Easy Apple Dumplings, and my :Deliciously Healthy Thanksgiving Menu

The one and only Pioneer Women has this amazingly delicious apple dumpling recipe. It involves 2 sticks of butter,
1 1/2 cups of sugar, and 2 cans of mountain dew, among other things.

It's so good...but you know that's going to go
straight to my hips.

I also love her recipe, because it's very, very simple and quick. The prep time is seriously like 10 minutes.

Simple + Delicious = It has to find a place at my Thanksgiving table this year.

I just had to figure out how to lighten them up a bit.
A little less heart-attack in a casserole dish, and more Deliciously Healthy.

And I think that's exactly what I did.

I cut out some of the sugar, cut the butter in half, and used
apple cider in lieu of mountain dew.And it tastes exactly the same.
That always amazes me.

(because I was experimenting with this, I cut the recipe in half, making only 8 dumplings, instead of 16. I've listed the full recipe, but my pictures are of half the recipe)

Deliciously Healthy Apple Dumplings:

What you need:

• 2 granny smith apples
• 2 cans of Pillsbury crescent rolls
• 1 cup apple cider or apple juice
• 1 stick of smart balance buttery spread (it's half butter, half margarine... and half the cal.)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• cinnamon

What you do:
Preheat your oven to 350. Butter a 9x13 baking dish. Peel and core apples, then cut each apple into 8 slices, so you end up with 16 apple slices. Roll out the crescent roll dough. Then roll up an apple slice into each of the crescent rolls. Lay them side by side in your greased baking dish. Melt 1 stick of butter in sauce pan over low heat. When butter is melted, add apple cider, sugar, vanilla, and just barely stir together. You want it to be lumpy. Poor the mixture over the top of the dumplings. Sprinkle cinnamon over top, and bake for 30-40 minutes. Then get ready for some warm gooey goodness.
My husband may, or may not have screamed like a girl when he had one.I added a little low-fat whipped cream. It would be divine with vanilla ice cream.

info:
servings: 16
serving size: 1 dumpling
calories per serving: 230
How many calories are in a traditional slice of apple pie? 410!
I nearly cut the calories in half.
I'm making these apple dumplings in lieu of apple pie. Because by the time you're done eating your turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and everything else, there's just no room to eat 5 different kinds of pie. You always hope there's going to be, but there never is. These apple dumplings are going to be the perfect solution, to the too many pies problem. A slice of pumpkin pie, and one of these, and I'm
good to go.

What other Deliciously Healthy yumminess is going to be on my table?
Funny you should ask:

• Turkey, of course ;)
• Mashed potatoes
• Gina's stuffing
• Whole wheat rolls
• Cranberry sauce out of the can. Thanksgiving isn't thanksgiving to me, without a can shaped mold of cranberry sauce on the table.
• And pumpkin pie. This is going to be this Monday's kitchen adventure. Wish me luck, and tune in on Monday to see how it goes!

I hope everyone has a very happy, and healthy thanksgiving!