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| Since I didn't get a picture of the dumplings, you can look at the lovely farm land where this event was held. |
You know how some people can't keep their New Year's resolutions for even a week? So pitiful, those folks are. Me? I managed to stay strong on my Never Use Crescent Rolls In A Recipe resolution for almost six whole months. Then I caved...and it is all Pioneer Woman's fault.
There was a women's game night scheduled last week. Ladies at our church look forward to this evening for months in advance as it only happens once a year. OK, maybe women get together and socialize more often than that but this particular once-a-year outing happens at a church member's farm house way out in the boonies, amidst the corn fields and rolling farm lands. It's a beautiful setting and a fun evening. In fact, the event is so highly touted among the lady folk at our church that I actually persuaded the hostess to move the event up a bit on the calendar so I could still be in town, before the long haul back to San Diego.
What does this have to do with crescent rolls, you ask? Everything. When it was time to think of a dish to share, I had lots of ideas ranging from very ambitious to as easy as whipping up some spinach dip. Then I saw a video on Facebook (where else?) and I was suddenly hooked on making peach dumplings. Because who doesn't love peaches in the summer time? Added to the natural allure of a seasonal fruit was the intrigue of using a carbonated beverage with the peaches. Not often you mix rolls and Sprite in a recipe, right?
There were a few minutes of trepidation when I told someone what I was planning to make and they mentioned having tried the apple dumpling version of this same recipe, but feeling like it came out kind of gooey. Little warning bells started ringing in my head as I thought back to those ooey, wet ham roll-up thingees that first made me swear off crescent rolls. Was I doomed to repeat that same failure for basically the identical group of ladies who'd been at my house last Christmas, pretending to love the idea of eating mushy, wet dough???? It seemed like a pretty dicey proposition but there was Pioneer Woman cheerfully assuring me that these dumplings would be the hit of any gathering I took them to. Surely Ree wouldn't lie to me...at least I hoped she wouldn't as I poured that 7 oz can of Sprite into the pan, creating what looked like an impossibly drenched dish of crescent roll dumplings. At this point it was up to Ree to dry up that pan of carbonated drink and come through on her promise of deliciousness.
Wet or not, crescent rolls or not - what baked up was a pan full of summer goodness. The dumplings were absolutely perfect with a big dollop of ice-cream on top. After my friends had enjoyed them for game night, I took the few leftovers home and served them up to my brother the next night. He couldn't stop talking about how good they tasted. Best part of all, we both agreed that watching TV and eating a bowl of the dumplings and ice-cream brought back summer memories of West Virginia and being at our grandparents house for peach pie almost every night.
Peach Dumplings
Thepioneerwoman.com
Ingredients
2 cans of the dreaded Crescent Rolls
16 whole frozen peach slices (yea...I know! Why not fresh? Maybe they'd be even better but I was content to take the easy way out and use frozen. When the slices seemed a bit "puny" I stuffed two into one dumpling and that seemed to work just fine)
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) butter
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
Ground cinnamon for sprinkling (I sprinkled rather liberally, mostly by accident, but it turned out to be a fortuitous slip of my hand as the cinnamon enhanced the flavors)
1 can Sprite, 7-Up, or Mountain Dew (I actually used one of the smaller 7 oz cans and that was plenty)
Extra butter, for the pan
Whipped cream for serving or ICE-CREAM!
Directions
Butter a 9X13 inch baking dish. Roll each peach slice in a crescent roll. Place in the pan. Melt butter, then add sugar and barely stir. Add vanilla, stir once or twice, then pour the entire mixture over the rolls/peaches in the pan. On the video, Pioneer Woman explains that your butter mixture should still be grainy when you pour it into the pan. It looked kind of like runny applesauce. Pour 3/4 of a large can (or all of the small can) of Sprite around the edges and in the middle of the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with ice cream of whipped cream and spoon some of the sweet sauces from the pan over the top.
