Crescent roll apple dumplings is a deliciously decadent apple dessert made with fresh apple slices rolled in buttery crescent roll dough, baked in a cinnamon sugar, butter and soda sauce. This apple dumplings recipe is quick, easy to make is the perfect, cozy fall dessert.
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Why Should You Make This Recipe
I absolutely adore an easy, beautiful and delicious apple dessert. My Apple Fritter Bread, French Apple Cake and Apple Spice Cake. These apple crescent roll dumplings are another super simple and incredibly delicious apple dessert I know you will love.
- Simple pantry ingredients. You only need a handful of basic ingredients to make a batch of warm and gooey apple dumplings.
- You need a quick fall dessert. Grab your favorite refrigerated crescent rolls, apples, butter, brown sugar, butter, vanilla extract, ground cinnamon and soda to make the easiest apple dessert ever.
- Easy to make with layers of flavor. These apple dumplings with crescent rolls have a buttery, flaky crust surrounding a warm and gooey apple pie fulling, soaked in a caramelized sauce.
Ingredients
Before I show you how to make this recipe for apple crescent roll dumplings make sure you have these simple ingredients ready to go.
Gather apples, your preferred crescent roll dough, butter, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, ground cinnamon and soda.
Substitutions
Making these apple and crescent roll dumpling is simple and only need a few ingredients, but you may not have everything on hand. Here are my recommended substitutions to make this recipe if you need them.
- Apples: Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Braeburn or Fuji apples are all great apples for this apple dumplings recipe.
- Crescent Roll Dough: Feel free to use your preferred crescent roll dough.
- Butter: This is an essential ingredient in the cinnamon and brown sugar filling. Use salted butter or plant based butter if you prefer.
- Sugar and Light Brown Sugar: Maple sugar or regular granulated sugar will also work well.
- Ground Cinnamon: Feel free to use another ground spice or spice blend. Ground ginger, apple pie spice or pumpkin spice would also be delicious.
- Vanilla Extract: This is purely for flavor and to enhance the flavors of the dish.
- Soda: I recommend Mountain Dew, Sprite or Ginger Ale. Feel free to use apple cider for even more apple flavor.
How To Make
Learn how to make crescent roll apple dumplings in a few easy steps.
- Lightly grease a 9 x 13 pan. Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C). Wash, peel, core and slice apples into about 8 equal sized wedges. If the apples are large, aim for about 12 slices per apple.
- Carefully unwrap and pop open two cans of crescent roll dough. Unroll the crescent roll dough and separate the crescent roll dough into 8 triangles. Place one apple wedge onto crescent roll triangle. Roll the crescent roll and apple wedge into a crescent roll. Place the prepared apple roll dumpling into the prepared baking dish. Repeat for the remaining 15 dumplings.
- Place the butter in a microwave safe bowl. Melt the butter in the microwave. Once the butter has fully melted, mix in sugar, light brown sugar and vanilla extract until smooth and well combined. Top the prepared apple dumplings with the butter and sugar mixture. Evenly sprinkle ground cinnamon on top of the sugar and butter mixture. Finally, pour the soda into the pan around the edges of the apple dumplings.
- Bake the crescent roll apple dumplings for about 30 - 40 minutes. The dumplings are done when the tops of the dumpling are golden brown and the sauce around the dumplings is bubbling. Remove the apple dumplings from the oven to cool in the baking dish for about 15 minutes. The sauce will thicken a bit while the dumplings cool. Scoop the warm apple dumplings into a bowl, top with cold vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce and enjoy.
How To Make Ahead, Store, Reheat and Serve
- Make Ahead: Prepare the crescent roll apple dumplings through to rolling the apple slices into the crescent roll dough step. Place the dumplings in a greased baking pan. Cover the dish and keep the dumplings in the fridge for up to 1 day. When it’s time to bake, remove the baking dish from the fridge, top with the buttery sugar mixture, add the soda, bake and enjoy.
- Store: Allow the apple crescent roll dumplings to fully cool. Transfer the dish to the fridge for up to 2 days. The apple dumplings can stored at room temperature for about 2 - 3 hours after baking, but should be stored in the fridge.
- Reheat: Reheat the dumplings in a 350 F (177 C) for a crispier crust or heat the dumplings in the microwave until heated through to your desired temperature.
- Serve: Serve the dumplings warm with cold vanilla ice cream.
M’s Expert Tips
- Use the correct baking apples. Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Braeburn or Fuji apples are all great apples for this apple dumplings recipe.
- Make sure the crescent roll dough is fresh. The dough needs to be fresh and easy to roll around an apple slice. I love using Pillsbury refrigerated crescent roll dough in the can.
- Use soda for the best results. Any acidic liquid can work to create a sauce for the apple dumplings to steam in. The best liquid to use is a carbonated lemon-lime soda such as ginger ale, mountain dew or Sprite.
- Leave a little space between each of the apple dumplings. The crescent roll dumplings need a little space to expand while baking.
- Try not to cover the tops of the dumplings with soda. The butter and sugar mixture can be poured on top of the dumplings, but the soda should only be poured into the pan and around the dumplings. Try not to get any soda on top as this can make the dumplings soggy.
- Serve with ice cream. Just like apple pie, top these easy apple dumplings warm with a scoop of cold vanilla ice cream.
FAQs
Crescent roll dough makes a sweet or savory dumpling dish. Simply fill the crescent roll with the filling, such as apple slices for apple dumplings, layer the filled dumplings in the pan, top with ingredients to make a sweet or savory sauce, bake and enjoy.
Tart baking apples are the best apples to make these crescent roll dumplings. Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Braeburn or Fuji apples area all great for this apple dumplings recipe.
Any acidic liquid like apple juice, apple cider or soda works well. Mountain Dew or Sprite are recommended because the flavors pair well with the butter, cinnamon and sugar and make a delicious syrupy sauce. The carbonation from the soda keeps the crescent rolls light and tender.
Most likely the dumplings overbaked a bit. Bake the dumplings for the recommended baking time, but start checking a few minutes before the minimum baking time. Remove the dumplings from the oven as soon as a crack forms in the dough of any of the dumplings. Cool the apple dumplings for about 15 - 20 minutes.
Other Crescent Roll Recipes to Try
If you try this Crescent Roll Apple Dumplings recipe please rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Doing so helps other readers decide if this is a great recipe to bake. Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram using @olivesnthyme so I can see what you’re baking! Happy Baking! - M
Crescent Roll Apple Dumplings Recipe
Equipment
- 1 9 x 13 inch (23 x 33 cm) baking dish
- 1 knife or apple peeler
- 1 microwave safe bowl
Ingredients
- 2 - 4 small or medium apples see notes
- 2 8 oz. cans refridgerated crescent roll dough
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, sliced
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1½ cups (12 oz., 360 ml) lemon-lime soda see notes
Instructions
- Lightly grease a 9 x 13 pan. Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C). Wash, peel, core and slice apples into about 8 equal sized wedges. Each cresent roll will need 1 -2 apple slices.2 - 4 small or medium apples
- Carefully unwrap and pop open two cans of crescent roll dough. Unroll the crescent roll dough and separate the crescent roll dough into 8 triangles. Place one apple wedge onto crescent roll triangle. Roll the crescent roll and apple wedge into a crescent roll. Place the prepared apple roll dumpling into the prepared baking dish. Repeat for the remaining 15 dumplings.2 8 oz. cans refridgerated crescent roll dough
- Place the butter in a microwave safe bowl. Melt the butter in the microwave. Once the butter has fully melted, mix in sugar, light brown sugar and vanilla extract until smooth and well combined.1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, sliced, 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar, ½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Top the prepared apple dumplings with the butter and sugar mixture. Evenly sprinkle ground cinnamon on top of the sugar and butter mixture. Finally, pour the soda into the pan around the edges of the apple dumplings.1 teaspoon ground cinnamon , 1½ cups (12 oz., 360 ml) lemon-lime soda
- Bake the crescent roll apple dumplings for about 30 - 40 minutes. The dumplings are done when the tops of the dumpling are golden brown and the sauce around the dumplings is bubbling.
- Remove the apple dumplings from the oven to cool in the baking dish for about 15 minutes. The sauce will thicken a bit while the dumplings cool. Scoop the warm apple dumplings into a bowl, top with cold vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce and enjoy.
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