colored food powders. I list sources for colored food powders in the recipe notes.
Use Heavy Cream to Tint the Dough
However, the key to coloring the dough is to use heavy cream to baste the dough rather than milk. The thick cream holds the color better and will let you achieve darker colors.
How to Apply the Color
If you are coloring the dumplings, color the apple first, working around the leaves. Then color the leaves with a darker wash of cream (if making green apples). It is a little harder to color the apple with the leaves in place, but if you apply the leaves after painting the apple, the cream can make the leaves slide off during baking.
Do Not Overbake the Whole Apple Dumplings
Do not overbake the apple dumplings to prevent the dough shell from collapsing and breaking apart. Serve these dumplings with brown sugar syrup (recipe below), sea-salted caramel (recipe here), or ice cream.
Bake the dumplings until lightly brown. 
Bake extra crust leaves to hide cracks in the dumplings.
Other Recipes You Might Like
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- Green Apple Macarons
- Apple Dumplings
- Salted Caramel Apple Bars
- Apple Crisp
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- Grated Apple Pie
| Prep Time | 50 minutes |
| Cook Time | 35-40 minutes |
| Passive Time | 20 minutes |
| Servings |
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- 6 small to medium Granny Smith or Gala apples (refrigerated)
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons butter, softened
- Few drops vanilla extract
- (3) 8-inch round refrigerated pie crusts or favorite homemade crust
- parchment paper or nonstick baking mat
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1 small basting brush
- Yellow and green food colorings (see note below for tip on using red food coloring)
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup water
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Ingredients
Apple Dumplings
Brown Sugar Syrup (optional)
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- Add the sugar, cinnamon, and flour to a wide shallow bowl. Stir to blend and then set aside.
- Twist and remove the apple stems to use after the apple dumplings are cooked.
- Working with one apple at a time, peel and then remove 3/4 of the core from the top of the apple. Leave the bottom 1/4 intact.
- Roll the apple in the sugar mixture to coat it.
- Place (and compact) 1-2 tablespoons of the sugar mixture into the scooped-out apple-core hole. Add 2 or 3 drops of vanilla flavoring. Press 1/2 tablespoon of butter into the hole. The butter should not extend past the top of the hole.
- Cut an 8-inch pie crust into 2 pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Using a rolling pin, roll a dough ball into a circle big enough to cover an apple. It does not have to be perfect.
- Place the prepared apple on the dough and pull it up and around the apple--do not stretch the dough. Cut off any excess dough at the top of the apple. Pat the dough to smooth it. Make sure all splits and tears are sealed. Check the bottom of the apple for dough splits too.
- Use the leftover dough to make the leaves. Reroll it and use a small cookie cutter or cut leaves by hand. Use a toothpick to indent a long vein down the middle of each leaf and then make small veins beside the long center vein. Cut leaves in large and small sizes and apply them to the dumplings. Shape apple stems with the dough and add them. Or save the real ones and add them after the dumplings are baked.
- Add the leaves to the apple and press firmly to attach.
- Place the dough-covered apple on parchment paper in a 9 x 13-inch baking pan.
- Place 1/3 cup of cream in a small bowl. (Add more later if you run out before you finish all the apples.) Add a few drops of green food coloring and 1 drop of yellow to make green apples. Mix. Use a basting brush to paint the body of the apple. Paint it in place so as not to stretch or break the dough.
- After all the apple bodies are tinted, add a few extra drops of green food coloring to the green cream to make a dark green. Paint the leaves this color so that they contrast with the apple body.
- Repeat the process for all the rest of the apples.
- Place the decorated apples in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven and bake at 350° F for 35-40 minutes. If the apples start to over-brown, place a sheet of aluminum foil loosely over the top of the dumplings.
- After baking, insert the saved apple stems into the dumplings for a realistic effect (if you didn't use dough ones).
- Serve with caramel sauce or vanilla ice cream.
- Add the brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and flour to a medium saucepan and stir to combine.
- Add the water and butter and heat on medium until the syrup reaches a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for a minute or two until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla. Stir. Spoon over individual apple dumplings.
Leaving the Crust a Natural Color
If you want to leave the apples a natural crust color, you will not need any food colorings. However, you will baste the apples with the cream before baking.
Adding the Leaves
Do not add leaves after painting the paint the apple body with cream, or the leaves will slide off during baking.
Chill the Dumplings
Chill the dumplings before baking to help prevent cracks in the crust; however, they can still crack.
Bake Extra Leaves
Bake extra leaves to cover any cracks that appear after baking the dumplings. However, the dumplings don't have to be perfect to be appealing.
Making Red Apples
If you want to make red apples, use several drops of red coloring to create a rich red color because as the red cooks, it will fade to pink.
Eat Immediately
These dumplings are best if eaten immediately because the liquid inside the crust can cause it to sage and lose shape.
Natural Food Colorings
If you prefer to use all-natural food coloring, here are two sources. Click on each name to go to the websites.
Suncore Foods and Ultimate Baker.