Apple Butter with Sage & Smoked Cheddar Biscuits

Apple Butter with Sage & Smoked Cheddar Biscuits

Delicately flaky, tall, and full of melted smoked cheddar cheese and thinly sliced sage. Perfect for a Fall Breakfast to go along with this easy Apple Butter recipe.

Apple Butter
3 pounds apple, mix of sweet and tart apples, peeled, cored, chopped
3 cups apple cider
1 cup granulated sugar
3 three-inch cinnamon stick
8 whole cloves
½ teaspoon kosher salt

Bring apples, cider, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and salt to a boil in a large wide pot. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated and apples are very soft, about 2 hours. Remove the cinnamon sticks and cloves. Blend with an immersion blend or place in a high-speed blender and process until smooth. Place in four one-cup jelly jars and refrigerate or freeze.

 

Sage & Smoked Cheddar Biscuits
4 cups White Lily flour, plus more for cutting 
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon baking soda
2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 cups grated smoked cheddar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
¾  cup cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 ½  cups buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 450˚F. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add cheddar and sage and whisk to combine. Add butter and cut into the flour with butter with a pastry cutter until the mixture is the texture of coarse meal, with a few pea-size pieces butter remaining. Add buttermilk and with a wooden spoon stir until just combined.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead just until it comes together.  Gently pat unto a large round. With a floured rolling pin, roll dough to a 3/4-inch thickness. With a floured 3-inch round biscuit cutter, cut out  the biscuits. Cut until you have 12 biscuits by rerolling and cut scraps. Place biscuits on a baking sheet, 1 ½ inches apart, and bake until puffed and golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature with the Apple Butter.

Toasted Coconut & Pecan Streusel Banana Bread With Brown Butter Icing

Toasted Coconut & Pecan Streusel Banana Bread With Brown Butter Icing

There must be a million banana bread recipes. Almost everyone has a most-loved version, whether it’s passed down in the family or a preferred interpretation. But we think our southern-style recipe might be your new favorite. Our quick bread not only features a delicious banana flavor with a soft cake-like interior, but a streusel topping loaded with toasted coconut and pecans. Then to push it over the top, we added a yummy brown butter icing.

INGREDIENTS
Banana Bread Base
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for pan, plus ¼ cup melted unsalted butter, divided
1 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
4 medium very ripe peeled bananas
¼ cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs, at room temperature
½ cup chopped toasted pecans

Coconut & Pecan Streusel Topping
¼ cup melted butter
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup sweetened, toasted, flaked coconut
1 cup toasted whole pecans,

Brown Butter Icing
¼  cup butter
½  cup powdered sugar
2-3 tablespoons whole milk

INSTRUCTIONS
Banana Bread Base
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9×5″ loaf pan then line it with a piece of parchment paper that overlaps on the long sides of the pan. Butter the parchment paper then dust with flour. Remove any excess flour by tapping the pan upside down over the sink.

In a medium bowl, mash the bananas until smooth then combine with sour cream and vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In the work bowl of an electric stand mixer or hand mixer, beat ½ cup butter and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 ½ minutes. Add the eggs one at a time and beat on medium speed after each egg until thoroughly combined. Add banana mixture and beat until just combined about 30 seconds. Add dry ingredients in 2 batches, beating on low after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl until fully incorporated. Using a spatula, fold in the pecans. Add the batter to prepared pan and smooth top with a spatula.

Coconut & Pecan Streusel Topping
Stir together melted butter, granulated sugar, firmly packed brown sugar, flour and vanilla extract, when combined add in the toasted coconut and whole toasted pecans. Crumble over the top of the banana bread, pressing in very lightly.

Bake, rotating halfway through until batter is set and a tester inserted into the center of bread comes out clean, about 60 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack at least 15 minutes, run a knife around the bread to loosen it, then using the parchment paper overlaps gently pull the bread out of the pan. Transfer to a cutting board and gently remove the bottom parchment. Cool completely.

Brown Butter GlazeTo make the glaze, add the butter to a saucepan and frequently stir over medium heat until it starts to foam. When the foaming ends, stop stirring, and let it continue to cook until amber brown. Remove from heat, and stir in powdered sugar and then the milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, to make the glaze your desired consistency. Drizzle over cooled banana bread and slice with a serrated knife to serve. Make 12-14 servings.