Rosie replied to Wayne:

> should never be cooked at a "brisk" boil. Rolled dumplings
> should not be cooked in a covered pot. The cooking time of 40 minutes
> is nearly triple what it should take, with 15 minutes being about right.
> The combination of these factors would surely disintegrate the dumplings.
>
> OK, thank you Wayne, no wonder I had a problem, will try less time and
> more gentle cooking. I guess gentle seems to work for most things...
> LOL

Coming in after the problem has already been pinpointed, I wanted to mention
that my dumpling recipe calls for 3 tablespoons of butter rather than your
1/3 cup of shortening. That MIGHT also contribute to the delicacy of the
dumplings, although Wayne is 100% correct about not boiling them hard. I
disagree about cooking them in a covered pot; I think that the retained
steam is essential to getting the dumplings to take on the right texture.

Bob