Pour citrus soda over dough-wrapped apples, coupled with 4 other ingredients, into slow cooker for a warm treat that’s my default when I don't know what to make

When I can’t decide what to make, I fall back on these slow cooker Amish-style apple dumplings. They remind me of the church suppers and fall gatherings I grew up with here in the Midwest, where someone always showed up with a pan of warm, saucy dumplings. This version leans on a little modern shortcut—wrapping apples in ready-made dough and pouring citrus soda over the top—so you still get that old-fashioned comfort with almost no fuss. Everything goes right into the slow cooker, then you let it burble away into a cozy, cinnamon-scented dessert that tastes like it took all afternoon, even though it hardly did.

Serve these warm right out of the slow cooker, spooning plenty of the sweet citrus-caramel sauce over each dumpling. A scoop of vanilla ice cream or a spoonful of whipped cream melts into the nooks and crannies and makes it feel like a Sunday dinner dessert. They’re also lovely with a slice of sharp cheddar on the side, the way some old-timers here still eat their apple pie. A hot cup of coffee, tea, or cider rounds it out into the kind of simple, homey treat that finishes off just about any meal.

Servings: 6

3 large firm apples (such as Granny Smith or Honeycrisp), peeled, cored, and halved

Lightly butter or spray the inside of a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker to keep the dumplings from sticking.

Prepare the apples by peeling them, cutting them in half from top to bottom, and removing the cores. Set the apple halves aside.

Open the can of crescent roll dough and separate it into individual triangles. Place one apple half, cut side facing the short edge of a dough triangle.

Wrap each apple half in a dough triangle, stretching the dough gently so it covers as much of the apple as possible. Pinch the seams together lightly so they hold.

Arrange the dough-wrapped apples in a single snug layer in the bottom of the slow cooker. It’s fine if they touch each other.

In a small saucepan or microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter. Stir in the sugar and ground cinnamon until it forms a thick, sandy mixture.

Spoon the butter-sugar-cinnamon mixture evenly over the dough-wrapped apples in the slow cooker, letting some fall between and around them.

Now slowly pour the citrus soda over the dumplings and into the slow cooker, aiming for the spaces between the dumplings so you don’t wash all the sugar mixture off the tops. The liquid should come partway up the sides of the dumplings but not completely cover them.

Cover the slow cooker with the lid and cook on HIGH for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, or on LOW for 4 to 5 hours, until the dough is puffed and cooked through and the apples are tender when pierced with a knife.

Once done, turn off the slow cooker and let the dumplings rest, covered, for about 10 minutes. The sauce will thicken slightly as it stands.

To serve, spoon a warm dumpling into a bowl and ladle some of the citrus-caramel sauce from the bottom of the slow cooker over the top. Serve warm.

For a stronger apple flavor, use a tart baking apple like Granny Smith and add a splash (2–3 tablespoons) of apple cider to the citrus soda before pouring it in. If you prefer things less sweet, cut the sugar back to 3/4 cup and use a citrus soda labeled as lightly sweet or reduced sugar. A pinch of nutmeg or a dash of vanilla stirred into the melted butter gives the dumplings a deeper, old-fashioned flavor. You can also swap the crescent rolls for refrigerated biscuit dough: flatten each biscuit into a circle, wrap it around an apple chunk, and proceed as written. For smaller portions, cut the apples into quarters and wrap each quarter in dough, checking for doneness a bit earlier. If your slow cooker runs hot and the edges brown too quickly, lay a sheet of parchment on the bottom before adding the dumplings. Leftovers reheat nicely: spoon dumplings and sauce into a baking dish, cover with foil, and warm in a low oven until heated through, or microwave gently in short bursts.