Ya don't have to be a hillbilly to like Mountain Dew Dumplings

This experiment is in response to some of you who may have thought my Navajo Apple Dumplings were little too involved. Although my mother in law Karen asked me not to credit her for this recipe, I am anyway - hope that's okay Karen!

This is a great one to do with your kids . . . Karen suggested I call these Apple Dumplings al la Finn and Graham. We're not sure who originated this recipe so I guess now it's all ours. And now it can be yours. I do, however, have some suggestions for changes to this recipe (I can't help myself; I always do this). But first here's the original which I've taken the liberty to name:

Apple - achian Dumplings (aka Mountain Dew Apple Dumplings)

*the first advertising theme song for Mountain Dew was an old Appalachian folk song; cheeky eh? - for more fascinating facts on Mountain dew go to http://enwikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_Dew

yield: 8 dumplings

1 can of original Pillsbury Crescent rolls

1 medium apple

1 stick of butter

3/4 cups sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 can of Mountain Dew soda

Preheat your oven to 350. Peel (or don't peel - Karen doesn't peel) and core your apple and cut it into 8ths. Melt butter in a small sauce pan and brush a little in the bottom of your pan. I used a Pyrex casserole dish. Add the sugar to the melted buttter and simmer to dissolve the sugar. Add the cinnamon and mix together. Meanwhile, pop open the can of crescent rolls (kids like this part) and lay out the 8 triangles of dough. Wrap each slice of apple in the dough. Pour the butter/sugar mixture into the casserole and spread over the bottom of the pan. Place the dumplings on top and pour the Mountain Dew over the whole thing. Place in the over and bake for 30- 45 minutes until golden brown. After removing them from the oven I glazed the tops by just spooning some of the syrup over them. Serve hot.

So here are my thoughts. Good and gooey and great with ice cream. Karen suggests the Haagen Daaz Dulce de Leche - I had vanilla in the freezer so that's what I served. My apple was still a little too firm. I don't know if it was the variety I used or that I didn't cut the slice small enough. So make sure your apple slice is smallish or I think next time I might chop up the apple or grate it on a box grater to make sure it cooks through. If you do this you can also mix the apple bits with some extra cinnamon - I'm a big fan of cinnamon so I would definately double or triple the amount in the recipe.

It was also a tad too sweet for me. Finn had no complaints, but I usually like things a little less sweet and add salt to it - yes, salt in every dessert I make. It makes a huge difference I promise. So let's make it 1/2 cup sugar ( or maybe 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup brown sugar) and 1/4 tsp salt and 2 tsp cinnamon with the stick of butter.

This was super easy to make and a great activity for the boys - no spilled fluids or blizzard of flour. Please give it a try and tell me what you think. Hey, and if you're really into the Mountain Dew thing I found a recipe for Mountain Dew Cake, actually several - just a quick Google should get you there.