Old Fashioned Dumplings – No, not the Bisquick kind plopped by spoonfuls into boiling liquid. These are put into boiling liquid, but not by ploppy spoonfuls. These dumplings are my great-grandmother’s recipe and I have no doubt it was literally handed down from mother to daughter in the Howland/Coffin/Pitts/Nigh/Tribby/Harris/Woolard family for many generations. Perhaps as far back as Plymouth, England, to Plimouth Plantation, New England, to Nantucket, Massachusetts, to Yadkin Co., North Carolina, to Shelby Co., Indiana, to Alachua Co., Florida. In other words, who really knows exactly how old this recipe is? 😀
Great-grandmother Dorothy (Grandma Dorty to all her great grandkids who couldn’t say Dorothy) didn’t use typical measuring instruments when making her dumplings, so Great-Aunt Ruth watched Grammy make them a time or two. She figured out how many of Grammy’s little handfuls of flour it took to fill 1 cup. And how many handfuls were used to make a single batch. Same with the shortening, buttermilk, egg, and baking soda. The same process was used to discover the measurements of Grammy’s egg noodles.
My mom remembers Grandma Dorty saying things like, “these dumplings are too short.” She figures that meant there was too much shortening in the dough which caused the dumplings to fall apart in the boiling broth. The very first time I made them, that’s exactly what happened. They split apart in a very weird way. They still tasted good, but they were slippery and hard to spoon out of the pot.
Old Fashioned Dumplings Tradition
Mom took over the making of these dumplings for Thanksgiving dinner for the entire clan of around 40-50 people. Traditionally, our family has turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, candied yams, and dumplings at Thanksgiving. Ham, baked beans, baked mac & cheese, potato casserole, broccoli casserole, etc. for Christmas. Since Mom’s noodles are as fabulous as her dumplings, she now makes them for Christmas with cousin Julie bringing the mashed potatoes to go with them. Unfortunately, my family doesn’t get to go home for Thanksgiving and Christmas since we’re in Florida and they’re in Indiana so I’m still working on perfecting all these dishes we love that everyone else typically contributes to the dinner. I’ll share the noodle recipe when I get them as close to Mom’s as I can. It might take decades. 😉
I’m here to say, I’ve finally mastered the dumplings! Getting the dough right is necessary, but so is having a great broth/stock. Without a super savory stock, dumplings will taste like bland pieces of cooked dough. Firstly, the key is 1/3 turkey stock, 1/3 chicken stock, and 1/3 chicken broth. Secondly, taste the liquid to make sure it has enough salt & pepper. If it’s way too salty, dilute with a little more chicken broth.
So, if your family does turkey and all the trimmings at Christmas, do try this heirloom dumpling recipe to go with your mashed potatoes. Moreover, if you’re Jewish and looking for a new delicious dish to add to your Chanukkah celebrations, give these old fashioned dumplings a try! I think you’ll love them as much as we do! I plan to add fried jelly donuts and rugelach to our Christmas festivities!
Old-Fashioned Dumplings
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups cups organic unbleached all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading and dusting the counter
- 1 tsp fine sea salt, such as Morton's Iodized Sea Salt See Notes
- 1/3 cup *pure lard, exactly See Notes
- 1 cup grass-fed organic buttermilk (is best), **to make buttermilk in a pinch See Notes
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 egg, organic pasture-raised, well-beaten
- all the broth from a freshly roasted pasture-raised turkey seasoned only with butter, salt, & pepper OR 32 oz turkey stock
- 32 oz organic chicken stock
- 32 oz organic chicken Better Than Bouillon broth (only if necessary)
- Salt & Pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl, cut lard into flour with a pastry blender or your hands until pea-sized balls form. It may look somewhat powdery, but will hold together when pressed between your fingers.
- Add the baking soda, salt, and egg to the buttermilk and stir together.
- Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Pour in the buttermilk and quickly stir together bringing the flour in from the outside edges.
- Turn the sticky dough out onto a well-floured surface. Dust with more flour and gently knead into a ball bringing flour in from the counter as needed. Don't over-knead or the dumplings will be tough.
- Work with one half of the dough at a time.
- Flour rolling pin and roll dough out to about an 1/8-inch. A perfect rectangle would be ideal, but not necessary.
- Cut dough into 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" squares. A pizza cutter works great for this. Dust a jellyroll pan with flour and transfer dumplings to pan. Lightly dust with more flour to keep them from sticking together.
- If cooking right away, no need to cover. If cooking the next day, cover tightly with beeswax cloth or non-toxic parchment paper and leave on counter. Do not refrigerate and do not leave out for more than 12-16 hours. The dumplings may darken, but will turn back to their normal tan while cooking. You can also freeze in an airtight container with non-toxic parchment paper between the layers. You can cook them straight from frozen. Shake off excess flour.
- In a stock pot, bring broth/stock to a rolling boil. Drop each dumpling into a boiling spot in the pot one at a time, gently stirring with one hand while the other drops the dumplings in. Once all are in the pot, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and let cook, stirring occasionally to make sure they don't burn on the bottom of the pot, for 25-30 minutes, or until dumplings are cooked through, tender, and broth has thickened.
- Served with mashed potatoes.
Notes
Note: All pictures below show the recipe doubled
I hope your Christmas shopping is a happy chore! It’s so easy to become overwhelmed with all we feel we have to do during the holidays. Take a step back and reassess whatever the situation. Is it vital to a happy holiday? Remember the reason Jesus was born. That’s what all the fuss is about!
Depending on when you stumble across this post and read it through to the end, Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, or Happy New Year! 🦃🎄🎉
Happy eating! 😊
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Outstanding! Thank you for sharing this recipe. The measurement were surely measured by Grandma Dorty’s heart.
LS
Thank you, LL! I’m so glad Momma has kept up the dumpling and noodle tradition and passed those recipes down! 💗
[…] side the traditional Thanksgiving fare is my Great Grammy’s Old-Fashioned Dumplings. Thankfully my Great Aunt Ruth watched carefully as she made them because Grandma Dorothy never […]