Whether flat as a noodle, fluffy as a biscuit or somewhere in between, dumplings are an American favorite. It's often said that dumplings began to be added to chicken soup during the Depression era as a way of creating more filling in a time when chickens were difficult to come by, but Serious Eats has uncovered meat-and-dumpling recipes dating back to 1836.

Watch the video below for Tasty's demonstration of making this cozy classic, which produces gorgeous round dumplings. Instructions for flat, rolled dumplings are at the end of this article.

Preparation time: 45 minutes
Total time: 1 hour
Serves: 6

Ingredients
Soup
2 tablespoons oil
2 pounds (900 grams) chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 large onion, diced
4 carrots, sliced in half rings
3 garlic cloves, minced
5 tablespoons butter, unsalted
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
6 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon thyme, dried
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 cups peas, frozen
4 tablespoons parsley, fresh, minced

Dumplings
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/3 cups heavy cream

Directions
1. Brown chicken in oil, in a 6-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When all of the chicken is browned, remove from pot and set aside.

2. Put onion and carrots in pot and cook until tender, about three minutes. Add garlic and stir for one additional minute.

3. Reduce heat to medium-low and add butter. When butter is melted, add flour then stir constantly for three minutes.

4. Return chicken to the pot (do not drain) and stir thoroughly.

5. Add chicken broth, heavy cream, thyme and bay leaves. Stir occasionally.

6. When soup begins to simmer, add frozen peas and cover the pot. Let simmer for 15 minutes.

7. While soup simmers, combine dumpling ingredients. Mix by hand until dough forms a soft ball.

8. Scoop dough into 1-inch (2.5 cm) balls and drop into soup, making sure that they don't touch each other. Cover the pot and continue simmering for another 15 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in a dumpling comes out clean.

If you prefer rolled dumplings, Allrecipes advises using 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/3 cup shortening and 1/2 cup milk with the 2 cups all-purpose flour. Dough will be stiff. Roll to about 1/8-inch (0.3 cm) thickness and cut into pieces 1 to 1 1/2 inches (2.5 to 3.8 cm) wide. Drop into simmering soup for eight to 10 minutes.

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