Foggy October mornings call for apple cider biscuits, slathered with butter or apple butter, which makes them even better. Biting into one of these gems makes the morning news more palatable, although they also make me want to scurry back into bed and pull the covers over my head just so I can get up and have breakfast all over again.
If you have a food processor these biscuits come together in a jif. If not, they are easily made without one, cutting cold butter into the flour is not a workout by any means so you can do it! Using a good apple cider, a "cloudy" one, makes a difference.
The dough is mixed only until everything is just barely incorporated and then it's kneaded a few times on a lightly-floured counter and that's it. You can cut these biscuits into a larger size if you want, I used a 2 1/2-inch cutter and made 14 biscuits. While I was making these the mister was circling, he was hungry and didn't want to wait the 10 minutes these takes to bake. He decided he couldn't wait so he grabbed the bread and made himself a sandwich with 3 slices of bread, bologna and mustard. It's so hard to see what he eats when left to his own devices! For lunch every day at work he eats canned food, straight out of the can. Canned fruit cocktail and canned green beans. And Spam. Then he enjoys those little crackers filled with fake cheese and he thinks he's being healthy by eating them with cottage cheese. I know I've said it before...you can take the caveman out of the cave but you can't make him eat like a foodie!!
If you haven't made apple butter before, now's the time to do it! Get out your Crock-Pot and let those apples cook all day, your house will smell amazing and you'll have yourself a sure-fire Fall treat! Here's the link to my recipe: Crock-Pot Apple Butter Of course, these biscuits are perfectly fabulous on their own but the apple butter does send them to a new level.
Before baking sprinkle a little cinnamon on top if you want. If I was eating them all I would have sprinkled more cinnamon on top and maybe even mixed it with a little sugar, which would have tasted amazing but as you know, the mister has a "sensitive" palate and if anything is too flavorful he just won't eat it!
I baked this batch a few minutes too long, didn't realize I set the oven on convection, so the bottoms are a bit darker than what I normally like. Even so, they were delicious! They puff up nicely and hot from the oven nothing can beat them! Just as I suspected he would, the mister followed the aroma from the kitchen and came slinking in right as they came out of the oven. He managed to stuff 3 into his biscuit-hole before I could even butter one for myself! I asked he if liked them and he said they were "okay." FYI, that's high praise from the caveman connoisseur!
Apple Cider Biscuits - Recipe from Harriet Stitcher via All Recipes
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup cold butter
3/4 cup apple cider
cinnamon for sprinkling on top
In a food processor, combine flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Pulse a few times until butter mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add cider and process until dough comes together into a ball. (If you don't have a food processor, put ingredients in a large bowl and mix by hand, cutting in butter by hand, then adding the cider and stir until dough comes together.) Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead 8-10 times. Roll out to 1/2-in. thickness; cut with a 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter. Place on ungreased baking sheet, sprinkle with cinnamon, if desired; pierce tops of biscuits with a fork and bake at 425 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.