Pioneer Woman's Apple Dumplings

So one of my favorite websites is ThePioneerWoman.com. If you haven't been to her site, go check it out! She has hilarious stories about living on a ranch, great photography tutorials, AND an amazing cooking section. The first time I went to her website, this recipe I'm going to share with you was the one that was up. I wanted to run right out and buy all the ingredients and make it then. But, I wasn't pregnant and didn't have a reason to make them, so I didn't.

We went over to my friend Jen B's for dinner tonight (by the way, she's an amazing cook and just recently started her own cooking blog...go check it out! Notes From The Table), and she prepared a Mexican feast for us! She recently got Rick Bayless' book on Mexican cooking (which I'm adding to my hold list at the library as soon as I get done with this post) and made a whole grilled chicken from that cookbook, some awesome potatoes, and amazing pinto beans. Oh man...we were rolling ourselves to the couch after we were done! So when she was telling me earlier in the week what she was going to make, I first said I'd make Tres Leches Cake because it was so super yummy. Then I remembered this recipe and how Jen and I had both wanted to try it since we read it. So it was decided.

Pioneer Woman's Apple Dumplings
2 Granny Smith apples
2 cans crescent rolls
2 sticks butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoons vanilla
cinnamon
1 small can Mountain Dew

Peel and core apples. Cut apples into 8 slices each. Roll each apple slice in a crescent roll. Place in a 9 x 13 buttered pan. Melt butter, then add sugar and barely stir. Add vanilla, stir, and pour over apples. Pour Mountain Dew around the edges of the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve with ice cream, and spoon some of the sweet sauces from the pan over the top.

*****

If you're thinking, "Eh, that sounds okay, go check out the recipe posted on PW's website because she has pictures on hers. And let me just tell you...unless you're diabetic or on a serious weight loss program, these aren't for you. Everyone else should try them (MOMS Club ladies, I'll try to bring these to the next event to which we take food so y'all can try them). Lordy mama, this was one of the best desserts I have ever had!! Jen and I sampled a small bite of the sauce when we got over to her house and were tempted to eat the whole pan right there on the spot. But, we waited. We didn't let the kids have any because it was getting late. The adults each had two dumplings, and I had made whipped cream instead of using ice cream (don't you love homemade whipped cream?! It tastes so much better than anything you can buy pre-made). Jen thought they were better than sex...I may be inclined to agree with her. There were eight dumplings left, they kept four, and we brought home three (the husband had a third one while we were still there). Then he and Jen's husband went out...I told him the three might not be here in the morning. Those darn apple dumpling fairies coming through our house in the middle of the night and all. ;)

All this talk about them makes me want one more. Seriously, this was one of the best desserts I think I have ever had.