Vinegar Dumplings

Sweet, sour, and melt-in-your-mouth buttery, step back in time and enjoy this easy old-fashioned vinegar dumplings recipe for dessert tonight.

A recipe dating back to the late 1800s and again in the Great Depression when fruit was scarce, vinegar dumplings have stood the test of time. As you can see from the recipe below the ingredients are common in your household pantry. Some people referred to this recipe as vinegar pie but when you look at them, you can see they sure are dumplings. 

This recipe can be found in Christy Jordan’s book Sweetness. Here is an excerpt from Sweetness about vinegar dumplings: “I wish I had this recipe when my grandmother Lucille was still alive. She often talked of a vinegar pie that her mother made when they ran out of fruit to bake cobblers. She said her mother always made somethin’ sweet at the end of supper and this was what she made when they used up all their canned and dry fruit.  Grandmama described it as tart like a lemon but I would describe it as buttery and tart but more of a dumpling than a pie.”

To make this vinegar dumplings recipe, we’re going to boil the sweet and sour vinegar mixture (sweetened with butter and sugar), make the dumpling dough and then cook them in the vinegar. These homemade dumplings are a quick and budget-friendly dessert (music to my ears) that tastes sweet, sour, tart, and buttery all at once. Sign me up!

Recipe Ingredients

• Apple cider vinegar
• Granulated sugar
• Butter
• All-purpose flour
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Milk

How to Make Vinegar Dumplings

Stir together the vinegar, sugar, 1/2 cup of butter, and one cup of water in a medium-size saucepot over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and 2 tablespoons of butter in a medium bowl. 

Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until crumbly.

Stir in milk until the mixture forms into a dough.

This vinegar dumpling dough will look like the picture above.

Create spoonful-sized round balls from the dough and carefully drop them into the boiling vinegar mixture.

Simmer until the dumplings are nearly firm. The syrup will also thicken as above. This will take approximately 10-15 minutes.

Serve immediately covered in the sweet dumpling sauce and enjoy!

Storage

While I recommend enjoying these homemade dumplings hot and straight from the pot, you can store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat them in a low oven or the air fryer so they don’t remain soggy.

Recipe Notes

• Add 1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg to the vinegar mixture for added flavor.
• You may also enjoy serving your dumplings with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

You may also enjoy these dumpling recipes:

Sweet Potato Dumplings

Easy Chicken and Dumplings Recipe

Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings

Apple Dumplings Made By Mama

 

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