Butter Swim Biscuits: The Baking Technique That Leaves Your Biscuits Swimming In Butter

Biscuits, the pillowy baked goodness that complements any meal, can be made in several ways and means different things throughout the world. In the U.S., we fill biscuits with everything from sliced Easter ham to softened butter and lemon curd, whereas in other countries, biscuits are what Americans call cookies, and scones are similar to our biscuits. Confused? Even the twice-baked, crunchy textured Italian cookie, biscotti, is considered a biscuit.

Whatever you call them, biscuits are a big deal in the U.S. Cracker Barrel sells 210 million biscuits a year, and home cooks have been baking them for centuries. In the South, where biscuits are taken seriously, White Lily brand flour is mixed with buttermilk and shortening to make flakey, tender biscuits. Outside of the South, where it's challenging to find that brand of flour, bakers either roll and cut their biscuits into squares or circles or make drop biscuits. Like dumplings, drop biscuits have a wet batter that is added to a baking sheet in freeform mounds. When baked, drop biscuits are less uniform and 'perfect looking' as rolled biscuits, but taste just as good. 

Thanks to TikTok, there's a hybrid option that falls between a rolled and drop biscuit. Butter Swim Biscuits are easy to bake for novices and, as the name suggests, swim in a pool of butter as they bake (YUM).

Jess from Spilling the Sweet Tea on TikTok bakes these drop biscuits in a square casserole dish swimming in a pool of butter instead of a sheet pan. Butter Swim Biscuits are cut into squares, so they are prettier than traditionally made drop biscuits, and since they are cooked in butter, they are decadent.

To make the appropriately named biscuits, combine the dry ingredients — flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt — in a large bowl, making a well in the center for the buttermilk. Mix the ingredients just enough to make a wet, sticky dough. Avoid overmixing since it will develop the gluten in the flour and result in tough biscuits. The buttermilk biscuit dough is poured on top of half a stick of melted butter in the casserole pan, covering the entire surface of the pan and smoothing the top.

@spilling_the_sweet_tea

Go to @Jess❤️✨ page for the measurements for these butter swim biscuit. #spillingthesweettea

♬ FEEL THE GROOVE – Queens Road, Fabian Graetz

The dough is scored into nine square biscuits before going into a 450-degree oven until the tops are golden brown. Recut the risen biscuits and baste them with the leftover melted butter before serving. The biscuits are best served fresh out of the oven. The butter imparts a delicious flavor, and the additional fat makes a tender biscuit. This recipe is ideal for bakers new to the biscuit-making game or anyone who loves biscuits.