PROJECT 11

MOUNTAIN DEW APPLE DUMPLINGS

This is another dessert recipe that is easy enough for a middle school child to accomplish with a minimum of supervision, but tastes good enough that even an older child will be proud of the result.

I am forty(ish) and still have a feeling of pride when I share this recipe at potluck meals.

The Ingredients

Ingredients

•   2 cans crescent rolls

•   3–4 tart apples

•   1 ½ cups sugar

•   ½ cup butter

•   1 teaspoon cinnamon

•   1 12-ounce can Mountain Dew soda (or generic)

Procedure

1.     Grease, oil or spray a 9” x 13” baking dish or pan.

2.     Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

3.     Peel and slice apples. I use one of those round cutters that core and slice in one shot. You will need at least one slice per crescent roll (I sometimes use two apple slices if they are particularly small).

Wrap apple slices with crescent roll triangles

4.     Roll each apple slice in a section of crescent roll.

5.     Place rolled slices in pan, and put extras alongside. You want them all to fit nicely together without cramming them together, but still close enough for them to rise into one tasty mass.

Melt butter, sugar, and cinnamon until the sugar is liquefied

6.     Melt butter, add sugar and cinnamon, stir until the sugar is liquefied, and pour over apples.

7.     Pour can of Mountain Dew over all.

8.     Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Enjoy with vanilla ice cream—tastes just like apple pie.

Finished dessert

Lessons Learned:

As a simple recipe with a sophisticated end result, this recipe teaches children the benefit of skill acquisition.

A little effort in the kitchen, combined with practice and a small amount of knowledge, gives a result that garners praise and allows a sense of worthy pride.