People Who Vacation Together Make Apricot Dumplings Together – A Recipe From Gottweig Abbey

Never will I take an ocean cruise vacation.

I’d always heard people talk about how much fun they’d had on cruises to beautiful destinations, but I vowed I’d never go on an ocean voyage.  Who’d want to be on a gigantic ship in the middle of the sea when the boat lost power or tipped over? You’d be  stuck there with thousands of people you didn’t know in the thrashing waves among the sharks and the whales and the sea monsters, probably fighting over food. Not me. No thank you. Not going to a floating hotel where you’d have so little control over your own fate.

However, river cruises are an entirely different thing.

A river cruise will also go to a beautiful destination, but here’s one of the best things about it:  if the boat tips over or loses power, you can  practically walk to the shore to save yourself! Seriously. The shore is like from here to that wall over there. You’ve got a pretty good chance of making it should a water disaster occur. On top of that, there are fewer than 200 guests, so you’d probably know a pretty good percentage of them. They would help you, and you wouldn’t fight over survival food because you’d be on the shore in minutes.  Pretty good, don’t you think?

Given that, I thought it’d be fun to take a trip on the Danube with my sister Jo before things got too busy here in Lancaster County. Sisters who go on vacation together do one of two things. They either get on one another’s nerves and can’t wait until the whole thing is over, or they spend the week laughing so hard that they’re happy to have brought several changes of clothes.

We were the change-of-clothes girls, the laugh-until-you-drop kind.

When we weren’t immersed in our own hilarity, we were taking in the sights.  No matter where you go on vacation, there are always things to discover. You can see amazing architecture and cobblestone streets. You can enjoy delicious food and meet fantastic people. You can go on hikes and have unique experiences. You can get the secrets behind local dishes.  We got to do ALL of that on our getaway. We also came away with a recipe for Apricot Dumplings from a cooking class we took at the 900-year-old Gottweig Abbey in Austria.

The dumplings were made using local ingredients, including the apricots which were grown on the grounds by the monks living there. What surprised me about the process was that after the dough was formed around the fruit, the dumplings were boiled in salted water rather than baked or fried!  Then they were rolled in a mixture of breadcrumbs pan-toasted with sugar and cinnamon and served wam in a bowl with an apricot reduction. SO good!

Can you imagine having these fabulous dumplings for breakfast?

I sure can. In fact, I just bought the ingredients to try these out at the Inn so I can make them for our guests in the morning.  Here’s the recipe so you can give them a go as well. But if they don’t work out, just book your stay at the Inn and drop a note in the comments that you want to try these.  I’ll do my best to serve them up!

“Marillenknodel”

Apricot Dumpling

Serves 7

Ingredients 

• 1 c. creamy farmer cheese
• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 2 T semolina flour
• 1 egg
• 3 1/2T butter, softened
• pinch of salt
• 7 apricots
• Apricot preserves or apricot reduction

Ingredients for bread crumb coating

• 1 c. plain bread crumbs
• 1 T sugar
• 1 t. vanilla sugar
• 1 t. cinnamon
• 3 T butter

Procedure

1. Combine all dough ingredients – except apricots and preserves – in a large bowl.
2. Start mixing on low speed for about one minute, then on high for several more minutes until smooth.
3. Remove and wrap dough to let it rest at least 12 hours or overnight in the fridge.
4. Divide the dough into 7 equal pieces.
5. Wrap each apricot with a piece of dough to form a round dumpling.
6. Place all dumplings into a large pot of boiling, salted water.
7. After water returns to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Dumplings are ready when they float to the top.
8. To make topping, combine all ingredients in a shallow pan and toast, stirring, until bread crumbs are golden brown.
9. Roll the boiled dumplings in the mixture and serve warm in a shallow bowl. Top with an apricot reduction or apricot jam.

What’d’ya think?

Let me know how these work out for you. Maybe we’ll see you at the Inn for breakfast soon And before you come to visit, be sure to check out our Indulgences and Packages to make your stay even more memorable!