Fall means a lot of things, but perhaps the one I get most excited about is…APPLES! Squeezed into cider, drizzled with caramel or melted down into sauce in the crockpot, they’re delicious (and nutritious!) any which way you can get your hands on them this time of year.

This recipe stopped me in my tracks, though, as I was flipping through the latest issue of Real Simple magazine. Could my favorite fall-themed fruit also play well with biscuits, sausage and cheese?

Only a taste test would tell. So I made this dish one Sunday for a football-watching brunch with Ben. It says it serves 12, but we may have eaten half the pan by noon…using the excuse that it was good pre-workout fuel, of course.

Apple, Sausage & Cheddar Monkey Bread

(recipe adapted from Real Simple)

Ingredients: 

• 16-oz. turkey breakfast sausage
• 2 diced red apples
• 16-oz. can biscuit dough, cut into 1-in. pieces
• 1.5 cups grated cheddar cheese

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 425° F. Cook sausage in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat until browned.
2. Stir in apples. Cook until the apples are soft; transfer to a bowl. Stir in biscuit dough.
3. Spread mixture into the skillet, and top with cheddar. Bake until golden, about 22 minutes.

What’s your favorite out-of-the-box apple recipe?