Okay, this recipe goes against everything I stand for. I’m a staunch supporter of homemade pie crusts and am not a huge fan of refrigerated crescent rolls. Cooking with soda is one of those Southern traditions like eating squirrel and pickling okra that I just have a hard time getting behind. And yet…this is easily in my top 3 dessert recipes. Ever. It is up there with pizzookies and that is saying a lot. Maybe it’s the radioactive nature of Mountain Dew or the sheer amount of butter involved, but these are A. MAZ. ING. Food-gasmic. Dumplightful, as my husband once called them. Okay, we might be heading in the wrong direction here…
I first found this recipe on The Pioneer Woman’s cooking blog. From many vehement comments over there, I discovered that this recipe has dark and mysterious origins–some people claim it comes from Allrecipes, others say that it’s from an old Pillsbury cookbook, their grandma, or Recipezaar. I don’t know what the truth is, but I do know that the world is a happier place with magical Mountain Dew-spiked slices of apple wrapped in cheap, canned pastry. So no knocking these until you’ve tried them. Seriously.
Apple Dumplings
2 medium Granny Smith apples
2 cans crescent rolls
2 sticks butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
cinnamon (for sprinkling)
12 oz. (1 can) Mountain Dew or Sprite. This bottle is WAY too much Mountain Dew, but apparently it is no longer possible to buy a single can of soda without making a deal with the Devil himself.
Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9×13 pan with non-stick cooking spray. Peel apples and cut into 8ths. This is where I started breaking rules because I’m a lazy kind of girl and if I had to hand-peel and core apples, they would never get peeled or cored. So I used my apple corer peeler (which slices the apples for me),
cut the cored, peeled, sliced apple in half, and then divided each apple into 8ths.
Open a can of crescent roll dough and carefully separate the dough along the perforations. Place 1/8 of an apple on one segment of dough
and then roll/wrap the apple in the dough. Place in the prepared pan and repeat with remaining apples and dough. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, melt butter and add sugar and vanilla. Stir to combine. Pour butter/sugar mixture over the apples, then pour the can of Mountain Dew (or Sprite, although I’ve never actually tried it), on top of everything. Sprinkle the pan with cinnamon and bake for 40 minutes.
When the dumplings are done, remove from oven and serve with a ladle-ful of sauce. I usually plan on two dumplings per person, before they go back for seconds. And then breakfast. Then second breakfast. Then a little snack. For true transcendent awesomeness, serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Apple Dumplings
2 medium Granny Smith apples
2 cans crescent rolls
2 sticks butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
cinnamon (for sprinkling)
12 oz. (1 can) Mountain Dew or Sprite. This bottle is WAY too much Mountain Dew, but apparently it is no longer possible to buy a single can of soda without making a deal with the Devil himself.
Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9×13 pan with non-stick cooking spray. Peel apples and cut into 8ths. This is where I started breaking rules because I’m a lazy kind of girl and if I had to hand-peel and core apples, they would never get peeled or cored. So I used my apple corer peeler (which slices the apples for me), cut the cored, peeled, sliced apple in half, and then divided each apple into 8ths.
Open a can of crescent roll dough and carefully separate the dough along the perforations. Place 1/8 of an apple on one segment of dough and then roll/wrap the apple in the dough. Place in the prepared pan and repeat with remaining apples and dough. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, melt butter and add sugar and vanilla. Stir to combine. Pour butter/sugar mixture over the apples, then pour the can of Mountain Dew (or Sprite, although I’ve never actually tried it), on top of everything. Sprinkle the pan with cinnamon and bake for 40 minutes.
When the dumplings are done, remove from oven and serve with a ladle-ful of sauce. I usually plan on two dumplings per person, before they go back for seconds. And then breakfast. Then second breakfast. Then a little snack. For true transcendent awesomeness, serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Questions & Reviews
I make these all the time .. they are divine and so easy. Instead of the Mountain Dew, which is so sweet, I use half Prosecco (an Italian “champaign”) and half orange juice. I also add a little fresh grated nutmeg and just a sprinkle of ground cloves to the cinnamon dusting. Yummmmmy!
Just made this recipie,exactly as it was listed.My house smells amazing!! The taste of this is wonderful, and can’t wait for time toserve!! Thank you so much!!
These are the best and way too easy to make Thanks for sharing this! Excellant
i love this recipe. i have made it before (with sprite) it is delish!!!
Well..looks like a butter and mountain dew bath for the dumplings… in the oven they go! We’ll see 🙂
Love all things apple especially for breakfast, you know that means I will make plenty for the left overs! Who knew that crazy stuff folks like to drink called Mt Dew would be good for baking apples in??? Thank You for sharing your recipe.
Better than apple pie!!! My mother in law made this tastie delight for Easter, it was the most delicious ,not to sweet dessert ever!!! I will be making this soon!
OMG!!!!!!! I tried these for the first time using your recipe and they was to die for!! Thank you for sharing…. Im cooking them again tonight. The mountain dew scared me but I used it and you can’t taste it
I make this recipe but rather using Mt. Dew or Sprite, my recipe calls
for orange juice. Dumplings turn out great!
I can’t stand the idea of using sprite or MT Dew so I didn’t. I made these 2 nights ago just like the recipe except I used a carbonated unsweeted water (La Croix) and had wonderful results. My husband said that this was just the best thing ever.
Thanks for the sept by sept pic’s. I made the mistake of chopping up my apples. But these are reaaly good.I also made the mistake of putting the mixture on the inside of the dumpling. Pic help alot.
Have you tried freezing any uncooked ones?
I see this and remember how much my boyfriend LOVES Mt. Dew… Perfecccttttt. Maybe I can get him to eat my desserts now (he’s not a sweets kinda guy).
My family loves these and they are always a hit at potlucks! I always pour the sugar butter mixture over the dumplings and the mountain dew around them so there is a crunchy top on the dumplings when they are finished.
If you think this is good, you should try them made with peaches instead of apples. Use 1/4 peach for each dumpling. OMG!
Excellent recipe!! Even better with homemade ice cream.
These really were easy and amazing. Since I don’t have an apple peeler-corer-slicer (always wanted one of those!), I peeled the apples by hand and rough chopped them into small bite-sized pieces. I ended up using an extra half an apple for added yumminess. I also used the reduced-fat crescent rolls and they still turned out delicious! I would probably use less sugar and butter in the future, as there was a lot of extras. The dumplings went over really well at a dinner party I hosted, and the few leftovers have made for fantastic breakfasts.
For a brief time, nearly 15 years ago, I lived in Charlottesville, Virginia, with an older sister. Every fall, her ward would host a fundraiser that sold none other than old-fashioned homemade apple dumplings. They were divine, but their recipe was classified! Over the years, I’ve tried to duplicate them and have only been disappointed. Until now! While these apple dumplings use a different (and simpler!) technique, the flavors are still there! I LOVED them and will dream about these just as I have about those top secret apple dumplings in Virginia! Thanks for passing on the recipe!
this is the most wonderful decadent desert you will ever eat. Take it to any dinner it will be THE HIT. Ive always made apple dumplings the old fashion way…….no more. Mountain due is the magic. Will seem way to liquidy, its ok. cook till golden brn bout 50 min. let cool for45 min- 1hr, juice thickens. also its good to baste while cooking. Dont forget the ice cream. its heaven…………
As anyone out there made these?
Sorry, the comments are sorted oldest to newest and I hadnt scrolled down!
making them again tonight because i had some crescent rolls about to expire! oh darn 😉
So good, but VERY sweet…and I am a major sweet freak! I will make again, but cut the sugar down to 1 cup. My daughter helped out and enjoyed these, and said she'll be making them for her roommates in college!
Thanks for the recipe!
holy crap these are delicious! Made them for our family sunday dinner with the in-laws, what a hit! they even horded the leftovers!! i was able to use 3 apples and get 24 dumplings using the BIG crescent rolls that have 6 in a pack! yum!
I made some like this last yr at christmas and I used apple juice and they turned out so good. Thanks for posting all your recipes ( real food).
I made these two times over Christmas and they are a huge hit with my family. They are so easy and they turned out beautiful and delicious. Thanks for making me look so good.
My husband who is not a dessert eater loves these. It is wonderful to finally have a desert that I make that he will eat! Who knew Mountain Dew would be the secret ingredient to make it so YUMMY! Thanks for the amazing blog. I love every recipe that I have tried!
I must say I was apprehensive about trying this, but they are AMAZING! Worked well with sprite. Added a little nutmeg on top as well and they are out of this world, made the recipe three times in a few weeks. Halved the butter though, and you don't even miss it!
Yowza — these were amazing, but incredibly sweet. I'd only use about a 1/2 cup of sugar next time around. They really do go great hot out of the oven with a big dollop of vanilla ice cream.