Fry

Savory Sage and Apple Chelsea Buns (made with Scone Dough)

by:
November 18, 2014
5
1 Ratings
Savory Sage and Apple Chelsea Buns (made with Scone Dough)
  • Makes 12 pinwheel biscuits
Author Notes

This is a savory version of the pumpkin butter pinwheels I make, inspired by the recipe for Butterscotch Biscuits in the 1950 edition of “The Gourmet Cookbook.” Feel free to go holiday-festive with these, adding dried cranberries along with the apples. The same filling ingredients can also be used with your favorite yeast dough (making them more like a true Chelsea bun.) I do hope you enjoy this recipe. ;o) —AntoniaJames

Test Kitchen Notes

Finally! A breakfast item that pleases the whole family that's not loaded with sugar. These delightfully aromatic yet teasingly sweet breakfast rolls are slightly reminiscent of vvvanessa’s Apple Pie Pork Chops (http://food52.com/recipes...) but in a conveniently travel ready biscuit. They warm up well, are pretty tasty cold, and have plenty of room for tweaking to your family's tastes by varying the type of sausage and cheese. Be careful not to overwork the dough, it is supposed to be sticky so it will hold together when rolled up. —Alexis

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 280 grams / 2.25 cups all-purpose flour + more for rolling out
  • 2 teaspoons / 10 ml baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon / 5 grams / 5 ml salt
  • 1 tablespoon / 12 grams / 15 ml brown sugar
  • 84 grams / 3 ounces / 6 tablespoons very cold unsalted butter
  • 1 egg (cold)
  • 177 ml / 171 grams / 3/4 cup milk, cold
  • 170 grams / 6 ounces well-seasoned bulk breakfast sausage
  • 1 tablespoon / 15 ml fresh rosemary leaves
  • 8 fresh sage leaves
  • 31 grams / 1/2 cup finely chopped dried apples
  • 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
  • 2 tablespoons / 30 ml Dijon mustard
  • 60 grams (2.125 ounces / 3/4 cup), coarsely grated Manchego or similar cheese, loosely packed
Directions
  1. Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar together in a large bowl. Using the large holes of a box grater, grate the butter and add to the dry ingredients.
  2. Beat the egg and add the milk, gently, to blend. (I do this by beating the egg in my liquid measure, and then weighing the milk directly into it.) Using a gentle folding motion, mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Generously flour your work surface. Turn the dough out onto the surface; with well-floured hands, pull the dough together into a rectangle about 6 x 8 inches. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 10 minutes. Heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
  3. Fry the sausage until thoroughly cooked and crisp on the outside. While it’s cooking, finely chop the herbs and the dried apples, together. When the sausage is cooked, put it on the cutting board, and finely chop it with the nutmeg, herbs, and apples.
  4. On a floured work surface -- I actually do this on a floured piece of plastic wrap (the same one I used to wrap and refrigerate the dough) -- roll out the biscuit dough into a rectangle that is 8 x 18 inches. This is a very soft, sticky dough. Liberally flour the top, and use a second piece of plastic wrap for the top if necessary.
  5. Spread on the mustard, then sprinkle on the grated cheese. Distribute the sausage, apples, and herbs over the entire surface, leaving a 3/4" border unfilled. Roll up tightly, jelly roll-style, starting with the long side closest to you. Cut into 1 1/2-inch slices. (I use my bench scraper, well-floured, to do this.) Place on the parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet (often called a "quarter sheet"). The buns can be an inch or even less apart. (If they lose their shape when you transfer them -- they tend to flatten out a bit when cut, don't worry. Just use your fingers to shape them back into circles. They're forgiving once they start to rise.)
  6. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the buns on the parchment to a cooling rack; let cool for a few minutes before serving.
  7. I hope you enjoy these. Yours sincerely, AntoniaJames ;o)
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Recipe by: AntoniaJames

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7 Reviews

Katu
Katu February 5, 2015
How could I incorporate more eggs into these? Do you think scrambling 5 or 6 eggs and spreading on with the other filling would work?
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames February 5, 2015
I'd worry about the eggs becoming overcooked and thus, rubbery (unappealing and with that awful overcooked egg flavor). I could be wrong, so why don't you post this question to the Hotline? Others out there may have done it before, or have good ideas based on experience. ;o) P.S. You can click on the tab "Questions" above the comment box at the top of this thread to get a link from the recipe to the Hotline. ;o)
 
aargersi
aargersi December 4, 2014
AJ I made these a couple weeks ago for us and niece and nephew for Sunday Brunch and they were FANTASTIC and really easy enough to whip together in to 30 minutes before the rest of the house wakes up ...
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames February 5, 2015
Thank you, Abbie, belatedly. So glad your family liked them, and that you found them easy to whip up. Incidentally, I froze about half a batch the last time I made them and then defrosted those to take on a hike, for breakfast on the trail. Quite good. ;o)
 
Tarah T.
Tarah T. November 13, 2018
If I want to freeze them should I allow to cool completely. How to wrap and thaw.. before warming...?????
Thanks
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames December 4, 2014
Thank you, Alexis, for the great review! ;o)
 
aargersi
aargersi November 20, 2014
I don't know which of your breakfast baking treats to try first, they all sound amazing!!!