Country Apple Dumplings

1 lg. apple

½ tsp. cinnamon

1 can Pillsbury Crescent dough

½ tsp. vanilla

½ c. butter

¾ c. or 6 oz. 7-UP

2/3 c. sugar

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Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8 baking dish. Peel apple skin off apples and slice into 8-10 wedges. Separate the crescent roll dough into triangles. Roll each apple wedge in crescent roll dough starting at the wide end. Pinch to seal.Cover apple and place in the baking dish. Melt butter in a small saucepan and stir in the sugar and cinnamon. Heat, then whisk to combine. The mixture will slowly combine and thicken. When it’s thick, remove from heat and add vanilla. Pour cinnamon mixture over the apple dumplings. Then, pour 7-UP over the dumplings.Bake for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown.

Helpful Hints when creating your Appetizer or beverage

• Add flavor to tea by dissolving old-fashioned lemon drops or hardmint candies in it. They melt quickly and keep the tea brisk.
• Make your own spiced tea or cider. Place orange peels, wholecloves, and cinnamon sticks in a 6-inch square piece of cheesecloth.Gather the corners and tie with a string. Steep in hot cider or tea for10 minutes; steep longer if you want a stronger flavor.
• Always chill juices or sodas before adding them to beverage recipes.
• Calorie-free club soda adds sparkle to iced fruit juices and reducescalories per portion.
• To cool your punch, float an ice ring made from the punch rather than using ice cubes. It appears more decorative, prevents diluting, and does not melt as quickly.
• Place fresh or dried mint in the bottom of a cup of hot chocolate for acool and refreshing taste.
• When making fresh lemonade or orange juice, one lemon yields about 1/4 cup juice, while one orange yields about 1/3 cup juice.
• Never boil coffee; it brings out acids and causes a bitter taste. Store ground coffee in the refrigerator or freezer to keep it fresh.
• Always use cold water for electric drip coffee makers. Use 1–2 tablespoons ground coffee for each cup of water.
• How many appetizers should you prepare? Allow 4–6 appetizers per guest if a meal quickly follows. If a late meal is planned, allow 6–8appetizers per guest. If no meal follows, allow 8–10 pieces per guest.
• If serving appetizers buffet-style or seating is limited, consider no-mess finger foods that don’t require utensils to eat.
• Think “outside the bowl.” Choose brightly-colored bowls to set off dips or get creative with hollowed-out loaves of bread, bell peppers, heads of cabbage, or winter squash.
• Cheeses should be served at room temperature –approximately 70°.
• To keep appetizers hot, make sure you have enough oven space and warming plates to maintain their temperature.
• To keep appetizers cold, set bowls on top of ice or rotate bowls of dips from the fridge every hour or as needed.

Helpful Hints when creating your desserts

• Keep eggs at room temperature to create greater volume when whipping egg whites for meringue.
• Pie dough can be frozen. Roll dough out between sheets of plastic wrap, stack in a pizza box, and keep the box in the freezer. Defrost in the fridge and use as needed. Use within 2 months.
• Place your pie plate on a cake stand when ready to flute the edges of the pie. The cake stand will make it easier to turn the pie plate, and you won’t have to stoop over.
• When making decorative pie edges, use a spoon for a scalloped edge. Use a fork to make crosshatched and herringbone patterns.
• When cutting butter into flour for pastry dough, the process is easier if you cut the butter into small pieces before adding it to the flour.
• Pumpkin and other custard-style pies are done when they jiggles lightly in the middle. Fruit pies are done when the pastry is golden, juices bubble, and fruit is tender.
• Keep the cake plate clean while frosting by sliding 6-inch strips of waxed paper under each side of the cake. Once the cake is frosted and the frosting is set, pull the strips away, leaving a clean plate.
• Create a quick decorating tube to ice your cake with chocolate. Put chocolate in a heat-safe, zipper-lock plastic bag. Immerse it in simmering water until the chocolate is melted. Snip off the tip of one corner, and squeeze the chocolate out of the bag.
• Achieve professionally decorated cakes with a silky, molten look by blow-drying the frosting with a hair dryer until the frosting melts slightly.
• To ensure that you have equal amounts of batter in each pan when making a layered cake, use a kitchen scale to measure the weight.
• Prevent cracking in your cheesecake by placing a shallow pan of hot water on the bottom oven rack and keeping the oven door shut during baking.
• A cheesecake needs several hours to chill and set.
• For a perfectly cut cheesecake, dip the knife into hot water and clean it after each cut. You can also hold a length of dental floss taut and pull it down through the cheesecake to make a clean cut across the diameter of the cake.