Apple Fritter Flavor Without Frying
Apple Fritter Butter-Swim Biscuits combine tender cinnamon-spiced apples with the rich, buttery texture of a butter-swim biscuit. They bake with crisp, golden edges and a soft, moist center, while a light vanilla glaze gives them the familiar finish of a classic apple fritter.
There is no rolling, folding or cutting individual biscuits. The soft biscuit mixture is spread directly into a cast-iron skillet filled with melted butter, scored into wedges and baked until golden.
What Are Butter-Swim Biscuits?
Butter-swim biscuits get their name from the generous amount of melted butter surrounding the biscuit mixture as it bakes. Some of the butter is absorbed into the biscuits, while the rest helps create crisp, deeply golden edges.
The mixture is much wetter than traditional biscuit dough. It should look thick and gloopy rather than firm enough to knead or roll. This extra moisture creates a tender center that contrasts beautifully with the buttery crust.
Choosing the Best Apples
Choose a firm baking apple that will soften while still holding its shape. Granny Smith apples provide a tart contrast to the sweet glaze, but they are not the only good choice. Honeycrisp, Pink Lady and Braeburn apples also work well.
Avoid apples that become very soft or mealy when heated. The goal is to have small, tender pieces of apple throughout the biscuits rather than apples that disappear into the dough.
Why Cook the Apples First?
Briefly cooking the apples in butter, brown sugar and cinnamon begins softening them and brings out their flavor. They only need 3–5 minutes in the skillet. They should still hold their shape because they will continue cooking in the oven.
Cooking the apples first also shows how much moisture they will release. Some varieties are much juicier than others, and that moisture affects how much buttermilk the biscuit mixture will need.
Baking Them in an 8×8-Inch Dish
Apple Fritter Butter-Swim Biscuits can also be prepared in an 8×8-inch baking dish, which is the traditional way to make butter-swim biscuits. Cook the apple mixture in a separate skillet, then place the stick of butter in the baking dish and melt it in the oven.
Prepare the biscuit mixture as directed, spread it over the melted butter and score it into 9 squares before baking. Because the mixture will be slightly thicker in an 8×8-inch dish than in a 10-inch skillet, it may need a few additional minutes in the oven. Begin checking after 25 minutes and bake until the top is golden and the center no longer contains wet dough.
Apple Fritter Butter-Swim Biscuits
Ingredients
Cinnamon Apples
- 2 cups peeled cored and finely diced firm baking apples, such as Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Pink Lady or Braeburn
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Biscuit Dough
- 300 grams 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup cane sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1½ –2 cups buttermilk as needed
- 1 stick butter
Vanilla Glaze
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons milk
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 425°F.
- Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add the diced apples, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cook for 3–5 minutes, stirring frequently. The apples should begin to soften but still hold their shape. Remove the skillet from the heat, stir the vanilla into the apples and transfer the apples and all their juices to a bowl.
- Place 1 stick of butter in the empty skillet. Put the skillet in the hot oven for 3–5 minutes, or just until the butter has completely melted.
- While the butter melts, whisk together the flour, cane sugar, baking powder and kosher salt in a large mixing bowl. Measure 2 cups of buttermilk, but keep it separate from the dry ingredients for now. Once the buttermilk is added, the baking powder begins working, so the biscuit mixture should be made only after the skillet is ready.
- Carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven and place it on a heat-safe surface. Remember that the skillet and its handle will be extremely hot.
- Pour 1½ cups of the buttermilk into the dry ingredients and stir gently until most of the flour is moistened. Fold in the cooked apples and all their juices.
- Add the remaining buttermilk a little at a time, gently stirring after each addition. Stop adding buttermilk when the mixture is wet, thick and gloopy. It should be much softer and wetter than traditional biscuit dough, but it should not be thin or easily pourable. Because some apples release more juice than others, you may not need the entire 2 cups of buttermilk. Do not overmix.
- Spoon the biscuit mixture into the skillet directly over the melted butter. Do not stir the butter into the dough. Gently spread the mixture to the edges of the skillet; the butter will rise around the sides and may flow over parts of the top.
- Use a knife to score the unbaked biscuit mixture into 8 wedges. Scoring it before baking makes the finished biscuits easier to separate.
- Bake for 12 minutes. Carefully rotate the skillet, then bake for another 8–13 minutes. Begin checking after a total of 20 minutes. The biscuits are done when the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center does not have wet dough on it. Moist crumbs or apple juices on the toothpick are fine.
- Let the biscuits cool in the skillet for about 10 minutes.
- While they cool, whisk together the powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon milk and vanilla. If the glaze is too thick to drizzle, add more milk a small amount at a time. Drizzle the glaze lightly over the warm biscuits.
- Cut along the scored lines and serve warm.