The Perfect Apple Cinnamon Biscuit

Well, what can I say – I’ve had some extra time on my hands these last few weeks and something about making biscuits in my kitchen – over and over – has been very therapeutic for me! My practice has resulted in the most flavorful, tender, flaky biscuit you could ever imagine.

This recipe requires some attention to technique but do.not.fear – it’s super easy!

So, let me start by giving you 3 tips for success:

start by combining all the dry ingredients
use a cheese grater to grate in the cold butter
use a fork to combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients
DO NOT over mix

Julia Child says – (about making biscuits) “knead two kneads less than you think you’ll need“. What does that mean?! I think her point is to underwork the biscuit dough – and fight the temptation to get everything evenly and perfectly incorporated.

Why does this matter? Well, underworked biscuit dough leads to a tender biscuit, overworked dough creates extra gluten and leads to a very tough, dry biscuit — and no one ever said “I wish this biscuit was drier and tougher!”

Okay, so let’t talk details. This recipe requires very simple accessible ingredients :

flour
baking powder
sea salt
sugar
shortening
butter
milk
cream
one egg (for egg washing the top)
turbinado sugar (for the top)

Now, for the apple cinnamon flavor – I used the “Peeled” brand of dried apples and these cinnamon chips. The trick for incorporating dried fruit into baked goods is to reconstitute them before using so that they don’t suck all of the moisture out of the biscuit dough while baking.

Speaking of baking, these biscuits send off the most amazing aroma while baking, that warm cinnamon and sweet apple scent is pretty much comfort food at its best.

The kids LOVED this biscuit so much – they each had 3 by the end of the day! I think they might get used to this social distancing routine!

Well, the end result of all these techniques and ingredients = absolute biscuit heaven. Tender layers with a crisp sugary top, packed with melty cinnamon chips and juicy bits of sweet apple. Can we please just have these every single day?!

Hope these bring a little warm comfort to your home!

The Perfect Apple Cinnamon Biscuit

4 c flour
2 T baking powder
2 t sea salt
3 T sugar
1/3 c shortening
1/3 c butter, cold
1 1/4 c milk
1/4 c cream
1/2 c reserved apple water*
1 c cinnamon chips
1.25 oz dried apples*
one egg, whisked (for egg washing the top)
2 T turbinado sugar (for the top)

Preheat oven to 425°. Prepare 2 rimmed 1/4 sheets 8.7″W x 12.1″L x 1″H baking sheet (or one 1/2 sheet baking sheet).

In a large mixing bowl, combine first 4 ingredients.

Add shortening and grate** butter into the flour mixture. Toss the shortening and butter with the flour and work the fats into the flour by pressing through your thumbs and fingers to create a pebbly/sandy mixture.

Add remaining ingredients and work into the flour mix using a fork (10-12 stirs).

Dump contents out onto a floured surface and knead together 2 times less than you think you’ll need. (About 10 kneads).

Pat into a 10″x12″ rectangle about 1 1/2″ thick. Using a 2″ square biscuit cutter, cut out 18-22 biscuits. Place each biscuit onto the prepared pans, spaced 1″ apart.

Brush each biscuit top with whisked egg and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.

Bake 18-22 minutes (depending on thickness). Start checking at 18 minutes. Biscuits are done when baked through and medium golden on top.

Makes 18-22.

* place dried apples in a small heatproof bowl with boiling filtered water. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to soak for 2 hours up to overnight. Reserve 1/2 c apple water. Drain remaining water and discard. Give the rehydrated apples a gentle squeeze to remove excess water. Chop into 1/4″-1/2″ bits.

**use a cheese grater to grate cold butter into the bowl.