yesterday I had to choose what I was going to make for dessert.
I had a friend over for dinner before Monkey Man's gig. He was
making pizza and I had the assignment of wow-ing with dessert.
I didn't have much time to commit to cooking something, so it
had to be quick, simple and (as usual) absolutely delish.
I knew though when I saw those pretty little gala apples at the market
what dessert was going to consist of. Whenever I go camping I do baked
apples, stuffing them with just some sugar, raisins and cinnamon.
But last night I made full blown dumplin's.
Don't know how much wow-ing went
on in the rest of the room, but my taste buds were pretty happy.
I believe my taste buds where dancing to a punk rock version of 'what a
wonderful world'...
I started with a sweetened pie crust recipe- cut in half because there
was only three of us.
Crust
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup earth balance
1/4 tsp salt
1 tablespoon raw sugar
enough ice water to form a ball with the dough- about 2 tablespoons.
Cut the earth balance in to the dry ingredients, forming little pea
sized balls. This makes the crust flake, so don't knead it at all.
Add the water and split into three balls (?) Two if you want
a thicker crust. Roll these balls out and cut into squares.
The Apples
Core the apples, removing all the tough bits inside.
The filling
mix together a couple tablespoons of raisins and sugar
add about a 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and couple tbsp of rolled oats.
I also added abut a tablespoon of sun flower seeds, but you can
use walnuts, pecans, or whatever blows your skirt up.
Place the cored apples on the center of rolled out crust.
Pack a third of the filling into the center of the apple.
Pull the corners of the crust up to meet the opposite corners
like a little package.
Stick em in the oven at 375-400 for about twenty minutes
or until the crust begins to turn golden brown.
To be honest I wasn't really watching the time or heat.
So don't worry too much. If your crust is cooked, your apple will
most likely be tender. Just don't put it right under the pilot light.
While this is all in the over or just ready to come out, start on your
rum sauce... which is comprised of .... soymilk... earth balance... sugar...
cornstarch or arrow root powder and rum. Dark or light rum is fine.
I used light, but dark would be just as tasty.
So melt a tablespoon of earth balance and 1/4 cup of sugar over med heat.
Dissolve 2 tsp of cornstarch in 1/2 cup of soymilk, making sure to avoid
lumping. Cook until just starts to thicken and remove from heat.
Add 3 tablespoons of rum and use immediately. That means pour
it over those hot apples!
