apple and caramel dumplings

The following train of thought sums up me in a nutshell. Upon wandering aimlessly into the kitchen, I think to myself:

I'm tired! It's COLD! I'm hungry. What am I making for dinner? What am I going to eat now? I want dumplings!

So dumplings is what I made. After less than 10 minutes of prep, thanks to my unnecessary-but-oh-so-useful-for-pastries food processor, I had them in the oven and starting to bubble. Oooo, the yummy gooey goodness!

apple and caramel dumplings
recipe from Donna Hay Magazine June/July 2009

2 cups self-rising flour, sifted
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
150 g cold butter, chopped
1/2 cup milk
small red apples

caramel sauce:
60 g butter
1.5 cups brown sugar
2.5 cups water

Preheat oven to 180 C/320F. Make caramel sauce by placing butter, brown sugar and water in large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over high heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to boil, then remove from heat and set aside.

Place flour, sugar, and vanilla in large bowl and stir to combine. Add the butter, using your fingertips to rub it into the flour mixture until it resembles fine breadcrumbs (I first whiz the ingredients without butter in the food processor to mix, then drop in the butter, pulse to mix and voila!). Gradually add the milk, stirring until a dough forms (do not use the processor for this step). Divide the dough into 6 round pieces, place into caramel mixture, and top with the apples.* Bake for 30 minutes or until the dumplings are cooked when tested with a skewer.

*I don't have a saucepan that can accommodate all this and fit in the tiny oven. I put the dumplings in a glass baking dish, quarter the apples and fit them in between the dumplings, and then I pour the caramel sauce over. This time I chose too small a dish, as the sauce bubbles and the dumplings expand, but it all works out.