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Easy Apple Butter Cheddar Biscuits are the perfect sweet and savory baked treat to start (or end) your day with.

Easy Apple butter cheddar biscuits served on a plate

My refrigerator overrunneth with condiments.

Arranging our myriad of clinky jars and chunky bottles is a never-ending game of Tetris, but around here, we like our fries dunked, our chicken smothered, and our sandwiches sloppy.

One condiment that I must ALWAYS have on hand is apple butter. Its rich flavor rocks my peanut butter toast, jazzes up my weekend waffles, and is essential to my Apple Grilled Cheese.

It’s also my secret ingredient to these tender, flavorful apple butter cheddar biscuits (they may have just overtaken these Blueberry Biscuits as my new favorite).

Cheddar dill biscuits served on white plates made with apple butter

Though I usually reach for apple butter as a tasty schmear (on English Muffin Bread), this week my heart was leading me to my oven.

Swapping applesauce for butter and oil is one of my favorite tricks to create healthier baked goods (like these Applesauce Muffins), and I imagined that apple butter could work much the same way in biscuits. (Spoiler alert: I was correct.)

Not only did the apple butter make these biscuits incredibly tender and moist (like this Apple Bread), but its slightly sweet and tart flavor paired perfectly with the mildly nutty whole-wheat flour used to make the dough and sharp cheddar cheese added for extra richness.

Bring these flakey nuggets of joy to your next BBQ or potluck. You will make many friends and have zero leftovers.

A plate of healthy apple butter biscuits on a white plate

How to Make Apple Butter Cheddar Biscuits

These soft and tender apple butter cheddar biscuits (a jazzed-up version of traditional Drop Biscuits) will be a hit at your next brunch or cookout. Their sweet and savory marriage of flavors means they taste great whether served alongside a stack of Oven Baked Bacon or a slow cooker full of Crockpot BBQ Chicken.


The Ingredients

  • Flour. A winning combination of all purpose and whole wheat flour (as seen in my Whole Wheat Pizza Dough) keeps these biscuits soft while sneaking in some extra fiber and nutty whole wheat flavor.
  • Apple Butter. The star of the show that not only adds lovely flavor but adds moisture so you can cut back on the butter without losing softness. (The apple butter works similar to how the applesauce works in these Blender Whole Wheat Waffles.)
  • Butter. A scaled-back amount makes these biscuits lower in calories but still big on butter flavor.
  • Buttermilk. Adds moisture and fat for tenderness and a subtle tang for flavor (as in these Buttermilk Blueberry Muffins).
  • Egg. Enhances the softness of the biscuits.
  • Cheddar Cheese. Add a lovely sharp contrast of flavor that marries beautifully with the sweet apple butter (I also love a good amount of cheddar in Jalapeno Cornbread).
  • Baking Powder. Our leavener that lifts these biscuits to fantastic heavenly heights.
  • Cream of Tartar. A secondary leavener that also adds structure and stability to the biscuit dough.
  • Salt. Important for enhancing the flavors of these biscuits.
  • Dill. For a little color and TONS of herbaceous flavor.
Ingredients to make apple butter biscuits with cheddar and dill on a butcher block
Cheddar dill biscuits being cut from dough

The Directions

  1. Combine the all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, baking powder, cream of tartar, and salt in a stand mixer.
  2. Cut in the butter until it resembles peas.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix the apple butter, buttermilk, and egg.
  4. Add to flour mixture, and gently stir just until the dough just begins to come together.
  5. Stir in the cheddar and dill, then dump batter out onto a lightly floured surface.
  6. Knead by hand about 10 times, roll or pat into a 1-inch thick rectangle, then cut into 2-inch biscuits.
  7. Reroll the scraps and cut out to use up all of the dough.
  8. Bake, on a parchment-lined baking sheet, in a preheated oven, until lightly golden. Serve warm with apple butter. ENJOY!
Easy Apple butter cheddar biscuits served on plates

Storage Tips

  • To Store. Place biscuits in an air-tight zip-top bag and keep them at room temperature for 1-2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
  • To Reheat. Reheat in the microwave for 20-30 seconds prior to serving.
  • To Freeze. Wrap individual biscuits tightly in plastic wrap and place them in a heavy-duty freezer bag for up to 2 months.
Three fluffy, tender biscuits served on a plate

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some biscuits to devour!

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I Omit the Whole Wheat Flour?

I have not made these apple butter cheddar biscuits without whole wheat flour so it would be an experiment. However, I do think swapping the whole wheat flour with all purpose flour should work. If you give it a try, I’d love to hear your results.

I Don’t Care for Dill, What Can I Use Instead?

If you don’t enjoy the taste of dill, you may omit it entirely. If you’d like to swap it for a different herb, fresh thyme would also be lovely in these biscuits.

Can I Use Homemade Apple Butter?

Yes! In fact, I highly recommend trying this recipe with a batch of my homemade Slow Cooker Apple Butter. You can thank me later.

Apple Butter Cheddar Biscuits

Made with rich apple butter, these easy apple butter cheddar biscuits are ultra-tender, yet deceptively healthy. Low Fat + Low Calorie!

Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 12 minutes
Total: 27 minutes

Servings: 8 biscuits

Ingredients
  

  • 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 4 tablespoons cold butter (1/4 cup) cut into cubes
  • 1/2 cup apple butter slow cooker apple butter or your favorite store-bought
  • 1/2 cup cold buttermilk
  • 1 large cold egg beaten
  • 3/4 cup shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese
  • 1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried dillweed)

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a 9×13 inch baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat mat (or leave ungreased).
  • In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large mixing bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, baking powder, cream of tartar, and salt. 
  • Add butter pieces, ensuring that they are very cold. Mix on low speed, just until the butter resembles peas (if you are having trouble breaking apart the butter, try cutting in by hand with a fork.) You should still be able to clearly see the pieces of butter.
  • In a separate bowl, combine the apple butter, buttermilk, and egg. Add all at once to the flour mixture, and stir by hand (or beat on low) just until the dough begins to come together. Stir in the cheddar and dill, until roughly combined.
  • Dump batter onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand about 10 times. 
  • Add a bit more flour to your work surface. Roll or pat dough into a 1-inch thickness (make sure it’s 1 inch!). Cut into 2-inch rounds with a lightly-floured biscuit cutter or cut into 2-inch squares with a sharp, lightly floured knife. Combine scraps and reshape to cut more biscuits. Place on prepared baking sheet.
  • Bake for 12-14 minutes until lightly golden on top. Serve warm with apple butter.

Notes

  • TO STORE: Place biscuits in an air-tight zip-top bag and keep them at room temperature for 1-2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
  • TO REHEAT: Reheat in the microwave for 20-30 seconds prior to serving.
  • TO FREEZE: Wrap individual biscuits tightly in plastic wrap and place them in a heavy-duty freezer bag for up to 2 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1(of 8)Calories: 228kcalCarbohydrates: 32gProtein: 7gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 42mgPotassium: 248mgFiber: 2gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 264IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 119mgIron: 2mg

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Erin Clarke

Hi, I'm Erin Clarke, and I'm fearlessly dedicated to making healthy food that's affordable, easy-to-make, and best of all DELISH. I'm the author and recipe developer here at wellplated.com and of The Well Plated Cookbook. I adore both sweets and veggies, and I am on a mission to save you time and dishes. WELCOME!

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  1. I think you’ve messed up the recipe. You include baking powder in the ingredient list but not in the directions. I think somewhere you’ve transposed baking powder and baking soda.

    1. Hi Erin! Baking powder is listed in Step 2 when you are adding the dry ingredients. It says: “combine the all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.” But there is a typo. It shouldn’t say baking soda it should say cream of tartar, so I’ll fix that. Thanks! Hope you enjoy them!