National Apple Dumpling Day
Getting tired of apple pie? Try apple dumplings instead, a delicious apple-filled treat containing cinnamon, nutmeg, and perhaps cloves or lemon zest.
Celebrate National Apple Dumpling Day by positioning apple dumplings as a heritage dessert alternative to pie, driving recipe content, ingredient sales, and bakery/restaurant promotions in September.
- 'Tired of pie? Try this European classic'—recipe video featuring spiced apple dumplings
- Heritage dessert spotlight: how apple dumplings went from peasant food to grandma's favorite
- September baking challenge: perfect your apple dumpling recipe with our spice bundle
- Bakery feature: local shops celebrating National Apple Dumpling Day with limited-time offerings
With their origins as a humble peasant dish from the colder European climates of England, Bavaria and Austria, apple dumplings have crossed the Atlantic and spread their sweet smell to the New World. Over the centuries, they have become an internationally loved treat found in many grandmothers’ cookbooks and certainly worth of their own day of celebration.
Originally, apple dumplings used to be boiled and steamed, and the word itself comes from German dampf, meaning steam. Nowadays, this aromatic dish is typically baked and stuffed with spiced and sweetened Granny Smith apples, previously cored and peeled. The crucial spice is cinnamon, though nutmeg and lemon zest are popular as well.
People across Europe and Northern America bake the dumplings for dessert all the time during the apple harvest season, but they also enjoy them year round using dried apples if necessary. Revisit the smells of your childhood and celebrate the National Apple Dumpling Day by serving this rustic treat with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or drenched in decadent caramel sauce.