apple dumplins

this dish is so yummy. sure, it's not easy on the heart, but it's yummy. this recipe is from the mother of my bff i left behind in texas.  sniffle.  upon first bite be prepared for your eyes to roll back in to your head, followed by a little shiver all over !

• 2 granny smith apples
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 stick butter
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 pkg crescent rolls (8 rolls)
• 1/2 can sprite
• cinnamon & sugar for dusting

preheat oven to 350 F.

melt butter in a small saucepan.  add sugar.  stir until dissolved and well incorporated.  turn off heat and stir in vanilla.  set aside.

peel, core, and slice apples into 4 wedges each (8 total).  roll one apple wedge in one crescent roll wedge and place in a lightly sprayed 8x8 or 9x9 inch baking dish.  repeat with rest of apples and rolls. 

pour melted butter/sugar over rolls.  slowly pour sprite around rolls until about halfway up sides of rolls.  dust rolls with cinnamon and sugar.  bake uncovered for 40 minutes.  makes 8 dumplins.

liquid sugar comes out screamin' hot.  i let the apples "rest" for about 30 minutes.  you can eat it sooner, but at your own risk.  (in my opinion, these do not make good leftovers - maybe you'll find a way to reheat them that brings them back to life.  i've found they turn into applesauce) 

i'm a new blogger and haven't evolved yet into embedding a "print" button within the body of this post.  you'll have to do it the old fashioned way and copy/paste.

gorilla bread

this is an over-the-top "monkey bread" recipe from paula deen. i've made it a zillion times and it's always crowd-pleasin'.

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
• 2 (12 oz) cans refrigerated biscuits (10 count each)
• 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts

preheat oven to 350 degrees.

spray a bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray.  mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon; set aside.  in a saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar over low heat, stirring well; set aside.  cut the cream cheese into 20 equal cubes.  press the biscuits out with your fingers and sprinkle each with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon sugar.  place a cube of cream cheese in the center of each biscuit, wrapping and sealing the dough around the cream cheese and roll the biscuits in the cinnamon sugar.  sprinkle 1/2 cup of the nuts into the bottom of the bundt pan.  place half of the prepared biscuits in the pan.  sprinkle with more cinnamon sugar, pour half of the melted butter mixture over the biscuits, and sprinkle 1/2 cup of nuts.  layer the remaining biscuits on top, sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar, pour the remaining butter mixture over the biscuits, and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup nuts.  bake for 30 minutes.  remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes.  place a plate on top and invert.

here's what i have to say about that...i find it needs to bake for 40 minutes.  also, you don't have to be that careful with the amount of cinnamon sugar you put in the biscuits before you add the cream cheese cubes; in fact, i sprinkle it on pretty heavily.  also, don't let it rest longer than 5 minutes after you pull it out of the oven; the topping and some of the biscuits will stick to the pan and it messes up the presentation.

here's a link to the recipe on foodnetwork.com   http://www.foodnetwork.com/videos/paulas-gorilla-bread-recipe/84905.html  i notice in her video she says she bakes it for 50-60 minutes, but the original recipe calls for 30 minutes.  again, i have had the best results at 40 minutes.