The BEST Skillet Apple Pie Dessert Biscuits

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!

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. If you have more apples try these Moist Apple Scones with maple Glaze or this Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars Recipe.

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!

Skip to:

• Why these are the BEST
• Ingredients for skillet apple pie dessert biscuits
• Helpful kitchen tools
• How to make skillet apple pie dessert biscuits
• For a crowd
• FAQs
• Tips and tricks
• Other favorite recipes
• Recipe
• Comments

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 yet, you need to!
• 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.
• Do you want to be the star of the show? These biscuits are the shortcut. Add them to your list of Thanksgiving recipes or serve them for any dinner party!

Ingredients for skillet apple pie dessert biscuits

• 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.

Helpful kitchen tools

 

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.

FAQs

Tips and 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.

Recipe