Crescent Roll Apple Dumplings are an easy dumpling recipe made with a brown sugar butter sauce and soda! With puffy, crisp tops and a golden syrup at the bottom, this dessert is a must make for fall!
Love apple dumplings? You may also want to try my Maple Caramel Apple Tart and Overnight Apple French Toast Casserole!
An Extremely Delicious, Incredibly Easy Apple Dumpling Recipe
This Apple Dumpling recipe is not exactly what I would call my norm. It calls for 2 cans of refrigerated crescent roll dough, more butter than I care to mention at this moment, and a can of ginger ale.
That’s right. There’s soda in the apple dumplings.
They’re not exactly what you’d call “from scratch.”
But gosh darn it, if these aren’t the easiest, tastiest apple dumplings I’ve ever had.
This recipe is an adaptation of one that’s been floating around the web and in kitchens everywhere for who knows how long. I haven’t been able to find an original recipe anywhere, but it appears many people have discovered the magic of crescent apple dumplings doused in a can of pop.
You think I’m simplifying don’t you? The crazy thing is, I’m not, and I’ll prove it. Let’s make some easy apple dumplings!
How to Make Apple Dumplings with Crescent Rolls
- Peel, core, and slice 3-4 large apples. I recommend a flavorful variety that holds up when baked, like Honeycrisp, Golden Delicious, or Jonathan.
- Unwrap 2 tubes of crescent rolls (you should have 16 total). Layer a few slices of apple on the wide part of each one, then roll them up and layer them in a buttered 9 x 13 inch pan.
- Whip up a quick sauce by melting 1 stick of butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add ¾ cups of brown sugar and continue to cook, stirring the mixture together until the sugar and butter are well combined. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and salt.
- Pour the mixture evenly over the crescent rolls. Then, open a can of ginger ale and pour it around the sides of the dumplings, avoiding pouring directly over the top.
- Sprinkle everything with cinnamon, then bake in a 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and toasty.
Apple Dumplings with Soda: Variations
While the dumplings bake, the soda melds with the brown sugar sauce forming a sweet, caramely syrup that’s an absolute delight with the crescent wrapped apples.
Most versions of this recipe call for Mountain Dew.
Yes, you heard me right. Mountain Dew is the secret weapon in the easiest ever Apple Dumplings. Unfortunately, we are no longer 18 year olds who regularly pull all-nighters, so we don’t keep Mountain Dew in the house.
What I do always have in the house is Vernor’s ginger ale. It’s the Mr.’s favorite, and since I have an unhealthy obsession with making caramel apple cider floats, we have to like to keep it on hand.
After testing it with both, I prefer the flavor of the ginger ale. That said, feel free to make your apple dumplings with Mountain Dew or 7-Up or Sprite. I would not recommend using a ginger beer, but any kind of ginger soda should work great!
The other changes I made were cutting the butter and sugar almost in half and adding a hefty pinch of salt. I found these were plenty sweet even with the adjustments, and adding salt elevated all the other flavors.
How to Reheat Apple Dumplings
If you can’t quite polish off a pan of these right after they’re baked, there’s still hope! Apple dumplings can be stored at room temperature for a couple days. To reheat, place them in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes to restore their nice crisp texture.
What to Serve with Crescent Roll Apple Dumplings
It bears mentioning that these dumplings look a little frightening before they’re baked. Like my Blackberry Peach Cobbler, everything looks far too sloshy when you’re setting it in the oven. The first time I made these, I expected to pull out a bunch of wet, soggy dumplings.
Instead, I got this: Perfectly golden and crunchy tops, soft baked apple centers, and a to-die-for syrup on the bottom.
I don’t want to tell you what to do, but you should definitely serve these crescent apple dumplings with a giant scoop of vanilla ice cream. It’s the ultimate easy fall dessert.
More Apple Recipes to Make this Fall:
- Fall Sangria
- Chewy Spiced Apple Cake with Bourbon Caramel
- Apple Cinnamon Muffins
- Cinnamon Fried Apples
- Chicken Salad with Apples and Pecans
Crescent Roll Apple Dumplings
Easy Apple Dumplings made with crescent rolls and soda! These ridiculously tasty apple dumplings are puffy and golden with an amazing brown sugar syrup.
Ingredients
- 3 medium size apples (I used Honeycrisp)
- 2 (8 count) cans refrigerated crescent rolls
- 8 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 12 oz can ginger ale
- Cinnamon
Instructions
- Butter a 9 x 13 inch pan and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Place a few thin slices of apple on the wide part of each crescent, then wrap the crescent around them. Place them in the prepared pan. They'll be nice and snug in there!
- In a small saucepan, melt butter. Stir in sugar until sugar and butter are well combined and sugar is nearly dissolved. Turn off heat and stir in the vanilla and salt. Pour butter mixture over crescent rolls.
- Pour ginger ale over the sides and down the middle of the pan, avoiding pouring directly over the top of the crescents. Sprinkle cinnamon evenly over all.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes at 350 degrees, or until tops are browned and crispy. Serve dumplings with ice cream and a heaping spoonful of that delicious sauce.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8Amount Per Serving: Calories: 413Total Fat: 23gSaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 31mgSodium: 529mgCarbohydrates: 50gFiber: 2gSugar: 29gProtein: 2g
I am a really good cook but this was a soupy soggy disaster. Way too much liquid is called for here (melted butter & brown sugar + a can of ginger ale). Was more like Chicken and Dumplings than Apple Dumplings I am sad to say. Soggy dough due to way too much sauce. Sounded good. Followed recipe to the T.
I love this recipe and make it often. I halve the recipe and it’s perfect for an after dinner dessert and leftovers for breakfast the next morning. I have tried it with other fruits (peaches and strawberries) and all are delish. I have also used other sodas (regular and diet sprite) and it doesn’t adversely affect the taste.
Apple dumplings for breakfast is the best! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, and I can’t wait to try a peach version!
This recipe was so easy and wicked delicious. I ended up using 4 apples and cut them into quarters, one for each piece of crescent dough, and a can of root beer. Would definitely make again!
My sauce didn’t thicken. Help!
I’m sorry to hear that! I just made these again recently and the sauce turned out fine—it’s not super thick but shouldn’t be totally runny. The only thing I can think is maybe the butter and sugar mixture wasn’t cooked long enough before adding to the pan.
I made these last night and they were amazing! There was a lot f liquid on the bottom of the pan and I was afraid they would get soggy, so I replayed the rolls immediately. Is this normal?
So glad you liked them. It’s normal for there to be a thick liquid (sort of like a sauce) at the bottom. I recommend serving the rolls immediately so they don’t get soggy!
Are the refrigerated crescent rolls a dough or have they been baked already?
They’re a dough!
Crescent dough can work great in recipes! I think this sounds fabulous.
This is one my favorite versions of an apple dumpling! Using Vernor’s is a great idea – love that stuff 🙂 Your pictures are gorgeous!
Thanks Becca! I had never tried Vernor’s until I met the Mr. He’s from Michigan and it’s pretty much a staple up there. I’m so glad he introduced me to it though. I’m not a huge fan of pop, but I love a glass of Vernor’s!
These dumplings are beautiful! I’m curious to know more about how the ginger ale affects them. Oh, and I like that you say “pop”! My husband insists that it’s soda while I hold firm to it being pop! 😉
Stay strong Jessica! It’s definitely pop, not soda, no matter what husbands may say! 🙂 You know, I’m not even really sure how the pop affects the final product. I do know our ginger ale was pretty flat so I don’t think the fizziness is a requirement for the final product to work. It appears to be one of those baking mysteries though.
I’ve never made dessert dumplings, but those look super delicious!!! I love that you used ginger ale in this instead of Mountain Dew (um, that does not sound good). What does the fizziness do to the final product? I want to try making these using apple cider!
Great question Erika! You know I’m not exactly sure what the fizziness does per say, all I know is that the resulting sauce is most certainly NOT fizzy. And to be honest, the ginger ale I had was opened so it wasn’t the fizziest thing to begin with. So I would say definitely try it with apple cider (or maybe half cider/half ginger ale??) That sounds fantastic!
Thanks so much for the quick reply! That sounds good 🙂
And I should let you know that I think your photos are amazing!! Like that second photo just makes me want to grab that plate and eat that delicious looking dumpling!!