CHARLOTTE FERKAN PORTER is known as Nama to youngest granddaughters AVA and LILLIAN PORTER and as Grandma to oldest granddaughters SOPHIA and OLIVIA PORTER. While Charlotte isn’t from the South, author Faye Porter shares that because Charlotte is her mum, and a grandma, and a great baker, and has kids that live in the South, we wanted to include her! And we had to include Charlotte’s apple dumplings because Faye says these are her absolute favorite thing her mum bakes. Whether coming home from college or coming from Nashville to visit her parents now, Faye shares that “when my mum asks, ‘What are you hungry for that you’d like me to make?’ hands down the reply is these apple dumplings!” Faye’s dad and three brothers are also fans of these delicious gems. And while they’re great served warm with vanilla bean ice cream, Faye loves them cold the next day when the bottom dough is even softer.
6 small to medium apples*
SYRUP:
1 ½ cups sugar
2 cups water
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup (1 stick) butter
DOUGH:
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling dough
¾ cup vegetable shortening
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ cup whole milk
INSIDE APPLES:
Cinnamon to sprinkle
3 teaspoons butter, divided
1 Peel and core the apples. Leave whole or quarter them.
2 TO MAKE THE SYRUP, in a saucepan combine the sugar, water, and cinnamon and cook over medium heat until the mixture reaches a low boil. Remove from the heat and add the butter. Set aside to cool for approximately 20 minutes.
3 TO MAKE THE DOUGH, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
4 In a large bowl combine the flour, shortening, salt, baking powder, and milk and mix well by hand as you would for a piecrust. Divide the dough into 6 balls of equal size. Roll out one portion at a time on a lightly floured surface.
5 In the center of each dough “circle,” place a whole apple or four apple quarters standing upright. Inside the whole apple or on top of the quartered apples, sprinkle the cinnamon and add ½ teaspoon of the butter. Bring the dough up over the sides of each apple and press together at the top.
6 Place 3 dumplings each into 2 large ungreased loaf pans (9.75 × 5.75 × 2.75-inch size each). It’s important that the sides of your pan be 2 inches or higher to prevent hot syrup from running over during baking.
7 Pour half of the syrup over the three dumplings in one pan and the remaining half over the dumplings in the other pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until nicely browned on top.
8 During the last 20 minutes, use a spoon to collect the syrup at the bottom of the pan and baste the dumplings three times. Serve warm or cold. (It’s doubtful, but if there happen to be any leftovers, refrigerate.)
MAKES 6 DUMPLINGS.
* Good baking apples include Granny Smith, Cortland, Rome, Northern Spy, Pink Lady, or a mix of any of them.