If you tuned out after the words Mountain Dew, shame on you.
Look, I don’t like Mountain Dew as a drink. I have called it something akin to goat whiz my whole life, but I also am a fan of things that sound just weird enough to try, so guess what? I tried this year’s ago, and picture the mind blown emoji - because this recipe blew my mind.
What the secret of the Mountain Dew, you ask? Combined with the sugars, this soda creates the ultimate sugar freak, making the most delicious syrup for the dumplings. Who knew?!?!
It’s one of those recipes that you’ll make, surprise yourself with the mind blown emoji, you’ll make it for friends, blow their mind (insert said emoji here), and you’ll start making it as a quick throw together dessert more than you realize.
The original recipe calls for all granulated sugar, but I’ve ‘healthed’ this up a bit - trust me, I know that’s an oxymoron when you have Mountain Dew in the title - but I actually LOVE the coconut sugar far more than the original recipe. It creates a ‘crust’ to the top of each dumpling which lended a delightful texture to the overall dessert.
I’ve even gussied them up for a dinner party when I was in a time crunch, and everyone raved, thinking I’d spent far more time than I did on them… they are just that good.
Because here’s the thing… no one will know Mountain Dew and Crescent Rolls are the secret ingredients. NO ONE will know if you don’t tell them. Just sit back and enjoy how many compliments you get!
Let’s jump right in to one of the simplest and easiest desserts you can make!
Apple Dumplings made with Mountain Dew
Ingredients
2 larger granny smith apples (or other firm cooking apple that won’t release a bunch of juice)
2 tubes crescent rolls
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup Origines Coconut Sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
12 oz Mountain Dew (or other clear citrus soda - I’ve used Sprite, and also diet versions)
1 tbsp Origines Cinnamon (I use 1 tbsp because I love cinnamon)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13 baking pan and set aside.
Core, peel, and slice apples into 8 even slices. You’ll have a total of 16 apple pieces.
Open packages of Crescent Rolls and then roll one apple slice inside of each crescent roll piece. Place rolled apples in prepared pan, in two rows, leaving a little room between each dumpling.
In a small pot bring the butter and both sugars to a boil. Remove from heat and evenly spoon (or pour) over the crescent rolls. The coconut sugar will make this mixture pretty thick, so spooning works best, and ensures you evenly distribute the sugar/butter mixture over each apple dumpling.
Finally, pour the mountain dew around just the edges of the dumplings, but not directly on top.
Bake for 35-45 minutes, until bubbling and the dumplings are browned on top.
Serve hot with vanilla ice cream and spoon the extra sauce form the pan on top! You can customize these with whatever kind of sauce you’d like to drizzle over the top.
** You can save leftovers - just spoon the dumpling with minimal sauce into a container and refrigerate for no more than 2 days. Then just microwave them for 10-15 seconds. They will be much softer than when hot out of the oven, but they are equally delightful.
