When I was young, my mom taught me how to make shriveled apple head dolls. We carved and dried the apples, created a body out of a wire coat hanger and some batting, added a dress and some hair, and voilà! Pioneer style playthings! I remember being very pleased with the end result.
This evening’s spooky snack brought those old memories back to mind. Last year I saw a picture of some apple dumplings carved to look like shrunken heads. It made me laugh and I knew that they needed to be on the menu this year! Malia was on hand to help carve the apples, which was good, because let’s face it. Artistically, she is far more skilled than I am. I didn’t do too badly, but Malia carved three faces in the time it took me to do one. 😂 So while she was putting on the finishing touches, I switched gears and focused on the pastry.
I haven’t made apple dumplings in years, so it was a nice change from our typical cookies and cakes. We did learn a few lessons though. First, if you use gigantic apples, they will take forever to bake. Second, you should use a bigger pan that will allow the sauce to be shallower, so the pie crust doesn’t fall off when you try to get them out of the pan. Especially since the pastry on the carved heads does not get wrapped up all snug on the top. Third, this old-fashioned dessert is a classic for a reason: they are so delicious! Especially when served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. But only if carving up and devouring a face doesn’t bother you. 😜
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