Amish Apple Dumplings With Cinnamon Butter Sauce

Imperial October 11, 2026October 11, 2026

Quick Recipe Version (TL;DR)

Yield: 6 servings, 1 whole-apple dumpling each
Prep Time: 40 minutes, plus 30 minutes to chill the pastry
Cook Time: 1 hour, including 5 minutes for the sauce and 55 minutes for baking
Total Time: 2 hours 25 minutes, including chilling and a 15-minute rest after baking

Quick Ingredients

Pastry: 3 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, 3/4 teaspoon fine salt, 1 cup cold unsalted butter, and 1/2 cup ice-cold water.
Apples and filling: 6 small baking apples, 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, and 2 tablespoons unsalted butter.
Cinnamon butter sauce: 1 1/2 cups water, 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon fine salt, and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract.
For serving: Vanilla ice cream, optional.

Do This

1. Make the pastry by cutting cold butter into the flour, sugar, and salt, then gently mixing in the ice-cold water.
2. Shape into a disk, wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
3. Cook the sauce ingredients, except vanilla, for 5 minutes, keeping the mixture at a gentle boil for the final 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
4. Peel and core the apples. Mix the filling sugar and cinnamon, and cut the filling butter into 6 pieces.
5. Roll the pastry into six 8-inch squares. Place an apple on each, fill with cinnamon sugar and butter, and fold and seal the pastry around it.
6. Arrange in a 9-by-13-inch metal baking pan, pour the sauce around them, and bake for 55 minutes, until golden and the apples are tender.
7. Rest for 15 minutes, then serve warm with the pan sauce and vanilla ice cream.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Classic, cozy flavor: Tender apples, cinnamon, brown sugar, and vanilla come together in an old-fashioned, Amish-style dessert.
A lovely contrast of textures: The pastry turns golden on top while its lower edges soak up the buttery syrup.
Simple pantry ingredients: No specialty equipment or hard-to-find ingredients are needed.
Made for warm serving: A scoop of vanilla ice cream melts into the cinnamon sauce for a delicious finishing touch.

Grocery List

Produce: 6 small baking apples, such as Golden Delicious, Jonagold, or Braeburn.
Dairy: Unsalted butter; vanilla ice cream for serving, if desired.
Pantry: All-purpose flour, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, ground cinnamon, fine salt, and vanilla extract.

Full Ingredients

For the Tender Homemade Pastry

3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled (375 g)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar (12 g)
3/4 teaspoon fine salt
1 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (227 g)
1/2 cup ice-cold water (120 ml)
1 tablespoon additional all-purpose flour for dusting the work surface, as needed

For the Apples and Cinnamon Filling

6 small baking apples, about 6 ounces each before peeling (170 g each; approximately 2 1/4 pounds total)
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar (70 g)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 6 equal pieces (28 g)

For the Vanilla-Cinnamon Butter Sauce

1 1/2 cups water (360 ml)
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar (160 g)
1/2 cup granulated sugar (100 g)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (57 g)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon fine salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (10 ml)

For Serving

Vanilla ice cream, optional
Warm cinnamon butter sauce from the baking pan

Amish Apple Dumplings With Cinnamon Butter Sauce – Closeup

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Make the pastry dough

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, and salt. Add the cold butter cubes. Use a pastry blender, two forks, or your fingertips to work the butter into the flour until the mixture looks crumbly, with some pea-size pieces of butter remaining.

Drizzle in the ice-cold water while gently tossing with a fork. Stop mixing when the dough forms moist clumps and holds together when squeezed. Turn it onto the counter and gently press it into a thick disk. Avoid kneading; a light touch keeps the pastry tender.

Step 2: Chill the dough and prepare the oven

Wrap the dough tightly and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375°F (190°C). Set out a 9-by-13-inch metal baking pan with sides at least 2 inches high.

A metal pan is a practical choice here because the sauce is added warm. If using another type of baking dish, follow its manufacturer’s guidance about temperature changes.

Step 3: Make the cinnamon butter sauce

Combine the water, brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, cinnamon, and salt in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring until the butter melts and the sugars dissolve. Cook for approximately 5 minutes total, keeping the mixture at a gentle boil for the final 2 minutes.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Set aside while you prepare the apples. The sauce will be fairly thin at this stage; it becomes richer as it bakes around the dumplings.

Step 4: Prepare the apples and filling

Stir together the filling’s brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Peel the apples, then remove their cores with an apple corer, keeping each apple whole. Make a clean opening approximately 3/4 inch wide through the center so there is room for the filling. If an apple wobbles, trim a very thin slice from its bottom to create a flat base.

Prepare the apples just before wrapping them to limit browning. Keep the 6 pieces of filling butter nearby.

Step 5: Roll, fill, and wrap the dumplings

Divide the chilled dough into 6 equal pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece into an approximately 8-inch square, about 1/8 inch thick. If the dough is too firm to roll without cracking, let it stand at room temperature for 5 minutes first. Keep the remaining pieces cool while you work.

Place an apple upright in the center of each square; the pastry underneath will close the bottom of the core opening. Divide the cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly among the apple cavities, gently pressing it in, and place one piece of butter at the top of each filled cavity.

Lightly moisten the pastry edges with water. Bring two opposite corners up over the apple, then bring up the remaining corners. Overlap and pinch the seams firmly to seal, pressing loose folds gently against the apple. Patch any small tears with a pinch of dough from a thick fold.

Arrange the dumplings upright in the pan in 2 rows of 3, leaving space between them. Pour the warm sauce around the dumplings rather than directly over their tops.

Step 6: Bake until golden and tender

Bake uncovered for 55 minutes. At the 35-minute mark, carefully spoon a little pan sauce over the lower sides of each dumpling, leaving the top seams mostly uncovered so they can brown. If the tops are becoming too dark, loosely cover the pan with foil for the remaining baking time.

The dumplings are ready when the pastry is golden, the sauce is bubbling, and a thin skewer or small knife slides easily into the apple through a pastry seam. Begin checking at 50 minutes. If the apples are still firm after 55 minutes, continue baking in 5-minute increments until tender; apple variety and size can affect the timing.

Step 7: Rest and serve warm

Let the dumplings rest in the pan for 15 minutes. This gives the sauce time to settle and makes the pastry easier to lift without breaking.

Use a wide spatula to transfer each dumpling to a shallow dessert bowl. Spoon the warm cinnamon butter sauce around it and add vanilla ice cream, if desired. The apples and filling stay hot longer than the pastry, so allow each serving to cool to a comfortable eating temperature.

Pro Tips

Choose small, evenly sized apples: Apples around 6 ounces each fit the pastry squares well and cook at a similar rate. Large apples may need bigger pastry squares and additional baking time.
Keep the butter cold: Visible little pieces of butter in the dough help create tender, lightly flaky pastry. If the dough becomes sticky while rolling, refrigerate it for 10 minutes.
Adjust dough moisture only if necessary: Flour absorbs water differently depending on how it is measured. If the dough remains dry and crumbly after pressing, add ice-cold water 1 teaspoon at a time, using no more than 2 additional tablespoons.
Seal carefully: Firmly pinched seams help keep the cinnamon filling tucked inside. Small leaks are not a disaster; they simply add flavor to the sauce.
Expect a saucy bottom: These are baked dumplings, not dry hand pies. Their tops should be golden, while the lower pastry stays soft and saturated with buttery syrup.

Variations

Halved-apple dumplings: Use 3 large apples, approximately 12 ounces each. Peel, halve, and core them. Divide the same dough and filling into 6 portions. Place each half cut-side up on its pastry square, fill the hollow, and enclose. Bake at 375°F (190°C), checking for tenderness at 40 minutes; most will take 40–50 minutes.
Walnut-raisin filling: Mix 2 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts and 2 tablespoons raisins into the cinnamon-sugar filling. Enlarge the core openings slightly so the mixture fits.
Extra-warm spice: Add 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg to the apple filling and 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves to the sauce for a deeper autumn flavor.

Storage & Make-Ahead

Refrigerate: Transfer cooled dumplings and their sauce to a covered container and refrigerate within 2 hours of baking. Store for up to 4 days. The pastry will soften as it sits in the sauce.

Reheat: Place refrigerated dumplings in an oven-safe dish with their sauce. Cover loosely with foil and heat at 325°F (165°C) for 20–25 minutes, or until hot throughout. Uncover for the final 5 minutes to help refresh the pastry.

Make ahead: Prepare the pastry up to 2 days ahead and refrigerate it, tightly wrapped. Make the sauce up to 2 days ahead and refrigerate separately; gently rewarm before using. You can assemble the dumplings without sauce up to 2 hours before baking and refrigerate them, covered, in the metal pan. Add the warm sauce just before baking and allow approximately 5 additional minutes if the dumplings are very cold.

Freeze: Freeze cooled baked dumplings with their sauce in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating. The pastry will be softer than when freshly baked.

Nutrition (per serving)

Estimated for 1 whole-apple dumpling with one-sixth of the sauce, excluding ice cream and optional variations.