Plum dumplings are my very favorite dessert. They are best made in the fall when the small Italian prune plums are available. When these are cooked, the steaming hot plum juices are a wonderful treat as you cut them open. Bread crumbs and cinnamon sugar enhance the flavors and textures. Traditionally, plum dumplings are made with fresh potatoes, and take a lot of work . Here is a recipe that is much easier than my mother’s, thanks to Potato Buds.


Ingredients:
3 cups Potato Buds
about 12 small, ripe plums, pitted (If the pits do not come out easily, the plums are not ripe enough); place a cube of sugar in the center of each plum
salt
bread crumbs lightly browned in butter
cinnamon
sugar

Place 3 cups of water into a 2 quart pyrex measuring cup. Place in microwave and bring to a boil (about 12 minutes) or cook water in a conventional pan on the stove. Make sure the pan is large enough. When the water is boiling, remove from microwave or stove and add the three cups of Potato Buds. If the container is small, it may boil over at this point. Stir constantly until potato is absorbed. It should feel like a medium soft mashed potato mixture. Add salt (but no milk or butter as per package directions). Let chill completely. You can do this part the day before serving if you wish.

Bring water to boil in a large pot on the stove, not microwave. When potato is completely chilled, add 2 eggs and enough flour to make a soft dough. Mix well and turn out onto a well-floured board. Kneed dough for a few minutes until smooth and holds together well. Add flour if dough is too sticky. The dough should be easy to work with. Roll the dough into a snake about 3 inches thick. Cut or pinch off a chunk of dough and flatten to about 3/8 inch thick and about 4 inches x 4 inches approximately. Completely cover each plum with dough, smoothing and sealing completely If the dough is not thick enough, add more flour. Continue using flour to make the dough easy to manage. Place each dumpling on a well-floured tray. When all are ready, place them carefully in the rapidly boiling water. Stir continually to keep them from sticking on the bottom.

After about 12 minutes, take one out to test. The dough is cooked when it is firm and no longer tastes raw—that makes a lot of sense, but you’ll know. Cut in half. The plum should be cooked and the juices running out all over the plate. If the dough is cooked, remove the rest from the water and serve immediately. Sprinkle with the toasted bread crumbs and cinnamon sugar. If, by any chance, you have left-over dumplings, they will still be good the next day. Chill until serving. Then heat in the microwave, approximately 1 ½ minutes per dumpling, being careful when you cut it open, as the plum will be very hot. To freeze, place them in a ziplock bag and freeze them. To serve, defrost and heat in the microwave. Then top with toasted crumbs and cinnamon sugar. Fortunately, we can only have these in the fall when the plums are available or I would really be in trouble. I am told they can also be made with apricots—I haven’t tried that yet, but it should be wonderful