Apple Dumplings with Cinnamon-Brown Sugar Filling

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Butter a 9x13-inch baking dish.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the pastry into a 60x40cm rectangle. Cut into six 20cm squares.

Place an apple on each square with the cored opening facing upward.

Cut butter into 8 pieces; place 1 piece in the opening of each apple; reserve the remaining butter for sauce.

Divide brown sugar between apples, adding some inside each cored opening and the rest around the base of each apple. Sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg over apples.

Using slightly wet fingertips, bring one corner of the pastry square up to the top of the apple, then bring the opposite corner to the top and press together. Bring up the two remaining corners, and seal. Slightly pinch the dough at the sides to completely seal in the apple. Repeat with the remaining apples and place in the prepared baking dish.

To make the sauce: Combine water, white sugar, vanilla extract, and reserved butter in a large saucepan. Place over medium heat, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes.

Carefully pour the sauce over dumplings.

Bake for about 50 to 60 minutes until golden brown and crisp on top.

Remove from oven; let cool for a few minutes. Transfer each apple dumpling to a dessert bowl, spooning some of the sauce over the top.