Chicken and dumplings are one of America's favorite comfort foods. Whether its canned chicken and dumplings or homemade, the dumplings are always covered by the chicken gravy. That is where the question comes in. The answer is that it is best to cook the dumplings in the oven. If you are cooking in the oven, you can put the dumplings in a pan or a baking dish. You can also put them in a muffin tin for a different shape and presentation. The dumplings can be cooked on a rack or in a dish. Some people may choose to only cook one side of the dumplings to make a more uniform presentation, while others will cook all sides.