Apple Pie Biscuits!

It's time for another Joy the Baker + King Arthur Flour baking bootcamp challenge! 

Remember the Triple Berry Cinnamon Swirl Bread?

These biscuits are super simple to make and are a great way to use up the 50 pounds of apples you're picking this weekend. Hollin Farms, anyone?

Check out the contest rules on Joy the Baker's blog HERE and you have until October 10th to enter (it's really easy to enter, just make them and tag them on instagram. Boom. Done. Normally I wouldn't stack the deck against myself, but this recipe is a winner. It would be cruel not to share.

You Will Need:

For the Apples:

1 fuji apple, peeled, cored and sliced thinly

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 Tbsp packed brown sugar

For the Biscuits:

2 cups unbleached self rising flour (or 2 cups of flour + 1 Tbsp baking powder + 1 tsp salt)

1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes*

2 Tbsp granulated sugar

3/4 cup cold buttermilk

For the Topping:

1 large egg, beaten

2 Tbsp granulated sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

pinch of salt

*a nice little lesson I learned from a pastry chef at Husk - don't cut your butter into tiny cubes - leave them in tablespoon sized sections and when working it into the dough pinch the butter so that you form butter "petals" - this will help make the dough bake up super flaky. (Photos for reference below) 

Place rack in center of oven and preheat to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

To make apples, place butter in a medium skillet over medium heat to melt. Add the apples, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Toss with a wooden spoon until all the apples are coated and sugar is melted, about 2-4 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside (apples won't be cooked through, that's fine!).

To make biscuit dough, place flour in a medium bowl and add cold butter cubes. Use your fingers to quickly break down the butter into the flour. Stir in the granulated sugar.

Create a well in the center of the butter and flour mixture and add buttermilk. Stir mixture together until it is well moistened and holds together well. The dough will be soft and moist. 

Use all-purpose flour to generously dust a clean work surface. Scoop dough onto surface and using your hands, pat and shape into a small rectangle. Using a rolling pin gently roll the dough into a rectangle about 1/2-inch thick and about 7 x 10". 

Arrange cooled apples on one half of the rolled out biscuit dough. Fold the bare side of the dough over the apples and gently press the edges to seal in the apples, using the palm of your hand to pat down the dough into a 6 x 8" rectangle. 

Using a sharp knife, slice the dough into squares (I cut it into 12, but you can cut it into however many biscuits you like). Use a spatula to gently move each biscuit onto the prepared baking sheet, keeping them about 2 inches apart. 

In a small bowl, whisk together sugar for topping, cinnamon, and salt. 

Brush each biscuit with beaten egg and sprinkle cinnamon sugar generously on top. 

Bake for 12 - 14 minutes, until the biscuits are risen and golden brown. Remove from oven and serve warm or cool completely and store in an airtight container. 

Butter petals! It's kind of a schmearing motion you make with your fingers. And this dough will be very dry before you add the buttermilk to it, so don't try to work the butter into all of the dough.

Apples doing their thing!

And it's my dream to one day have a blog with gorgeously lit photos in it that say "I am a day baker with no job but baking and blogging and reading books in bed," but this is real life and until I come into a boatload of wealth, night baking is going to be how I roll. So apologizes for the super depressing, "this girl has no life and bakes when she gets home from work," filter used on these photos.