Sprite Apple Dumplings
E
By Emma
Certified Culinary Professional
•
Recipe tested & approved
Apple slices rolled in crescent dough, baked with a buttery cinnamon sugar topping and Sprite poured around for caramelizing. Uses peeled and cored apples, crescent rolls, melted butter, brown sugar instead of white, cinnamon, and a pinch of flour for thickening. Baked until golden brown, served warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. A quick dessert with simple pantry staples and a soda twist. Watch for bubbling syrup and dough color, not just timer.
Prep:
20 min
Cook:
40 min
Total:
60 min
Servings:
8 servings
#American dessert
#easy baking
#fruit pastry
#soda desserts
#fall baking
#quick dessert
Start peeling apples, coring with a sharp knife or that slicer everyone loves. Peel or no peel? Depends if you want rustic or delicate. I’ve made these a dozen ways. Using soda to soak around rolls is a game-changer. It keeps things moist, bubbly. Pour carefully or patience ends with sticky oven spills. Cinnamon-sugar butter glaze melts into edges, turns veiny and crackly in oven heat. Watch for bubbles rising, dough turning golden brown, sometimes unevenly but that’s the charm. Tested that timing so you don’t have doughy disasters or burnt crust. No hand holding here, just feel and smell your way. Warm apples give you soft sweetness surrounded by flakey crescent dough—reminds me of lazy Sunday afternoons and the wait for the first bites.
Ingredients
- 1 medium apple peeled and cored into 8 wedges
- 1 can crescent rolls (8 count)
- 4 tablespoons melted butter
- 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 cup lemon-lime soda (Sprite preferred)
About the ingredients
Substitute a medium tart apple like Granny Smith for balance or sweeter Fuji for dessert lovers. Brown sugar adds caramel notes; swap white sugar for neutral sweetness or coconut sugar for a deeper edge. The flour thickens syrup; skip if you like it runnier but risk sogginess. Melted butter is non-negotiable—it seeps into dough edges for crispness and flavor. Lemon-lime soda injects lightness, furthers caramelization through acidity and bubbles; water won’t replicate this but is a fallback if avoiding soda—add extra sugar if you do.
Method
- Preheat oven to 345 degrees F; grease an 8×8 or 9×9 baking dish lightly with nonstick spray or butter. Avoid over greasing or dough won’t crisp up.
- Cut apple into 8 thick slices, about 1/2 inch each. I prefer using an apple slicer that cores and slices in one swift motion; quick, less mess. Peel if you like softer texture and clean look, but leaving skin adds bite and nutrients.
- Unroll crescent dough carefully. Place one apple slice on the wide end of each triangle. Roll up slowly but tightly; leaking juices make a soggy mess later. Seal seams by pinching dough edges.
- Arrange rolled apple crescents snugly in the pan, seam side down to avoid unrolling in the oven. They puff and brown unevenly if spaced too far apart, so crowd but not squish.
- Mix melted butter with brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour until just combined — don’t overmix or topping gets lumpy or too thick to drizzle. Use brown sugar for caramel notes; white sugar works if needed but less depth.
- Spoon this topping evenly over each crescent roll, let some drip between rolls. It melts into sticky cinnamon glaze as it cooks.
- Slowly pour lemon-lime soda in the empty spaces of the pan around the dumplings — not over them — so it simmers and creates a bubbly syrup. Carbonation helps lighten texture but can make it overflow if too full. Give room for bubbles to rise.
- Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, checking after 30. Look for golden-brown dough with crisp edges, syrup bubbling thick and amber colored. The smell will be irresistible — sweet, buttery with cinnamon wafting through the kitchen. If the tops brown fast but syrup isn’t thickening, tent loosely with foil to prevent burning.
- Remove from oven when golden and jiggly sugar thickened syrup clings around edges. Cool five minutes before serving, or toppings run off hot.
- Serve warm topped with fresh whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream to cut the sweetness. I often grab salted caramel ice cream for salty-sweet balance—try it.
- Common problems: underbaked dough feels doughy or pale—extend bake, watch for brown spots; overbaking dries apples, so test apple softness with a fork gently. If soda evaporates too quickly, add a splash midbake.
- If you prefer less sweetness, reduce sugar topping by a tablespoon or swap soda for unsweetened sparkling water plus a drizzle of honey after baking.
Cooking tips
Dough sealing is key—leaks explode sugary juice in oven, sticky mess to clean. Roll tightly, pinch edges. Baking uncovered bakes off moisture, crisping dough tops and allowing syrup to condense evenly. Watch edges, not timer—golden hue signals doneness better than a clock. Bubbles at pan edges indicate syrup thickening; absence means too dry or overbaked. Tenting with foil stops overbrowning if syrup still milky. Serve warmish—too hot and syrup runs too thin; too cool and you lose sticky richness. Mixing melted butter and sugar just until combined avoids dense pasty topping and keeps pouring easy. Spoon sauce topping carefully, letting gravity do the work.
Chef's notes
- 💡 Peeling apples optional but impacts texture; peeled gives delicate bites, skin adds chew and nutrients. Slice thick for structure; thinner means mush risk. Use tart apples for balance, sweeter if want candy notes. Roll dough tightly - juices leak if loose, turn soggy underneath. Pinch seams hard to seal and keep shape baking.
- 💡 Butter and brown sugar blend is glue and flavor base. Mix with cinnamon and a pinch flour for syrup thickening, don’t overmix or topping gets dense. Spread topping evenly but some dripping between rolls is key - makes sticky pockets. Wait until golden edges before checking syrup, color and bubbles speak doneness better than timer.
- 💡 Pour soda gently into pan around dumplings, not over them. Soda bubbles rise and simmer, creating syrups that caramelize edges. Too much liquid means soggy bottoms or spillover; too little dries out syrup before cook done. Midbake add splash if low. Skip soda? Use sparkling water plus honey but lose caramel punch.
- 💡 Watch bubbles at pan edges, syrup thickening to glossy amber. If syrup running thin or bubbling stops, tent loosely with foil to keep from burning while finishing bake. Undercooked dough feels doughy, pale; extend bake time but watch apples don’t dry out or fall apart. Crisp edges mean ready. Cool five minutes minimum to set glaze.
- 💡 Serving hot runs risk syrup running off. Cooling firm ups sticky sauce thick enough to hold on. Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream cuts sugar intensity. Tried salted caramel ice cream at end for salted-sweet hit after many runs. Tweak sugar down by tablespoon if want less sweetness or replace soda with lightly sweetened sparkling water.
Common questions
Peel apples or not?
Peel depends on texture you want. Skin adds chew, nutrients, rustic look. Peel for delicate, soft. Thick apple slices hold shape better with skin; peeled can get mushy faster especially if thinner. Personal call but worth testing both for your style.
Soda alternatives?
Sprite is acidic, bubbly, adds caramel notes. If no soda, use sparkling water plus drizzle honey after bake for sweetness or a splash of apple juice but won’t have same caramel glaze. Water alone loses bubbling effect, glaze thinner, more chance of soggy dough.
Syrup too runny or overflowing?
Reduce soda volume next time or mix topping thicker with flour. Too much liquid dilutes caramelization and leaks mess. Pour slowly between dumplings not over to control bubbling. Midbake check for bubbles rising, syrup amber before finishing. Tent foil stops syrup burning if browning too quick.
Can leftovers be stored?
Cool completely first. Fridge wrapped tight for up to 3 days. Reheat uncovered in oven or microwave but glaze can thin. Freeze individually wrapped; thaw in fridge and reheat to revive sticky topping and soft apples. Avoid sealing hot or syrup runs off and crust soggy.
