Butter Swim Cornbread Biscuits with blueberries and rosemary

Butter + Biscuits + Cornbread + fresh local blueberries = YUM!

Whether enjoying on a warm sultry summer morning on the porch at the beach or in Christmas pajamas with family by a crisp fire, these cornbread biscuits will bring smiles to all.  And oh, did I mention… they’re “swimming” in butter?  

Try as I might, I’ve tried to find some history about butter swim biscuits with no luck (so if reading this and have anything to share on that, please do). No matter where they came from, what a genius idea to make biscuits that are literally swimming in butter!  When I created this recipe it was the middle of summer… peak blueberry season here in North Carolina.  But since we can find fresh blueberries mostly year-round now, you can make and enjoy these anytime.  You can throw them together faster than the time it takes to preheat the oven… and ready in time for that 2nd cup o’coffee.  Eat with a spoon… unless, you like finger lick’n which is what you’ll be doing with these little buttery biscuits if enjoyed by hand.

Fix these cornbread biscuits to put out on breakfast and brunch buffets… or as I sometimes enjoy… and a side dish to savory charred grilled meats, especially pork.  No matter how or where… bake up a dish or two of these decadent soft-with-a-little-crunch-on-top cornbread biscuits.  You’ll be the biscuit rock star.  And PS… this is a great recipe for your aspiring chefs to make too.

This recipe created for and published in Carolina Country Magazine July 2022 © (copyrighted)
Propping/styling and photography  by
Wendy Perry Carolina Country Magazine Contributing Recipes Editor

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Print Recipe

Butter Swim Cornbread Biscuits with blueberries and rosemary

These baked beauties are a little bit cornbread and a little bit biscuit. If you’ve never made butter swim biscuits, they are just what they sound like: biscuits, swimming in butter as they bake. 

Course: Breads & Cornbreads

Cuisine: American, Farmers Market, Southern

Keyword: biscuits, butter swim biscuits, cornbread biscuits, eggplant, grilling,, blueberry vinaigrette

Servings: 9 biscuits

Author: Wendy Perry

Ingredients

• 1 stick butter
• 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 ⅔ cup buttermilk
• ¼ cup chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 cup fresh blueberries*
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons flake salt
• 2 tablespoons melted butter

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Put butter into an 8-by-8-inch baking dish to melt while oven heats and biscuits are made.
• Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon salt. Stir in buttermilk and rosemary until just blended and dough is wet. Overworking will make biscuits “tough.” Gently fold in blueberries. 
• Spoon batter over melted butter and spread to edges with a spatula. Dust with 1 tablespoon of sugar and the flake salt if so desired. Cut into 3-by-3-inch squares before putting into hot oven. 
• Bake 30–40 minutes until golden brown.
• Brush with the melted butter and let sit for butter to be absorbed. Cut and serve.

Notes

Variation: For pastry-type biscuits, add ¼ cup sugar to the batter. Make a glaze of powdered sugar and a little water to drizzle over top when done.

*You can substitute frozen berries. Just toss the frozen berries in a bit of flour to keep them from sinking and stay mixed into the batter before stirring in.  You may need to bake a couple of minute more if adding in frozen berries.