These heavenly Mountain Dew Apple Dumplings are so easy to make!
They’re wrapped in crescent rolls and covered with the perfect mix of butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla.
Ready in a flash, they’re just what you need as an after-dinner treat. Just add a scoop of ice cream and dig in!
Easy Mountain Dew Apple Dumplings
Apple dumplings are the perfect fall treat. But they’re so good, you’ll want them all year round!
From-scratch dumplings are great. But on a busy weeknight, this short-cut dessert is a game changer.
Wrap crisp apple wedges in ready-made crescent roll dough, then top them with a dreamy sauce.
The secret ingredient? Mountain Dew! The flavor and sugars caramelize in the oven, turning these apple dumplings into something irresistible.
This is a quick and easy dessert for any occasion. Top it off with a scoop of ice cream, and it’s like apple pie without all the hard work.
Ingredients for Mountain Dew Apple Dumplings
- Granny Smith Apples: These are some of the best apples to use for baking because they’re crisp, perfectly tart, and release a minimum amount of juice. But Honey Crisp and Gala will work too!
- Crescent Roll Dough: Canned crescent rolls make this recipe easy and foolproof. Plus, the dumplings come out perfectly golden brown!
- Butter: I prefer unsalted butter for this recipe.
- Brown Sugar: You can also mix it up with 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup white.
- Ground Cinnamon: Feel free to adjust these amounts to your taste buds.
- Mountain Dew: The light, citrusy flavor pairs perfectly with the Granny Smith apples and the buttery brown sugar sauce. It’s the secret ingredient that really makes this recipe pop!
- Vanilla: The secret ingredient in nearly every baking recipe.
How to Make Mountain Dew Apple Dumplings
1. Prepare. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with butter, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Slice the apples into eight wedges each.
2. Assemble the dumplings. Unroll the dough and separate it into triangles. Then, roll each apple edge in a triangle of dough, starting at the larger end.
Once you’ve wrapped each one, place it in the prepared baking dish.
3. Make the buttery topping. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Then, stir in the sugar. Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens.
Then, add the cinnamon and vanilla. Pour the mixture over the dumplings in the baking dish.
4. Add the Mountain Dew. Pour this around – not on top of – the dumplings.
5. Bake. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes or until the dumplings are golden brown.
Then, remove them from heat, add ice cream (if desired), and enjoy!
What are the Best Apples to Use?
Granny Smith Apples are definitely a baker’s favorite for this recipe. They have the perfect amount of tartness to counter the sweetness of the dumplings.
But there are many apples that will work for this recipe.
- Honey Crisp
- Jonathan
- Gala
- Granny Smith
- Golden Delicious
- Pink Lady
Granny Smith and Honey Crisp retain lots of fresh apple flavor while releasing a minimum amount of juice. They also do a great job of holding their shape after baking.
Tips & Tricks
- Use an Apple corer. Doing so will allow you to slice and quarter your apples in one fell swoop.
- Vary the soda you use. You can also make these Apple dumplings with Sprite or ginger ale. But my personal favorite is Mountain Dew!
- Add extra cinnamony sweetness. To make your dumplings even more flavorful, coat the apples with cinnamon and sugar before you wrap them.
- Try the recipe with peaches. While apples are the star of this dish, you can also replace them with another fabulous fruit: peaches! I swear it tastes just like peach cobbler, but it’s a lot easier to make. Follow the same recipe instructions, but use peaches instead of apples. You’ll thank me later.
- Watch where you’re pouring. Pour the Mountain Dew around the dumplings (not directly on top of them!). This ensures that the cinnamon mixture forms a nice crust on top and prevents the dumplings from coming out soggy.
- Don’t forget the juice. When you serve these, be sure to scoop up some of the juice at the bottom of the pan and pour generously over the apple dumplings.
- Make them healthier. Reduce the butter to 1 stick and use 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup Splenda. You can also use reduced-fat crescent rolls. You still get a delicious treat, but with a lot less calories.
Top Your Apple Dumplings With Ice Cream and Caramel Sauce
Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Honestly this combination of sweet and creamy might be my all-time favorite.
For an extra divine treat, drizzle with a bit of caramel sauce. If you’re in a pinch, whipped cream works wonders as well!
Mountain Dew Apple Dumplings
16
servings20
minutes45
minutes333
kcalThese Apple Dumplings are made with Granny Smith apples, lightly sweetened and seasoned, then wrapped in crescent rolls and baked to perfection.
Ingredients
2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored
2 (8 count) cans refrigerated crescent roll dough
3/4 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 (12 ounce) can or bottle Mountain Dew
1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Cut the peeled and cored apples into 8 wedges each. Set aside.
- Unroll the crescent roll dough onto a lightly floured surface and separate into triangles. Place one apple wedge on the large end of each triangle, then roll them up like croissants. Place the rolled dumplings into the baking dish.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter and stir in the brown sugar. Continue cooking until well blended and thick, stirring constantly. Then stir in the cinnamon and vanilla and pour the mixture over the apple dumplings.
- Pour Mountain Dew around the dumplings – not on top and bake for 35-45 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Serve with ice cream, if desired, and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
- Calories: 273kcal
- Carbohydrates: 33g
- Protein: 3g
- Fat: 15g
- Saturated Fat: 8g
- Sodium: 274mg
- Potassium: 50mg
- Sugar: 21g
- Vitamin A: 84IU
This sounds delicious. Do you need to peel the apples before cutting?
Hey, Arlene! Yes, peel the apples first, then cut and core them. 🙂 Happy baking!
If using peaches, do you use canned or fresh?
Hi, Diane! I would recommend using fresh peaches, as canned peaches may break down and become a bit mushier than fresh ones. Fresh, ripe freestone peaches would be my recommendation. 🙂
I love your recipes. Keep going.
Since I don’t have a big oven and I can’t fit a 9 x 13 pan in the oven that I’m using, can I do these in an 8 x 8 pan like 4 at a time? I’m assuming I would still do it at 3:50° but like maybe not as long. And just kind of keep an eye on them. I’m really trying to figure out how to do this since I’m using an air fryer that actually doubles as a baking oven. It’s just not big, thank you so so much.
Hi Lauren, you can adapt the recipe for an 8×8 pan. Just follow these steps:
Cut the peeled and cored apples into 8 wedges each. You may only need to use about 12 wedges in total, depending on the size of your apples and how tightly you pack them.
Unroll the crescent roll dough on a lightly floured surface and separate into triangles. Place an apple wedge on the large end of each triangle, then roll them up. You’ll end up with 8 apple dumplings. Arrange these dumplings in the greased 8×8-inch baking dish. They will fit snugly. The baking time should be the same.
Hope this works for you!
I assume you would cut the amounts in half for only eight?
Hi Jeanann! Yes, you can absolutely cut the recipe in half for a smaller batch.
In that case, I recommend baking them in an 8×8-inch dish. Also, they might not need as long in the oven. So, check on them after about 25 minutes, then every 5 minutes or so until done.
Hope this helps!
Can these be made the day before for a pot luck? If so, do they need to be refrigerated or can they be left out and served at room temp?
Hi Naomi!
The best way to prep these ahead is to follow the instructions to #3, cover and refrigerate the dish, then continue with #4 the next day.
So you’d cut and wrap the apples in the crescent rolls, place them in the baking dish, then store in the fridge.
The next day, make the brown sugar and butter mix and continue with baking as directed.
If you make the whole dish ahead, the crescent rolls will absorb a lot of the liquid, making them gummy.
After baking, you can cover the dish loosely with a sheet of foil to keep them warm. They’ll be fine for an hour or two.
Will diet soda work?
Hi Dorothy!
Yes, diet soda will work, it just won’t have quite the same taste.
But if you enjoy diet Mountain Dew, go for it!