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This apple dumpling for one is a whole cinnamon-spiced apple wrapped in flaky pie crust and baked in brown sugar sauce until the apple is tender. An easy, from-scratch recipe made with one apple.
Quick Look
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Chill Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Equipment: 5-inch baking dish, 1-quart saucepan
- Cook Method: Oven
- Servings: 1
- Difficulty: Easy
- Flavor Profile: Buttery and caramel-like from the brown sugar sauce, with a touch of cinnamon over the natural sweetness of a baked apple.
This single serve apple dumpling looks like it came from a country bakery, a whole baked apple under a golden crust with brown sugar syrup bubbling around the edges of the dish.
Why You’ll Love This Single Apple Dumpling Recipe
An apple dumpling turns one apple into a whole dessert with its own crust and its own sauce. A whole apple, filled with butter and brown sugar, bakes inside a flaky pie crust while a brown sugar syrup bubbles up around it. By the time the crust browns, the apple inside is soft enough to cut with a fork.
Most apple dumpling recipes make six or eight at a time, or roll apple wedges in canned crescent dough. This one is made from scratch for one person, with a crust that’s just flour, sugar, salt, butter, and ice water stirred together with a fork. If you’d rather not make dough, a square of store-bought pie crust works the same way
I buy apples every fall from the orchards around Hendersonville, North Carolina, where I live, and a Granny Smith, Gala, or Honeycrisp all hold their shape through the bake, so use the one you like to eat.
For more single serving apple recipes, try my apple pie for one, apple crisp for one, mini apple galette, or small batch baked apples.
Ingredients
Everything in this easy apple dumpling recipe is a pantry staple except the apple. For ways to use any leftover ingredients, check out our Leftover Ingredients Recipe Finder.
For the homemade pie crust
All-purpose flour: Gives the crust its structure and keeps it tender. I don’t recommend almond flour here; without gluten the dough is too crumbly to roll out and wrap around the apple.
Granulated sugar: Adds a light sweetness to the dough.
Salt: Adds flavor.
Cold salted butter: Small cold pieces stay separate in the flour and turn to steam in the oven, which is what makes the crust flaky. Unsalted works too.
Ice water: Binds the dough. Keeping it ice cold keeps the butter from softening before the crust goes in the oven.
A square of store-bought pie crust replaces all five if you’d rather not make dough.
For the apple dumpling
Apple: One small to medium apple, 5 to 6 ounces or about 2¾ to 3 inches across, is the right size for this amount of dough. It should be about the size of a tennis ball. Granny Smith, Gala, and Honeycrisp all hold their shape in the oven. Use a whole fresh apple; sliced or frozen apples won’t hold the dumpling’s shape. If your apple runs large, double the crust ingredients so the dough reaches the top. An extra apple can be used in small batch fried apples or an apple dutch baby for one.
Butter: A piece melts inside the cored apple, and more goes into the syrup for richness.
Brown sugar: Fills the center of the apple and makes the sauce, where it bakes into a caramel-like syrup.
Ground cinnamon: Dusted over the apple for warmth.
Water: Thins the brown sugar and butter into a sauce that bubbles around the dumpling as it bakes.
How To Core An Apple For A Dumpling
Peel the apple, then core it from the top with an apple corer, stopping about ½ inch from the bottom so the base stays closed. If you don’t have a corer, cut a circle around the stem with a small paring knife and scoop out the core with a ½ teaspoon measuring spoon. The closed bottom holds the butter and brown sugar inside the apple while it bakes.
Recipe Variations
These swaps change the crust, the filling, or the sauce of this old fashioned apple dumpling without changing how it bakes.
Crescent Roll Apple Dumpling
Press 2 crescent roll triangles together along the long edge to make one square, pinch the seam closed, and wrap the apple the same way as the pie crust. Crescent dough bakes up softer and more bread-like than pie crust, and it browns faster, so check the dumpling at 25 minutes and tent it with foil if the top is dark before the apple is tender. You skip the dough mixing and the 20-minute chill, which brings the recipe down to about 45 minutes.
Caramel Apple Dumpling
Drop 1 soft caramel candy into the cored apple before the brown sugar for a gooey center. The caramel melts into the filling as it bakes. The bake time doesn’t change.
Apple Dumpling With Apple Cider Syrup
Swap the ½ cup of water in the sauce for ½ cup of apple cider. The sauce picks up a tart apple flavor underneath the brown sugar and tastes less like plain caramel. Cider has sugar in it, so the sauce thickens a little more in the oven than the water version.
Spiced Apple Dumpling With Nutmeg
Add a pinch of ground nutmeg or allspice to the cinnamon. Nutmeg deepens the cinnamon and tastes like the inside of an apple pie, and a pinch is plenty in a dessert this small.
Apple Dumpling With Raisins Or Pecans
Add ½ teaspoon of raisins or ½ teaspoon of chopped pecans or walnuts to the cored apple along with the brown sugar. Raisins add a little extra sweetness, and nuts give the soft center some crunch. The core only holds so much, so keep the total at ½ teaspoon or the dough won’t seal over the top.
How To Make An Apple Dumpling For One
These photos show you how to make apple dumplings from scratch, scaled to a single apple. See the recipe card below for ingredient amounts and full instructions.
Make the Pie Crust
- Store-bought crust works, but this is our homemade mini pie crust and it takes about 5 minutes to mix. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt.
- Cut the cold butter into the flour with a fork or rub it in with your fingers until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Those small pieces of butter are what make the crust flaky.
- Add the ice water a little at a time, mixing with a fork, until the mixture looks like wet sand and holds together when you press it.
- Press the dough into a ball in the bowl.
- Set the dough on plastic wrap, flatten it into a disc, wrap it tightly, and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Chilling firms the butter and relaxes the gluten, which gives you a flakier crust.
- Roll the chilled dough between two sheets of parchment paper into a 6-inch circle or square, about ⅛ inch thick. The edges don’t need to be even; a rough shape wraps just as well.
Assemble the Apple Dumpling
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and butter a 5-inch baking dish. Set the peeled, cored apple in the center of the pastry with the cored opening facing up.
- Put the butter inside the apple core and fill the rest of the opening with 1 teaspoon of brown sugar. Sprinkle the remaining teaspoon of brown sugar over the top of the apple and dust with cinnamon. With damp fingers, bring one corner of the pastry up to the top of the apple, then the opposite corner, and press them together to seal. Repeat with the other two corners, pinching the seams closed so the apple is fully covered. Set the dumpling in the prepared baking dish.
- In a 1-quart saucepan, combine the brown sugar, water, and butter. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce to low and simmer for about 2 minutes, until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and pour the sauce over the dumpling.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the apple is tender when pierced with a knife and the crust is golden brown. Spoon some of the sauce over the crust partway through if you like. Set the baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet before it goes in the oven to catch any spills.
Expert Tips
Use the 5-inch dish. The sauce is only ½ cup, and in a larger dish it spreads thin and scorches before the apple is tender. A snug dish keeps it pooled around the dumpling.
Match the dough to the apple. The crust is sized for a 5 to 6 ounce apple, about 2¾ to 3 inches across. Anything bigger needs double the crust ingredients; stretched dough tears at the seams in the oven.
Roll to ⅛ inch. Thicker dough stays doughy at the base where it sits in the sauce, and thinner dough splits when you wrap it.
Seal the seams with damp fingers. Press every pinch closed. An open seam lets the sauce inside and the crust slides off the apple as it bakes.
Test the apple, not the crust. The crust browns before the apple is done. Push a thin knife through the top; it should slide in with no resistance. If the crust is dark and the apple is still firm, tent it with foil and keep baking.
Baste once or twice. Spoon the sauce over the crust at the 15-minute mark and again near the end for a deeper color and more caramel on the pastry.
Rest 5 minutes before eating. The sauce is thin straight from the oven and thickens as it cools.
Troubleshooting
If your homemade apple dumpling didn’t turn out quite how you wanted, here’s how to correct it.
Why did my apple dumpling split open while baking?
An apple dumpling splits open when a seam isn’t sealed or the dough is stretched too thin over the apple. Steam from the apple pushes on the weakest spot, and an unsealed pinch opens first. Dampen your fingers before you bring each corner up, press the seams together firmly, and if the apple is over 6 ounces, double the crust so the dough isn’t stretched.
Why is the crust brown but the apple still hard?
The crust browns before the apple is tender because pie dough finishes in about 25 minutes and a whole apple needs 30 to 35. Tent the dish loosely with foil and keep baking until a thin knife slides through the apple with no resistance. A larger apple or a very firm variety can take 5 to 10 minutes longer.
Why is the bottom of my apple dumpling doughy?
The bottom of an apple dumpling stays doughy when the dough is rolled thicker than ⅛ inch, because the base sits in syrup and cooks slower than the top. Roll the dough thinner next time, and let the baked dumpling rest 5 minutes so the base firms up before you cut in.
Why is my apple dumpling sauce thin?
Apple dumpling sauce is thin straight out of the oven and thickens as it cools. Give it 5 minutes in the dish. If it’s still watery, spoon it into the saucepan and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes until it coats the back of a spoon.
What To Serve With An Apple Dumpling
Serve this single serving apple dumpling warm, straight from the dish, with something cold against the hot syrup.
- A scoop of vanilla ice cream, which melts into the syrup as you eat.
- A spoonful of whipped cream for a lighter finish.
- A drizzle of homemade caramel that runs down the crust and pools with the syrup at the bottom of the dish.
Frequently Asked Questions
An apple dumpling is a whole peeled and cored apple, filled with butter and brown sugar, wrapped in pie crust, and baked in a sauce until the apple is tender and the pastry is golden. Each dumpling is one serving.
Yes. The pie dough keeps in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, and the assembled dumpling can be wrapped and refrigerated a few hours before baking. Make the sauce and pour it over just before the dish goes in the oven.
Cover the dumpling in its dish and refrigerate it for up to 1 day. Reheat it uncovered in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 10 to 12 minutes, until the sauce bubbles and the apple is warm through.
Yes, after baking. Cool it completely, wrap it tightly, and freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator and reheat in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 15 minutes.
Yes. Double every ingredient, including the pie crust, and bake two dumplings side by side in a 7×5-inch dish or two 5-inch dishes. The bake time stays at 30 to 35 minutes.
Brown sugar, butter, and water, simmered for about 2 minutes until the sugar dissolves, then poured over the dumpling before baking. In the oven it thickens into a caramel-like syrup.
Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients
If you have any ingredients leftover from this recipe, check out our Leftover Ingredients Recipe Finder or you might like to consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes:
If you’ve tried this single serving apple dumpling recipe or any recipe on One Dish Kitchen please let me know how you liked it by rating the recipe and telling me about it in the comment section below.
Apple Dumpling For One
Watch How To Make This
Equipment
Ingredients
For the pie crust (or use a 6-inch square of store-bought crust)
- 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons cold salted butter – cut into ¼ inch pieces
- 2 teaspoons ice water
For the apple and filling
- 1 small to medium apple (5 to 6 ounces), such as Granny Smith, Gala, or Honeycrisp, peeled and cored.
- ½ teaspoon salted butter
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar – divided (1 teaspoon for the core, 1 teaspoon over the top)
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
For the brown sugar sauce
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup water
- 1 tablespoon salted butter
For serving (optional)
- vanilla ice cream or whipped cream
Instructions
Make the pie crust
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt.
- Add the cold butter and cut it into the flour with a fork, or rub it in with your fingers, until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces of butter still visible.
- Add the ice water a little at a time, mixing with a fork, until the mixture looks like wet sand and holds together when you press it.
- Press the dough into a ball in the bowl.
- Set the dough on a piece of plastic wrap, flatten it into a disc, wrap it tightly, and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
- Roll the chilled dough between two sheets of parchment paper into a 6-inch circle or square, about ⅛ inch thick. The edges don't need to be even.
Assemble the apple dumpling
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and butter a 5-inch baking dish. Set the peeled, cored apple in the center of the rolled dough with the cored opening facing up.
- Put the ½ tablespoon of butter inside the apple core and fill the rest of the opening with 1 teaspoon of brown sugar. Sprinkle the remaining teaspoon of brown sugar over the top of the apple and dust with the cinnamon. With damp fingers, bring one corner of the dough up to the top of the apple, then the opposite corner, and press them together. Repeat with the other two corners, pinching all the seams closed so the apple is fully covered. Set the dumpling in the baking dish and place the dish on a rimmed baking sheet.
Make the sauce and bake
- In a 1-quart saucepan, combine the ½ cup of brown sugar, the water, and the 1 tablespoon of butter. Bring to a boil over medium heat, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for about 2 minutes, until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and pour the sauce over and around the dumpling.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and a thin knife slides through the apple with no resistance. If the crust is dark before the apple is tender, tent the dish loosely with foil. Spoon some of the sauce over the crust once or twice during baking if you like.
- Let the dumpling rest in the dish for 5 minutes so the sauce thickens, then serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Notes
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
could you use almond flour to make it gluten free?
I haven’t tested this recipe with almond flour, but I wouldn’t recommend it as a straight swap. Almond flour doesn’t behave like all-purpose flour in a pie crust, since it has no gluten to give the dough structure, and the crust would be too crumbly to roll out and wrap around the apple. A 1:1 gluten free flour blend would be a much better option here and would give you a tender crust that still holds together.
I want to try this! I am all about recipes that make small amounts for one or two. I have been collecting small dishes and pans for the oven.
So glad you found the site! It’s a great way to enjoy a treat without the leftovers, and small bakeware really opens up a lot of possibilities. Hope you love the apple dumpling!
Joanne, love your recipes. I have several bags of sliced frozen apples in the freezer. Can I use them instead of a fresh whole Apple?
Thank you so much for your kind words! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the recipes. For this apple dumpling recipe, I really recommend using a whole apple since it’s the centerpiece of the dish and helps maintain the dumpling’s structure and texture. Sliced apples wouldn’t quite give the same result here.
That said, if you’re looking for ways to use your frozen sliced apples, we have plenty of other recipes where they would work beautifully, like our apple crisp or baked apple oatmeal. I hope that helps.
Wonderful!
Joanie, I’m wondering if I could bake this in my air fryer? I love apple dumplings, my mom used to make them all the time when I was a kid. These look wonderful and I’ll be trying this recipe ASAP!
I’m so glad you’re excited to try the apple dumpling and that it brings back such special memories! I don’t use an air fryer, so I’m not sure how it would turn out in one, but your air fryer’s owner’s manual might have some helpful guidelines for baking desserts like this. If you give it a try, I’d love to hear how it works. Either way, I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Joanie, I love this recipe. I have your cookbook and have made many recipes from it also.
Thanks,
Lotte
Thank you so much!
Great recipe.
Thank you!