Getting In The Fall Mood

(This is the only recipe I have not tried on my blog. It sounds good and looks festive! If anyone tries it, be sure to let me know!)
Old-Fashioned Apple Dumplings

Dumplings:
2 cups flour
2 tea baking powder
1 tea salt
2/3 cup chilled butter
1/2 2% milk
4 medium baking apples such as Rome, Ida Red or Cortland
6 tab sugar, divided
1 1/2 tab cinnamon
1/2 tea nutmeg
1/3 cup dried cranberries (optional)

Syrup:
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 tea cinnamon
1/3 tea nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375. To prepare dumplings, combine flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Cut in butter. Pour in milk and stir to form a dough. Add more flour if needed to make dough less sticky. Do not overwork. Divide dough in half. Roll out one half on a floured surface to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut into two 6 inch squares. Cut off top and bottoms of each apple to flatten. Rinse in cold water and pat dry with a paper towel. Mix together 4 tablespoons sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Place 1 apple in center of each dough square. Fill cores with cranberries and a little sugar mixture. Generously sprinkle half the remaining sugar mixture on apples. Moisten the edges of pastry square with a finger dipped in cool water and bring corners together at the top of the apple. Press edges together to seal and pinch together any tears in the dough around the apple. Repeat with remaining dough and apples. Place all four dumplings in a baking dish, 1 inch apart, and decorate with cut outs made from leftover dough. Combine syrup ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil then remove from heat to cool slightly. Pour around dumplings and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake 45 minutes until apples are tender and pastry is nicely browned. If pastry is browning too quickly, place foil over the top for the final 10-15 minutes of baking.
Per serving: 0 calories, 0gm fat, 0mg chol, 8g prot :)