Easy Marillenknödel - Authentic Austrian Apricot Dumplings

Learn how to make these delicious soft and fruity Marillenknödel that are so popular in Bavaria, Austria, and Bohemia. These dumplings are made from dough, filled with apricots, and rolled in toasted breadcrumbs. Nothing better to celebrate this summer than this soul food.

Marillenknödle can be made with potato dough, choux pastry, or quark dough (Tropfenteig in Austrian). This recipe uses quark dough, but do not worry, I have tested a recipe with a substitute for quark.

What is the difference between Marillen and Aprikosen

You might be confused as to why these dumplings are called "Marillenknödel" and not "Aprikosenknödel". "Marille" is the Austrian and Bavarian word for apricots. In the rest of Germany the name "Aprikose" is more common. However, the terms are synonymous.

In Germany the apricot season starts in late June and until August. Apricot, especially as a jam, is a favorite breadspread but also used to flavour cakes and pastries such as my Swiss Carrot Cake, or my Nussecken.

These popular Austrian and German dumplings are filled in the later summer with plums. It is more or less the same recipe. These plum dumplings are called Zwetschgenknödel.

How to substitute the quark in dough!

This recipe uses a quark dough. Quark is a dairy product made from soured milk, that is very popular in Germany. It is used in dips such as quark dip, spundekäs, and German cheesecake.

I have tested different methods to substitute the quark and found that a mixture of Greek yogurt and cream cheese creates a similar texture

How to make Marillenknödel

Do not be intimidated by these scrumptious apricot-filled dumplings. They are surprisingly easy to make - and even easier to eat!

Apricot Dumpling Ingredients

For the dough: butter, sugar, salt, egg, flour, and quark,

If quark is not easily available where you are based, you can use a mixture of Greek yogurt (with around a 10% fat content) and cream cheese.

Apricot filling: Just apricots and sugar. Usually, you would place a sugar cube inside the destoned apricot. But a spoonful of sugar has the same effect.

Breadcrumbs: The breadcrumbs are toasted in a pan with butter and sugar.

Apricot Dumpling Recipe Steps:

Whisk together the butter, sugar, and salt using a hand or stand mixer until creamy. Carefully mix in the egg and quark (or cream cheese - Greek yogurt mixture).

Lastly, add the flour to the bowl and combine it into a homogenous dough. The dough will be sticky but do not worry. If you add too much flour to the dough, it will become hard, we are aiming for a soft dough.

Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and place it in the fridge to rest for around 30 minutes.

Wash the apricots.  Make a lengthwise incision on one side and remove the stone from the inside. Fill the core of the apricot teaspoon with a teaspoon of sugar. Set aside.

Once the dough is finished resting in the fridge we can start making the dumplings. Because the dough is sticky, it is best to work with wet hands. Keep a bowl of water by your side, so you can wet your hands again, should they become dry. Take an apricot, wrap dough around it, and form it into a ball. Ensure that you close the seams of the dough well as otherwise they might open in the water. Repeat until all the dough is used up. (The apricots will all be different sizes, and it will be impossible to get evenly shaped dumplings, so please do not worry if they are different or not perfectly round.) Leave your raw dumplings to rest on a plate for a further 30 minutes at room temperature.

Place the dumplings into the water and leave to simmer for about 10 minutes. You might have to do this in batches depending on the size of your pot.

In a frying pan melt the butter. Then add the breadcrumbs and fry until golden brown. Remove from the heat.

Once the dumplings are cooked, remove them with a slotted spoon. Add them to the pan with the breadcrumbs and roll them around until coated.

How to serve

You can serve these apricot dumplings as a sweet lunch, or a delicious dessert. If you like you can just dust them with some powdered sugar, or you can serve them with vanilla sauce. Here is my recipe for homemade German vanilla sauce.

Storage

These Austrian apricot dumplings taste best the day they are cooked. However, you can prepare them in advance, reheat them in some water or steam, and then coat them in crispy breadcrumbs.

You can also freeze them cooked or uncooked before they are coated in the breadcrumbs. Then reheat them in steak or boiling water and add them to the toasted breadcrumbs before serving.

Recipe