Apple dumplings can be served hot, cold, or room temperature for breakfast, dessert, or as a main dish.

[1] In 1726 Nicholas Amhurst complained about apple dumplings at Oxford, saying "nothing can be expected from only rot-gut small beer, and heavy apple-dumplings, but stupidity, sleepiness, and indolence.

[6] The 1801 domestic encyclopedia Oeconomische Encyclopädie oder Allgemeines System der Land-, Haus- und Staats-Wirthschaft includes instructions for making Apfelklöße, "small apple dumplings.

[10] In 1879 Mark Twain included baked apple dumplings on a list of American foods "unmatched by European hotel cuisine".

[13] A young pioneer's diary entry for July 4th, 1859 on Oregon Trail records having apple dumplings for supper that evening.

"[2]: 76 Apple dumplings are typically made by wrapping a pastry crust around a peeled, cored, and sometimes quartered apple, sometimes stuffing the hollow from the core with butter, sugar, sometimes dried fruits such as raisins, sultanas, or currants, and spices, sealing the pastry, and pouring a spiced sauce over the top before baking or, in the case of older recipes, boiling.

[20] Fruit dumplings, including apple, called ovocné knedlíky, are popular in Czech cuisine and are eaten with quark or tvaroh cheese.

[27] Annual apple dumpling festivals are held in the towns of Atwood, Illinois,[28] Stuart, Virginia,[29] and Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania.

[30] Jane Cunningham Croly published a 19th-century recipe for apple dumplings contributed to Jennie June's American Cookery Book by the American poet sisters Alice Cary and Phoebe Cary:[31] Peel and core large greening apples, of a uniform size, and fill the cavity with clear lemon marmalade.

Enclose each one in a nice paste, rolled rather thin, and draw small knitted clothes over them, which give them a very pretty effect.

[22] Croatian cuisine includes knedle sa šljivama, a plum dumpling with a potato dough, usually eaten as a dessert.