Apple Dumplings

2 cups water
1½ cups sugar
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
8 drops red food coloring
¼ cup (half stick) butter
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2 cups flour
2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp salt
¾ cup shortening
½ cup milk
6 small apples, peeled and cored

For syrup, mix first 5 ingredients; cook 5 minutes. Remove from heat; add butter.

Sift together dry ingredients; cut in shortening till mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add milk all at once; stir just till flour is moistened. On lightly floured surface, roll to 18" x 12" rectangle.

Cut into six squares. Place apple on each square. Sprinkle each apple generously with additional sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg; dot each apple with butter. Moisten the edges of the pastry. Bring corners to the center and pinch edges together, sealing each apple within its pastry wrap. Place 1" apart in ungreased 13" x 9" baking pan. Pour syrup over dumplings. Bake at 375º for 35 to 40 minutes, when pastry is nicely browned and speckled as biscuits would be. Serve warm with cream. Serves 6.

Alternate Assembly: While the above assembly makes a lovely and impressive presentation, our family more often prefers a different method. I roll the pastry to the designated size and spread with a thin layer of butter. Chop the apples (6 small or 4 not-so-small) and distribute atop the buttered pastry. Sprinkle with sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Hereafter, work quickly, as the sugar begins immediately to draw moisture from the apples. Roll as one would cinnamon roll dough and cut into 12 equal pieces. This method is forgiving, so don't worry about holes or escaped apples. Just poke it back together any old way. Lay cut side up in pan like one would cinnamon rolls (4 rows of 3 rolls) and pour syrup over. Bake as directed.

This is actually easier than trying to fit the pastry squares around the six apples, unless the apples are particularly small. And we like the very even distribution of apples throughout the pastry. Serves 12.

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