These Strawberry Biscuits use the “butter swim” method which means they are essentially cooked in a small pool of butter that bubbles up as they cook giving them incredible flavor, a gorgeous golden color, and a light interior and crisp exterior. They’re flaky, doughy, slightly sweet, a little tart, and oh so good. Slightly reminiscent of a strawberry shortcake.
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Ingredients
Ingredient quantities for these strawberry biscuit can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Buttermilk: deliciously tangy and thick, adds great flavor to the biscuits. This cannot be substituted for heavy cream, regular milk (like whole milk or 2%) or any nondairy milks – they won’t react with the leavening agent properly as they are not acidic.
- Unsalted butter: unsalted, good quality butter - Kerrygold or Plugra are my go-to.
- Sugar: standard white granulated sugar.
- Honey: flavors the biscuits and adds some sweetness so that we don’t have to use all granulated sugar.
- Fresh strawberries: delicious ripe strawberries, diced into small pieces. The sweet strawberries pair really nicely with the tangy buttermilk.
- Flour: all purpose flour.
- Baking soda: the leavening agent.
- Salt: kosher salt, always. If you only have table salt, use a little less, it's saltier.
- Lemon zest: brightens up the thick biscuits with some citrus that pairs well with the buttermilk and strawberries.
How to make homemade strawberry biscuits
1. Combine the sugar and lemon zest. In a large bowl, rub the granulated sugar and lemon zest together with your fingers until the sugar is very fragrant.
2. Add the dry ingredients. To the lemon sugar add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix with a rubber spatula to combine.
3. Mix in the wet ingredients. Add the buttermilk and honey. Mix until halfway combined.
4. Add the strawberries. Gently fold the diced strawberries in until the batter is fully combined and a sticky dough forms.
5. Melt the butter. Put the butter in the 8x8 baking pan and place it in the preheated oven until melted.
6. Put the batter in the pan. Carefully place the biscuit dough batter into the pan with the melted butter and gently spread out into a somewhat even layer. It does not need to be perfect and it’s ok if some butter comes up over top of the batter. Using a sharp knife, slice 9 squares into the unbaked dough.
7. Bake. Put the baking pan back into the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until the biscuits are cooked through and deeply golden brown on top.
Tips and tricks
To help you nail these homemade biscuits check out the tips and tricks below.
- Use an oven thermometer to ensure your oven is at the proper temperature.
- You can melt the butter in the microwave or a saucepan if you don’t want to melt it directly in the pan.
- Cooking the biscuits in the butter makes the pan non-stick enough so you do not need to spray it beforehand or use parchment paper.
- If you want to go the ultra-decadent route, drizzle the warm biscuits with some vanilla icing (powdered sugar + a splash of milk + a splash of vanilla extract + you can also add a small squeeze of lemon juice) or dollop homemade whipped cream on top (heavy whipping cream + powdered sugar + salt) .
- If you’d like them just a little sweeter, sprinkle raw sugar on top of the biscuits before baking, this will also give them a nice crunch.
How to make buttermilk
If you don't have buttermilk at home, you can quickly make it by adding a scant cup of whole milk to a measuring cup and fill the rest with white vinegar, about 1 tablespoon in total. Let it sit for a few minutes and you'll have buttermilk.
How a butter swim biscuit is different than a traditional biscuit
You don't necessarily get the same flaky layers with butter swim biscuits, they are a little more doughy. However, with butter swim biscuits you don't need to use a food processor, pastry blender, or rolling pin, any other excess kitchen tools. You also don't have to worry about the butter being kept really cold or dirtying a workspace.
Making a brunch spread
If you want to make these strawberry biscuits as part of a larger brunch spread, I’d recommend serving with any of the below. You’d want to stay away from anything too carby because the biscuits themselves are quite heavy.
- Eggs (quiche, frittata, scrambled)
- Fruit (more berries or citrus)
- Meat (bacon, turkey bacon, maple bacon)
- Greek yogurt parfaits with berries and granola
Storage
Store leftover biscuits in an airtight container at room temp for up to 2 days or in the fridge for up to 4 days.
FAQs
No, they have more water retained from being frozen so the cooked strawberry juices will cause the batter to be too wet and the biscuits won't cook through.
Yes, I think that would work however I have not tested it.
Most any fresh berries will work in this recipe – blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries.
No, for butter swim biscuits there is no use of a pastry cutter to blend cold butter, folding and layering, or overly dirtying a work surface.
Did you make this recipe? Leave a rating and review below and tag me on social!
📖 Recipe
Strawberry Biscuits
Ingredients
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 ½ cups buttermilk
- ¼ cup honey
- ½ cup butter
- 1 cup fresh strawberries diced
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400°F.
- Combine the sugar and lemon zest. In a large bowl, rub the granulated sugar and lemon zest together with your fingers until the sugar is very fragrant.
- Add the dry ingredients. To the lemon sugar add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix with a rubber spatula to combine.
- Mix in the wet ingredients. Add the buttermilk and honey. Mix until halfway combined.
- Add the strawberries. Gently fold the diced strawberries in until the batter is fully combined and a sticky dough forms.
- Melt the butter. Put the butter in the 8x8 baking pan and place it in the preheated oven until melted.
- Put the batter in the pan. Carefully place the biscuit dough batter into the pan with the melted butter and gently spread out into a somewhat even layer. It does not need to be perfect and it’s ok if some butter comes up over top of the batter. Using a sharp knife, slice 9 squares into the unbaked dough.
- Bake. Put the baking pan back into the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until the biscuits are cooked through and deeply golden brown on top.
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