Easy "Any Fruit" Dumplings

At the weekend I like to make something that is perhaps a tiny bit special. Some kind of dessert, or a special breakfast dish. A special meal. Just something that I wouldn't make for any other time of the week.
We are being spoilt right now with loads of fresh fruit and berries. We have blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, a few lingering strawberries, peaches, plums, cherries. Soon it will be apples and pears. I am a person who loves to use my produce as much as possible when it is in season.
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I had bookmarked a recipe from Oh My Goodness Chocolate Desserts for Strawberry Dumplings. I had planned to try it when the berries were coming fast and furious, but I just did not get it done.
I was looking at the recipe again today and I thought to myself. That dessert would work with any fruit. And then I started to think of the delicious options and combinations possible.
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I just happened to have a tin of crescent dough in my refrigerator that needed using NOW, this week, and I had some peaches which I wanted to use up and so I decided to make Peach Dumplings.
Otherwise I did everything exactly as the original recipe. I peeled the peaches and cut them into about 1/2 inch dice and went with it and was extremely pleased with the end result!
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The fruit was perfectly cooked. The dumplings were lovely and crispy on top. The sauce was lovely and thick and sweet. Just beautiful served with some pouring cream. I would have liked ice cream on it, but I didn't have any.
I was wishing I had had some raspberries to pop in with the peaches, sort of a peach melba. I was also thinking this would be lovely if you added a bit of alcohol to the brown sugar sauce, for a special occasion. Amaretto or something like that. My wheels were turning!
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WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE EASY "ANY FRUIT" DUMPLINGS
Simple every day and seasonal ingredients. Just pick your favorite fruits and go with it!

1 (8 oz) can of crescent rolls (In the UK use JusRol Croissant dough)
1/2 cup (113g) butter, melted
3/4 cup (150g) soft light brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup (120ml) lemon lime soda (like 7-up or sprite)
1 cup (1/3 - 1/2 inch)diced fruit (any kind)

Peaches were really lovely done this way and I think they would be even better with some raspberries or even cherries added. You could do cherries and pineapple.
Some other tasty combos might be apples and blackberries. Pears and raspberries. A mix of berries. Cherries all on their own. Just pick whatever fruit you have. The trick for the harder fruits (such as apples) is to cut them small enough that they will cook in the allotted time.
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Most of the time for these kinds of recipes they say not to use diet soda. I didn't have any regular sweet soda in the house so I used diet soda and I have to say, these still tasted blooming gorgeous.
I think with all the brown sugar, etc. in them you don't really need to be adding a sweet soda as well. Just my two cents worth!
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I used the regular sized crescent rolls. The ones with 8 in the package and they were great. I can't remember how many croissants are in the JusRol refrigerated croissant dough in the UK. (You will find it near the JusRol pastry) I think the JusRol croissant dough would be even nicer than the crescent rolls and they were pretty darned nice to be honest!
Pouring cream. In the UK you could use single cream. Here in North America I used whipping cream. Custard would also be nice and of course vanilla bean ice cream. What is vanilla ice cream but frozen custard anyways?
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HOW TO MAKE EASY "ANY FRUIT" DUMPLINGS
These are a real doddle. If you are looking for a quick and easy dessert to serve when you have a houseful, look no further. This fits the bill perfectly and is totally adaptable to whatever fruit you have on hand.

Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter an 8-inch square baking dish.Whisk the melted butter together with the brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and lemon juice. Set aside.Open the tin of croissant dough and unroll. Divide into 8 sections. Working with one section at a time, place 1/8 of the diced fruit on the wide end of the dough. Roll up from the wide to the narrow end. Place into the buttered baking dish, seas side down.Pour the melted butter mixture evenly over top of the bundles. Pour the soda down the middle of the bundles and around the edges of the dishwithoutpouring it over top of the bundles.Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes until they are cooked through and golden brown. Serve warm with ice cream or pouring cream. Delicious!

This was really, really, REALLY good! I think you might even be able to use fruit pie filling in them. I will be trying that sometime.
It does make 8 servings, but once you open that can of crescent dough, you need to use it. This would be the perfect dessert for when you are having company and are wanting to cook a nice dessert that is easy to do and that everyone will enjoy!
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If you are looking for delicious fruit desserts, look no further. I have loads of them here in The English Kitchen:
FRESH FRUIT COMPOTE - This is especially nice when done with stone fruits. Apricots, peaches, cherries, plums, etc. Delicious for breakfast with yogurt and granola. For dessert, in a dish topped with some cream, or ice cream. Spooned over ice cream or rice pudding. On its own, chilled, in a fruit nappy with some crisp cookies on the side. There is no end to how you can enjoy this!
EASY BLACKBERRY & LEMON DESSERT - Layers of crushed meringues, lemon curd, yogurt, and simple blackberry sauce, piled into pretty glasses make for the perfect dessert. Quick, easy, delicious. I would serve this tasty offering to company, but your family is sure to think it's pretty special as well!
Yield: 8 dumplingsAuthor: Marie Rayner Easy