Sugar Plum Fairy Tale

About a year and a half ago, I was about to go to Prague, and I wondered what kind of treats I could expect to be eating. Plum dumplings moved to the top of my list of things to seek out, but they were nowhere to be found. Fried cheese was a suitable substitute, but I've been dreaming of those sugared, cinnamon-dusted plums-in-dough ever since. Well, I finally got around to making them, quick and dirty like, and they were a dream come true.

I say quick and dirty because I used wonton and gyoza wrappers, but they're just dough circles, so the taste should be pretty similar if you make your own pasta dough. I struggled for a long time trying to jam whole pitted Italian plums with sugar cubes in the middle into a square of wonton wrapper. It was frustrating and they almost never sealed. The ones that did were absolutely delicious, so I would wholeheartedly recommend making some pasta dough and tucking them in properly. To get around the size issue, I chopped the plums up and spooned the filling in, and the result was nearly as intoxicating. Try them, you'll like them.

Plum Dumplings

2 lb Italian plums (also called prune plums)
cinnamon
(sugar cubes)
brown sugar
wonton (square) or gyoza (round) wrappers, or rolled out pasta dough
butter

To make these traditionally, to really get the effect, to really achieve heaven on earth in the form of a bite-sized juicy plum cake, carefully pit the plums. Toss them with some melted butter and cinnamon, and tuck a sugar cube into the center of each one where the pit used to be. Take a 5"-6" round of dough and wrap the plum in it. Boil them up for about 5 minutes, then fry in butter to golden brown. Sprinkle with a little bit of brown sugar and cinnamon and eat'em up.

To cheat, chop up the plums and toss with some melted butter, cinnamon and brown sugar. Tuck about a teaspoon into the center of a wonton wrapper, wet half of the border with water and fold to seal. It doesn't take a lot of pressure to seal, you just need to make sure you don't overfill.

You can skip the boiling part and do them like you would pot stickers. In a skillet, heat up a tablespoon or so of butter, and brown the dumplings on one side. Pour in about 1/3 c water, cover tightly and continue cooking over medium heat until the water is absorbed. Sprinkle on some sugar and cinnamon and chow down.