A few years back, on one of those mornings when the air finally turns crisp and you dig out the cardigan you have been waiting all summer to wear, I decided that a plain biscuit was not going to cut it.
I wanted something that tasted like the season. Something with apple in it, something warm with spice, and something that would make the whole kitchen smell like a candle I would pay too much money for.
These apple biscuits with honey butter glaze are the answer to that morning. They are tender and just slightly sweet, with fresh grated apple worked right into the dough so every bite carries a little fruit.
The glaze goes on while the biscuits are still hot, which means it melts into the top and turns glossy instead of sitting there like frosting.
I have taken these to fall potlucks, to a church breakfast, and to my own kitchen table on a random Tuesday, and they vanish every single time.
Here is the part you should know before you start. The dough is very wet and sticky. Not a little tacky, sticky.
Apple Biscuits With Honey Butter Glaze: A Flaky Fall Breakfast Recipe 12
Genuinely sticky enough to make you question your life choices for a full minute. Keep your flour canister right beside you so you can dust the counter, your hands, and the dough whenever things get wild.
That is normal for this recipe, and it is not a sign that you did something wrong. You are not failing. You are making biscuits.
The other thing that matters is the folding. After you pat the dough into an oval, you fold the short sides toward the middle like you are folding an envelope, smack the dough down, and press it back out. Then you do it again.
Seven times total. I know that sounds fussy for a biscuit, but that folding and smacking is exactly what builds the flaky, pull apart layers you get from those refrigerated tubes at the grocery store.
Only these taste like real butter and real apple, so the extra two minutes are worth it.
Keep a small bowl of flour next to your work surface the whole time. It is the difference between a fun morning and a dough covered kitchen.
Apple Biscuits With Honey Butter Glaze: A Flaky Fall Breakfast Recipe 13
Here is the whole thing at a glance:
Detail
Info
Prep time
20 minutes
Bake time
20 minutes
Oven temperature
425°F
Servings
20 biscuits
Main method
Bake
The spice blend is where the fall feeling really comes from. Cinnamon does most of the heavy lifting, with nutmeg, ginger, cardamom, and cloves filling in behind it. If you have never baked with cardamom, this is a gentle introduction. It adds a warm, almost floral note that makes people ask what is in there.
The apple goes into the dough grated rather than chopped. Grated apple melts into the mixture and leaves moisture and flavor behind without dropping big chunks into the dough that would weigh the biscuits down. It is one of those small details that changes the whole texture.
The glaze takes about two minutes. Chilled butter, honey, and a pinch of salt go into a saucepan over medium heat until the butter melts.
Brush that on hot biscuits and it soaks in just enough to make the tops shiny and sticky in the best way. My husband has been known to eat two before they cool down, and I cannot really blame him.
Apple Biscuits With Honey Butter Glaze: A Flaky Fall Breakfast Recipe 14
Serve them warm, which is honestly true of every biscuit ever made. I like them with coffee in the morning, next to a bowl of soup at lunch, or on a plate with eggs and bacon when we have people over.
The honey butter glaze makes them sweet enough to feel like a treat without crossing over into dessert territory. The recipe makes 20, so there is usually enough to feed a crowd and still sneak one for yourself.
If you are new to biscuits, do not panic when the dough looks shaggy and uncooperative. Biscuit dough is supposed to look a little rough. Flour your hands, keep going, and trust the folds. The finished biscuits will look like you knew what you were doing the entire time.
If you are the person who gets asked to bring something to every gathering, this is a good recipe to keep in your back pocket.
Biscuits travel well, they do not need to be served piping hot to taste good, and a basket of them looks like you tried harder than you actually did.
Bring the glaze in a small jar and brush it on when you arrive if you want them to look fresh from the oven.
If you keep a biscuit rotation going at your house, here are a few more to work into the lineup. They all use the same basic idea of a tender, buttery biscuit, just with different toppings and fillings.
Pulled Pork Breakfast Biscuits
Fried Chicken Biscuits with Mushroom Gravy
Greek Yogurt Cheddar Biscuits
Recipes from Friends…
And a few biscuit and roll recipes from blogs I love and trust:
Milk Rolls from Or Whatever You Do
Bloomin’ Garlic Cheese Biscuits from The Gunny Sack
Honey Butter Biscuits from Will Cook for Smiles
More Breads
Biscuits are a quick bread, which means no yeast and no waiting around for dough to rise. If that style of baking suits your schedule, there is plenty more to explore in the bread category, from savory quick breads to rolls and loaves you can mix up in one bowl. Start with these apple biscuits, then keep going.
Ingredients
For the biscuits
4 ½ cups all purpose flour, plus more for dusting the surface
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup cold butter
½ cup grated apple
1 cup chilled buttermilk
For the honey butter glaze
3 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter
3 tablespoons honey
Pinch of salt
Instructions
Prep
Preheat the oven to 425°F. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt, and the apple pie spices.
Cut in the cold butter and the grated apple using a pastry cutter, a fork, or your hands. Any of the three works, so use whichever you prefer. You will know it is ready when coarse crumbs have formed and a fistful sticks together pretty well. Cold butter is the point here, so work quickly and do not let it warm up in your hands for too long.
Gently stir in the chilled buttermilk. I fold mine in with a rubber spatula instead of stirring hard.
Generously flour a clean work surface, and keep your flour nearby so you can dust your hands and the dough regularly. The dough is going to want more flour than you think.
Scatter some flour over the dough in the bowl. It will be obnoxiously wet and sticky, so do your best and make sure you pull any dry bits up from the bottom of the bowl into the sticky dough.
Turn the dough out onto the floured surface, flour your hands, and knead it a few times. It gets easier to handle as you go.
Pat the dough into an oblong oval about 1 inch thick. Fold the short sides toward the middle, sort of like folding an envelope. This is what gives the finished biscuits their layered texture. Smack the folded dough down and press it back out into the oval shape. You are basically building layers with your own two hands.
Repeat that folding and smacking 7 times total.
Cut the biscuits into circles about 3 to 4 inches across and place them on an ungreased baking sheet or in 2 round cake pans. A sharp biscuit cutter or a glass with a floured rim gives you the cleanest edges.
Bake
Bake for 20 minutes.
Glaze
While the biscuits bake, make the honey butter glaze. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, then stir in the honey and the pinch of salt.
When the biscuits come out of the oven, brush them with the warm honey butter glaze.
That is it. Twenty minutes in the oven, a quick brush of glaze, and breakfast is ready.
Notes
Not in the mood to buy five jars of spice? Substitute 2 teaspoons of apple pie spice for the cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom, and cloves. Everything else in the recipe stays exactly the same, and you still get that warm fall flavor in every bite.
Recipe details
Prep time is 20 minutes and cook time is 20 minutes, so about 40 minutes from start to finish. The recipe makes 20 biscuits and bakes at 425°F.
Firm, less watery apple varieties like Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, or Braeburn work best for apple biscuits because they hold their shape when grated and baked. Softer apples such as McIntosh or Red Delicious can release too much moisture, making the dough overly sticky and resulting in dense biscuits. Grate the apple on the large holes of a box grater just before adding it to the dough.
Why are my apple biscuits not rising?
Biscuits that do not rise are often caused by expired baking powder or an oven that is not fully preheated. For this recipe, use 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of baking powder and 1 teaspoon of baking soda, and ensure your oven reaches 425°F before baking. Also, use a sharp biscuit cutter with a straight downward motion without twisting, as twisting seals the edges and prevents a proper rise.
Can I make apple biscuits ahead of time?
Yes, you can make apple biscuits ahead of time. Store the baked, unglazed biscuits in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days, or freeze them for up to one month. To serve, thaw at room temperature if frozen, then reheat in a 300°F oven for 5 to 7 minutes before brushing with the honey butter glaze.
How do you make honey butter glaze for biscuits?
To make the honey butter glaze, melt 3 tablespoons of chilled unsalted butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in 3 tablespoons of honey and a pinch of salt until combined. Brush the warm glaze over the biscuits immediately after they come out of the oven for the best flavor and texture.
Apple Biscuits with Honey Butter Glaze A few years back, on one of those mornings when the air finally turns crisp and you dig out the cardigan you have been waiting all summer to wear, I decided that a plain biscuit was not going to cut it. I wanted something that tasted like the season.
Total Time:40 min
Yield:20 1x
Ingredients
Scale
Biscuits 4 ½ cups All-Purpose Flour, plus more for dusting the surface 1 tablespoon Baking Powder 1 teaspoon Baking Soda 2 teaspoons Sugar 1 teaspoon Salt 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon ½ teaspoon Nutmeg ½ teaspoon Ground Ginger ¼ teaspoon Ground Cardamom ¼ teaspoon Ground Cloves 1 cup Butter, Cold ½ cup Apple, Grated 1 cup Buttermilk, Chilled
Prep 1-Preheat the oven to 425°F: Preheat the oven to 425°F. In a large bowl whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt, and apple pie spices. 2-Cut in the butter and grated apple: Cut in the butter and grated apple using a pastry cutter OR a fork OR your hands. Method is a preference thing. You’ll know it’s good when coarse crumbs have formed and if you grab up a fistful it sticks together pretty well. 3-Gently stir in the buttermilk: Gently stir in the buttermilk. I sort of folded in mine with a rubber spatula. 4-Generously flour a clean work surface and: Generously flour a clean work surface and keep your flour nearby to dust your hands and the dough regularly. 5-Scatter flour over the dough in the: Scatter flour over the dough in the bowl – it will be obnoxiously wet and sticky!! Just do your best and make sure to incorporate any dry bits from the bottom of the bowl into the sticky dough mess. 6-Turn the dough out onto your prepared: Turn the dough out onto your prepared surface, flour your hands, and knead it a few times. It will get easier to work with. 7-Pat it out into a kind of: Pat it out into a kind of oblong oval shape that’s about an inch thick. Fold the short sides toward the middle, sort of like you’re folding an envelope. This is what gives your finished biscuits their “layered” texture. Smack the folded dough down and press it back out into the oval shape. 8-Repeat this process a total of 7: Repeat this process a total of 7 times. 9-Cut the biscuits into 3- to 4-inch: Cut the biscuits into 3- to 4-inch circles and place them on an ungreased baking sheet or 2 round cake pans.
Bake 10-Bake for 20 minutes: Bake for 20 minutes.
Glaze 11-While the biscuits bake, make the honey: While the biscuits bake, make the honey butter glaze. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the honey and salt. 12-When the biscuits come out of the: When the biscuits come out of the oven brush them with the honey butter glaze.
Last Step:
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