Apple Butter Biscuit Breakfast Bake

December. Advent. The season of waiting and preparation and the making-ready. Travis talked to Calvin on Sunday—properly, in the study, the door closed, Calvin sitting behind the desk he has had since 1994 and Travis sitting in the chair where parishioners sit when they come for counseling, which is both appropriate and slightly funny given the circumstances, and which Calvin would have been aware of because Calvin is aware of everything that happens in that study. They talked for forty minutes. Calvin came to the kitchen afterward and said, "He's a good man, Loretta," and I said, "I know," and he said, "She made a good choice," and I said, "She made an excellent choice," and we were briefly, quietly overjoyed in the way that long-married people are overjoyed—not with fanfare, not with exclamation, but with the deep satisfaction of a good thing arriving, the satisfaction of something long hoped for becoming real.

Advent baking has begun. The fruitcake is in the bourbon—December fourth, right on schedule—and the spice cake is planned for next week and the pound cake for Christmas. I am making Advent preparations for a Christmas that will include CJ and Shanice and Destiny and Travis and possibly James from Montgomery and the whole full round of family that this particular December calls for, because December 2020 has been a very hard year and the table at Christmas should be large and good and full of people who are glad to be there.

I turn fifty-one on Christmas Day. Fifty-one is not a significant number in the way fifty was. Fifty-one is just the next one, which is what every birthday is after fifty: the next one, the continuing one, the evidence that you are still here, which is its own significance and requires no special number to make it true. I am still here. The fruitcake is in the bourbon. The good things are still coming. That is the whole advent. That is the whole preparation.

All of Advent is about making-ready — and when I am not tending the fruitcake in its bourbon or planning the spice cake and the pound cake to come, I want something that fills the kitchen with warmth on a December morning without asking too much of me, because the season is already full and full is good. This Apple Butter Biscuit Breakfast Bake is exactly that: the kind of dish you pull together the night before, set in the oven while the coffee brews, and carry to the table for whoever is glad to be there — and this year, that table will be very full indeed.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 50 min | Servings: 8

Ingredients

1 tube (16.3 oz) refrigerated large flaky biscuits (8 count)
3/4 cup apple butter
4 oz cream cheese, softened
4 large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the pan
3 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
1 medium apple, peeled, cored, and diced small
2 tablespoons chopped pecans (optional)
Powdered sugar or maple syrup, for serving

Instructions

Preheat and prep. Heat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9x13-inch baking dish and set aside.
Cut and arrange biscuits. Separate biscuits and cut each into quarters. Scatter the biscuit pieces evenly across the bottom of the prepared baking dish in a single, loosely packed layer.
Make the apple butter filling. In a medium bowl, beat the softened cream cheese until smooth. Add the apple butter and stir until fully combined and creamy. Spoon the mixture over and around the biscuit pieces, spreading gently so most pieces are touched but not fully submerged.
Scatter the apple. Distribute the diced apple evenly over the biscuits and apple butter layer.
Whisk the custard. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt until smooth. Pour the custard evenly over the entire dish.
Top and rest. Sprinkle pecans over the top if using. Let the dish rest for 5 minutes so the biscuits begin to absorb the custard.
Bake. Bake uncovered for 32–36 minutes, until the custard is set, the biscuits are cooked through, and the top is golden brown. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean.
Serve. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving. Dust with powdered sugar or drizzle with warm maple syrup at the table.

Nutrition (per serving)

Apple Butter Biscuit Breakfast Bake — The Fruitcake Is in the Bourbon and the Good Things Keep Coming