Butter Swim Biscuits With Peach Jalapeno Jam Recipe

There are quite a few types of biscuits out there — buttermilk, shortcake, Southern-style, and drop, just to name a few — and these butter swim biscuits, brought to us by recipe developer Kara Barrett, are yet another variation to add to the list. As the name suggests, the method for making butter swim biscuits involves cooking them directly in a melted pool of butter, resulting in a delightfully soft-on-the-inside and crisp-on-the-outside biscuit. Barrett takes things a step further by incorporating a peach jalapeño jam into the mix, which adds just the right sweet-spicy flavor combination to complement the rich, buttery, cheesy flavor of the biscuits themselves. 

Barrett even goes as far as to say the peach jalapeño jam is what truly elevates this dish. "Homemade jam takes these easy biscuits to the next level with a spicy and sweet addition," she describes, adding, "These are the easiest biscuits for home cooks to whip up and you don't have to worry about rolling dough." Indeed, thanks to the butter swim method — something we'll touch on in more detail later on — this recipe is a great resource for those who are new to baking or are a little wary about making from-scratch dough. So long as you can mix up a batter and dollop it into a pan of melted butter, you'll be able to whip up these biscuits in a buttery breeze.

The first order of business is making the peach jalapeño jam, a task that requires fresh peaches, a jalapeño, lemon juice, and granulated sugar. The biscuits require all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, cheddar cheese, and buttermilk, along with a stick of melted butter to serve as the "pool" in which the dough will swim in. Optionally, once the biscuits are baked, you can drizzle them with honey for an extra touch of sweetness.

Chop the peach and deseed and mince the jalapeño.

In a saucepan, combine the peaches, jalapeño, lemon juice, and sugar and bring to a rapid simmer.

Simmer to allow the peaches to soften for 20 minutes or until the jam is thick enough to coat a spoon or leave a clean mark when you run a spatula through the pan. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 425 F.

Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and cheddar in a bowl.

Add the buttermilk and mix until you have a thick, chunky batter. It should be suitable for spooning into a cake pan but not be pourable like a cake batter or solid like a dough.

Pour the melted butter into an 8x8-inch cake pan.

Add the batter, spreading it evenly into the corners. The butter will pool on top.

Add dollops of jam at each corner and a final dollop in the center.

Swirl the jam with a chopstick, toothpick, or butter knife.

Bake at 425 F for approximately 30-35 minutes or until the biscuits are done all the way through.

Drizzle with honey after removing from the oven, if desired, and serve.

We've explored the way in which the butter swim method can be used to make biscuits, though this is a baking method that stretches far beyond just biscuits. "The butter swim method is a way of baking quick breads, and sometimes cakes, in melted butter," Barrett explains. "The results are crispy edges that fry in the butter but preserve the tender interior." She adds that you can use something like a cast iron skillet or a simple baking dish when making a butter swim recipe — pretty much anything oven-safe will get the job done. 

Barrett compares the whole process to that of making focaccia. Though focaccia is a little different, since it's doused in olive oil as opposed to butter, the same principle applies. As Barrett explains, "Like focaccia, dough fries in fat." Since the method of making these biscuits and making focaccia is a very similar one, there's plenty of room for experimentation when it comes to making butter-swim baked goods. "You could even create a quick bread biscuit focaccia version with a little experimentation and adding olive oil to your butter mix," Barrett suggests.

Though this is a pretty specific recipe when it comes to method and flavor profile, that doesn't mean that there isn't room for creativity. To go for a more savory version, Barrett recommends omitting the jam and adding something like cooked sausage or bacon to the mix. Or, if you want to keep the jam but don't have time to make a homemade version, you can easily just use dollops of any jam or jelly that you keep in the fridge. "I've also made an Elvis sandwich-inspired version with peanut butter, jelly, and banana," Barrett says, confirming that you can swap ingredients in and out to create a butter swim biscuit version all your own.

Another way you can customize these biscuits is by amping up the spice level, which you can accomplish by adding chipotle puree or more jalapeño to the jam (the recipe only calls for one) or chipotle powder to the dry ingredients so the biscuits themselves have a little kick. Then, once you've mastered this recipe, you can get creative with using the butter swim method in general. "Love the cheddar bay biscuits from Red Lobster? Make a butter swim version," Barrett suggests.