The BEST Skillet Apple Pie Dessert Biscuits are refrigerated or frozen biscuits dipped in butter, coated in brown sugar & cinnamon, topped with an AMAZING 5-ingredient apple pie filling, then baked in a skillet to sticky perfection. A perfect weekend breakfast or dessert!
Skip to:
When you take refrigerated biscuits, cover them in an AMAZING apple pie filling, and then bake them in a skillet you get the absolute best dessert biscuit. To be honest, I had never heard of dessert recipes made with refrigerated biscuits, much less apple biscuits. But don't just relegate these to dessert. We eat them for breakfast just as often. #sorrynotsorry
Who's to say you can't eat the same thing for breakfast and dessert.🤷🏼♀️ This Orange Loaf Cake and this Lemon Loaf Cake have shown up on both our breakfast and dessert tables as well.
A few years ago while scrolling Pinterest I saw a recipe on Melissa’s Southern Style Kitchen for apple pie biscuits. I knew with a couple tweaks, this version of apple pie biscuits would be irresistible!
🏅Why these are the BEST
- Apple Pie Dessert Biscuits are made in a cast iron skillet. I LOVE me a cast iron skillet, especially desserts in cast iron! If you don't own one, maybe I can convince you as to why you should buy a cast iron skillet here.
- My mother-in-law's apple pie filling is a classic combination of Granny Smith apples, cinnamon, lemon juice, and sugar. Well worth the few minutes it takes to whip up the homemade version.
- This dessert biscuits recipe is a spin on apple pie in a skillet that doesn't require making or rolling out a crust. It's so much easier than traditional pie.
🍎 Ingredients
Apples: Use any good cooking apple. I often use Granny Smith because they don’t break down too much when cooked, but McIntosh, Golden Delicious, and Gala are also great cooking apples.
Sugar: White granulated sugar for the filling.
Lemon juice: Helps to bring out the juices in the apples. If you don’t have any, a little orange juice will work.
Cinnamon: The perfect spice for everything apple.
Cornstarch: This is the thickening agent for our topping.
Salt: Just a little kosher salt brings out the flavors. Don’t skip it.
Biscuits: Feel free to use refrigerated or frozen biscuits, but I prefer the texture of refrigerated biscuits in this recipe. Pillsbury Grands or comparable are best.
Brown sugar: Dark or light will work.
Nutmeg: Combined with cinnamon this makes a perfectly spiced biscuit.
Butter: Salted or unsalted.
Powdered sugar: The perfect icing sugar. Melts into the liquid easily.
Butter: Just a little helps to cut the sweetness of the powdered sugar.
Cream: Or half & half to thin the icing.
🔪 How to make skillet apple pie dessert biscuits
We are going to boil this down to 4 easy steps.
1. Prepare the apples.
2. Coat the biscuits in cinnamon sugar.
3. Bake.
4. Drizzle with icing and serve. Sharing is optional.
Apple pie filling
Mix together the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt in a saucepan. Add apples and lemon juice. Stir until well combined. Cook over medium-low heat for 15 minutes. Set aside.
While the apples are cooking preheat the oven to 375°. Melt the butter in a bowl. Spray your 12-inch cast iron skillet with non-stick spray and add a couple tablespoons (no need to be exact) of melted butter to the bottom. Make sure to swirl it around to coat the bottom of the skillet.
Dessert biscuits assembly
In a separate bowl mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. One at a time, dip the biscuits in the butter allowing the excess to drip off. Coat each side of the biscuit in the cinnamon sugar mixture.
Spread the coated biscuits around the skillet evenly. Add the apples and all the cooking liquid to the top of the biscuits. Try to get as many apples on the top of the biscuits as possible because they like to slide off during the baking time. Pour over the remaining butter and sprinkle with the rest of the cinnamon sugar mix.
Bake
Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes. You want the dough of the middle biscuit to be soft but not raw.
While they are cooling make the icing. Once they have cooled for 10 minutes, drizzle the icing all around the pan.
Serve
When serving these as dessert biscuits, I like to serve them á la mode. There is nothing like a scoop of ice cream to go with warm apple pie filling. For breakfast we show restraint and serve them as is. I like to think of them as an easier version of apple fritters.
👨👩👧👦 For a crowd
Unless you have access to several ovens these biscuits are best served to a small crowd. Only two to three skillets can be baked at once. If you need a dessert that serves a larger crowd more easily we have a whole line-up of dessert recipes, but I would consider serving this Pumpkin Sheet Cake or this Easy Apple Crisp.
🙋 Questions and Answers
Granny Smith are my favorite since they aren't too sweet and hold up well when baked, but Golden Delicious, Gala, or McIntosh are good for cooking with as well.
The filling and the cinnamon sugar mixture can be prepped ahead, but don’t assemble and bake until an hour before serving time.
Apple Pie Biscuits are best served fresh. However, you can prep and freeze the components. Make the apple pie topping, cinnamon sugar mix, and icing as directed and place each in their own freezer container.
Once baked these can be stored in an airtight container overnight or in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. I love to pop them in the microwave for 30-45 seconds until warm and eat with a cup of coffee the next morning.
These will stay fresh overnight on the counter or in the fridge for 3 days.
Yes, although the few minutes to make this apple pie filling is sooo worth it. If you must use canned, then be sure to cut up the apples before adding them to the skillet.
👨🏼🍳 Tips & Tricks
- Cut the apples into the correct size. Too large and they will be crunchy, too small and they will disintegrate.
- Generously coat each biscuit with the cinnamon sugar mix. Now is not the time to get stingy.
- Spray and butter the cast iron (or cake pan) well or they will stick.
- Try to pile the apples up on the biscuits because they tend to slide off during cooking.
- These are best served fresh.
📖 Other summer and fall recipes
- Caramel Apple Slices are a fun, festive fall and Halloween dessert!
- This EASY Apple Crisp is filled with fresh apples coated in sugar, piled high with a cinnamon oat crumble topping, and baked to golden brown perfection. Apple and Blueberry Crumble is like apple crisp on steroids!
- White Chicken Chili has a flavorful, smokey broth filled with tender chicken and white beans.
- This Slow Cooker Fall Apart Pot Roast recipe transforms an economical piece of meat into a succulent and hearty roast that is bathed in a simple gravy.
👋🏻 Connect with us!
If you try this recipe, please leave a comment and star rating to let us know how it is! We’d also love to connect with you on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest. Tag @borrowedbites or hashtag #borrowedbites to show us your food!
📋 Recipe
Skillet Apple Pie Dessert Biscuits
Ingredients
- 8 jumbo refrigerated biscuits
Apple Pie Filling/Topping
- 4 apples peeled & cut into ¾inch pieces **See note
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 3 tablespoon cornstarch
Cinnamon Sugar Mixture
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ cup butter melted
Icing
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon softened butter
- 3-4 tablespoon cream or half-n-half
Á la mode
- vanilla ice cream (á la mode) optional
Instructions
- Mix together the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt in a saucepan. Add apples and lemon juice. Stir until well combined. Cook over medium-low heat for 15 minutes. Set aside.
- While the apples are cooking preheat the oven to 375°. Melt the butter in a bowl. Spray your 12-inch cast iron skillet with non-stick spray and add a couple tablespoons (no need to be exact) of melted butter to the bottom. Make sure to swirl it around to coat the bottom of the skillet.
- In a separate bowl mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. One at a time, dip the biscuits in the butter allowing the excess to drip off. Coat each side of the biscuit in the cinnamon sugar mixture.
- Spread the coated biscuits around the skillet evenly. Add the apples and all the cooking liquid to the top of the biscuits. Try to get as many apples on the top of the biscuits as possible because they like to slide off during the baking time. Pour over the remaining butter and sprinkle with the rest of the cinnamon sugar mix.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes. They are done baking when the middle biscuit isn't doughy. It will be moist but not raw in appearance.
- While the dessert biscuits are cooling, stir the icing ingredients together until smooth. Once the apple biscuits have cooled for 10 minutes, drizzle the icing across the top. Serve as is or á la mode.
- We love comments! Please come back and leave us one after you've tried this recipe.
Notes
- Cut the apples into the correct size. Too large and they will be crunchy and too small and they will disintegrate.
- Generously coat each biscuit with the cinnamon sugar mix. Now is not the time to get stingy.
- Spray & butter the cast iron (or cake pan) well or they will stick.
- Try to pile the apples on the biscuits because they tend to slide off during cooking.
- These are best served fresh.
Nutrition
All nutrition information is provided by a third party and is an estimate only. Use your own nutritional calculator for more specific measurements.
Sara says
Made this tonight and it turned out very well. Not too sweet or heavy. Very quick to make.
Misty says
Glad you liked it!
Vikki says
Out of curiosity, have you ever tried this recipe with homemade biscuits? I have a recipe that I love to make- I never use the refrigerated ones anymore. Do you think it would work the same if I just rolled that biscuit dough in the cinnamon and sugar mixture and followed the rest of the recipe as written?
Danielle says
We haven't tried that yet, but I think it would work. If you try it, please let us know how they turn out.
Kiki says
Delicious...2nd time making them....wouldn't change a thing about the recipe...
Misty says
Thanks for the high praise! Super glad you like them 🙂
Aspen says
Whoa. These blew my mind. 🤯 These are so easy and sooooo good!
Katie says
These are unbelievably delicious. Highly recommend them!
Misty says
Thanks, Katie! We're so happy you liked them!
Mary Ernst says
In the oven now!
Misty says
Fun! Hope they turn out great!
Martha says
So good and so easy! Everyone loved them!
Theresa D. says
So easy and so delicious! These are great for a special breakfast or for dessert. So yummy with a scoop of vanilla ice cream just like pie!!
Misty says
Love them with ice cream too! Glad you liked them!