Caramel Dumplings

Apparently the new cooler, autumn-inspired temperatures outside have refueled my desire to spend time baking. My willingness to hang out in front of a 350 degree plus oven is inversely proportional to the temperature outside when we go out to play after I bake. Today I spent time making the Oreos (previously posted) that take forever, and then later on, I made dessert again.

Serves: Many in Time: 35 minutes or so

Dumplings:

2 C. All-Purpose Flour

2 tsp. baking powder

2 Tbsp. sugar

4 Tbsp. butter, melted

1 C. milk

pinch salt

1 tsp. vanilla

Sauce:

3/4 C. sugar

3/4 C. brown sugar

2 Tbsp. butter

3 1/2 C. water

1 tsp. vanilla

-In a medium sized bowl, mix dumpling ingredients and then set aside.

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

-In a saucepan, combine sauce ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil for 5 minutes. Sauce will be thin. Pour sauce into an ungreased 9X13 baking dish.

-Drop dumplings by the spoonful into the sauce. Bake until golden brown. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream if desired.

My friend asked me to try this recipe for the two of us after seeing it done on KUTV. Since it was just the two of us trying it out, we halved everything and baked it in an 8X8 pan. Using liberal sizes for the dumplings, it baked for about 15 minutes until the peaks started to brown. The sauce was still fairly soupy after baking (which I guess it should be), but had a great flavor. This was a fantastically unusual dessert. Next time, I may try adding some cinnamon or nutmeg to the dumplings (because that is a time-honored trick for me from everything to coffee to any kind of batter you can name!).