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It’s no secret around these parts that apple baking is my favorite, and I’m so excited to share these Apple Pie Shortcakes with y’all today! I’ve teamed up again with my friends from Crisco® and Clabber Girl to bring you this extra cozy fall recipe that is just begging to be made with some freshly picked apples.

Recently I was looking through some of my grandmother’s recipes for baking inspiration and came across one for Southern buttermilk biscuits, which called for shortening. Crisco has been a staple in kitchens for over 100 years (and my own pantry for as long as I’ve been baking), and if you’ve ever been to the South, you know that we’re pretty serious when it comes to our biscuits!

Obviously, buttermilk biscuits are a great choice for breakfast, but I knew I needed to try this version as a shortcake. And I’m so glad I did! Fall baking is my favorite because it’s so cozy and features so many wonderful flavors. These shortcakes are the perfect things to make when you get that urge to bake on a crisp fall weekend, or when you’ve got an apple pie craving but want something a little easier and quicker to prepare.

So how do you make these babies? Let’s dive right in!

THE SHORTCAKES

If you’ve made homemade biscuits before, these shortcakes are essentially the same. We’re just swapping butter for Crisco® All-Vegetable Shortening, which is a super versatile ingredient that lends itself to all different kinds of baking! We all know it makes fabulous pie crusts, and I always use it in my frostings. But it’s great in biscuits, cookies, cakes, and so much more. I also love using Clabber Girl baking powder for things like biscuits because it’s double acting, meaning it starts doing its thing when added to your dough, and again when you add heat. This guarantees the biscuits come out of the oven with that glorious height we all love, and adds to that soft and fluffy texture.

To make these shortcakes, we start with a bowl of our dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, Clabber Girl baking powder, some baking soda, a little bit of sugar, and a pinch of salt. To that, you’ll add diced, very cold shortening, which you can cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or a fork. My favorite way to do this is actually just to use my hands! Work the shortening into the dry ingredients until it resembles coarse meal with a few pea-sized crumbs throughout. You should be able to squeeze some together in your hand and have it stick together in one clump.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and roll out to about ½-inch thickness. To help create super fluffy layers, the dough is then folded into thirds, letter-style, and rolled out again. This time, shape it into a 9” x 6” rectangle, then use a floured knife or bench scraper to cut into eight biscuits. I cut the rectangle in half to make two squares, and then cut each of those into four pieces.

To achieve golden brown tops, the shortcakes are brushed with cream before baking. I also sprinkled mine with a little cinnamon and sugar! After baking, they’ll emerge tall and golden brown and ready for all of that delicious apple pie filling. You can also store them in an air tight container if you’d like to make them a day in advance.

STOVETOP APPLE PIE FILLING

I cannot tell you how easy this apple pie filling is to make. The hardest part is just peeling and chopping up all the apples! I wanted to use tons of fall flavors in this recipe, so this filling has a big dose of ground cinnamon and it’s sweetened with a combination of brown sugar and pure maple syrup. A little cornstarch and water help thicken it up, and it cooks for about 10 minutes.

Personally, I feel like the filling is best when it’s still a little warm. It smells heavenly and has so much gooey caramel flavor. I served these shortcakes to my parents, and they couldn’t stop talking about how much they loved the filling! Especially paired with the softness of the shortcakes. They’re a dynamite duo that are (literally) made for each other.

WHIPPED CREAM

This is a simple and straightforward whipped cream—just some heavy cream, a little bit of powdered sugar for sweetness, and a splash of vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste. You’ll want to make this last, preferably on the day you plan to serve the shortcakes, because it doesn’t hold up well for long periods of time. If you need to make it earlier in the day or the night before, you can always keep it sealed in the refrigerator and give it a good whip before assembling the shortcakes.

An alternate option here—vanilla ice cream! I would love to make these again with a scoop of ice cream sandwiched between the shortcakes. It’s a little more reminiscent of apple pie, something that just always needs a scoop of vanilla ice cream in my mind.

And there you have it! Delicious, soft, and tender Apple Pie Shortcakes that are just bursting with the very best fall flavors. I feel like this is a great base recipe for any kind of shortcake, no matter the season. It’s one of those recipes you can count on to be delicious every time without fail thanks to reliable ingredients like Crisco and Clabber Girl. Crisco for tender and fluffy shortcakes, and Clabber Girl baking powder to help them rise and maintain that softness.

So if you’ve never made biscuits or shortcakes from scratch, I really hope you’ll give these a try! It’s a great recipe to start that foray into from-scratch baking, and then you’ll be able to whip these shortcakes up all season long. If you’re looking for a new dessert to serve at family gatherings or you’re just looking for your next weekend baking project, I hope you enjoy this recipe!

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Apple Pie Shortcakes

Prep Time: 40

Cook Time: 20

Total Time: 1

Servings: 8

Ingredients

Shortcakes:

3 cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp Clabber Girl Baking Powder
1 tsp Clabber Girl Baking Soda
½ tsp salt
½ cup Crisco® All-Vegetable Shortening diced and thoroughly chilled
1 large egg
½ cup buttermilk very cold
1 tbsp heavy cream for tops

Apple Pie Filling:

4 medium apples
¼ cup packed light brown sugar
¼ cup Maple Grove Farms pure maple syrup
1 ½ tsp Spice Island ground cinnamon
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp Clabber Girl Cornstarch
1 tsp Spice Island Vanilla Extract

Whipped Cream:

2 cups heavy cream
2 tbsp powdered sugar
1 tsp Spice Island Vanilla Extract

Instructions

To make the shortcakes:

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add diced shortening. Using your clean hands or a pastry cutter, mix the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture is the consistency of coarse meal with small pea-sized pieces throughout.
In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the egg and buttermilk. Using a rubber spatula, mix in the buttermilk mixture until a shaggy dough just comes together.
Preheat oven to 425°F and line a baking pan with parchment.
Turn biscuit dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll out until dough is about ½-inch thick. Fold the dough in thirds, letter style, and roll into a 9” x 6” rectangle. Using a lightly floured knife or bench scraper, cut the dough into 8 pieces.
Transfer biscuits to the prepared baking sheet and arrange in two rows of four, leaving about an inch between them. Brush the top of each biscuit with cream and sprinkle with cinnamon and granulated sugar, if desired.
Bake biscuits for 10 minutes, or until tops are lightly golden brown. Let biscuits cool completely before assembling shortcakes.
Shortcakes can be made a day in advance and stored in an air-tight container at room temperature.

To make the apple pie filling:

In a large saucepan, combine apples, sugar, maple syrup, and ground cinnamon, stirring until apples are evenly coated. Cook over medium heat until apples are slightly tender, 3 to 5 minutes.
Stir together water and cornstarch; add to the saucepan. Stir constantly, until mixture thickens, and then cook over medium low for 10 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Let the filling cool for about 20 minutes, or until just slightly warm.

To make the whipped cream:

Combine heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla in a medium-sized bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip on medium high speed until stiff peaks form.
Whipped cream is best when made the same day you plan to serve the shortcakes. If storing in the refrigerator until ready to use, give the whipped cream a quick whisk before using.

Assembly:

To assemble the shortcakes, cut each biscuit in half. Layer apple pie filling and whipped cream on each shortcake base and add the shortcake tops. Top with additional whipped cream and filling if desired.
Shortcakes are best the day they’re assembled.