Cinnamon Roll Butter Swim Biscuits (+Video)
No rolling and no biscuit cutter needed for these sweet Cinnamon Roll Butter Swim Biscuits. Simple, buttery fluffy biscuits with a sweet glaze on top!
AN EASY CINNAMON ROLL BISCUIT RECIPE
These Cinnamon Roll Butter Swim Biscuits are a sweet take on my classic Butter Dip (a.k.a. Butter Swim) Biscuits that I created over 13 years ago! They still go crazy viral and I know these sweet versions will too. They are really good and cinnamony! The cream cheese glaze really sets these off with that extra hint of sweetness. After a few attempts of playing with the classic recipe, I think I perfected these Cinnamon Roll Biscuits. It doesn’t get much easier than plopping the dough in the melted butter coated dish, cutting your lines and popping them in the oven. No rolling the dough, no kneading, and no biscuit cutter needed!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Even if this seems like a long bake time, they are not over-baked or burnt. They’re a little thicker in density, almost like a banana bread, but they are not over-baked. Your biscuits may look a little dark, but keep in mind that they have a cinnamon sugar mixture in them which can darken the color of the biscuits.
I have only tested this recipe with all-purpose flour. I imagine you could use a gluten free flour or even a whole wheat flour, but you may need to adjust other ingredients.
I prefer it over traditional baking powder as it tastes slightly different. But, if you don’t mind the taste of regular powder, you can use it in place. It is not a make-or-break component to the recipe. Some folks are just sensitive to the aluminum in some baking powders.
You bet. These came from my original Butter Swim Biscuits. I’ve made blueberry and strawberry versions as well and they’re listed below in the craving more section. Check them out there!
Since the biscuit topping has cream cheese in the glaze, you have to keep them chilled in the fridge.
Sure, if you use a bigger pan, you may want to double the recipe. Otherwise, you’ll have thinner biscuits and will need to reduce the baking time.
Place leftover swim biscuits in an airtight container and store them in the fridge for 4-5 days. You can freeze in a freezer safe bag or container for up to 2-3 months.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- salted butter – seems weird to use salted butter in a sweet recipe but it really works here to balance out the overall sweetness but you can use unsalted if that is all you have.
- all-purpose flour – my favorite flour brand is White Lily but you can use whatever you have. The flour does not need to be sifted. Also, you could use self-rising, just leave out the baking powder in this recipe.
- light brown sugar – when measuring brown sugar, you need to pack it into your measuring cup to get an accurate measurement.
- aluminum-free baking powder – I already talk about this in the FAQ above but if you are sensitive to the aluminum taste in baking powder than this will be important – if not, just use what you have.
- heavy cream – I know you’re gonna be tempted to ask me if you can use milk and I’m going to tell you know. You technically could but it just won’t be the same – just trust me on this. You can substitute with buttermilk however.
- cream cheese – this needs to be softened to room temperature. If it isn’t, it will not whip up smooth but instead will stay lumpy and no amount of mixing will get rid of it.
HOW TO MAKE CINNAMON ROLL BUTTER SWIM BISCUITS:
Preheat oven to 450F degrees. Spray a glass or ceramic 8×8-inch or 9×9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray (I like the kind with flour in it). In a microwave-safe bowl, melt stick of butter in the microwave. Pour melted butter into prepared baking dish.
In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar sugar, baking powder, and ground cinnamon.
Pour in the heavy cream and vanilla. Stir until a sticky batter forms. If batter still seems too dry add a tad bit more heavy cream until the batter is thick and sticky.
Pour biscuit dough into baking dish (right on top of the melted butter.) Some of the butter will run over the top of the dough. Tip: I will spray my hand with some nonstick spray to help spread the dough out evenly in the pan.
Cut the dough into 9 squares (as best you can). This will help with cutting later when the biscuits are baked.
Bake (on the middle oven rack) for about 25-30 minutes, rotating dish once during baking. If you find the biscuits are browning too much, you can tent with foil about halfway through.
Oven times DO VARY since different ovens have different hot spots, but basically biscuits should be golden brown on top and spring back to the touch. Insert a toothpick into the center. If it comes out clean with no batter, they are done! Place on the countertop and let cool slightly while making the glaze.
In a medium-sized bowl, whip the cream cheese with the powdered sugar with an electric hand mixer until smooth. Add 1 tablespoon of the milk and mix it in, the glaze should be thick but pourable, if it seems too thick, add up to another tablespoon of milk.
Drizzle the glaze over the warm biscuits and serve.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
Cinnamon Roll Butter Swim Biscuits (+Video)
Ingredients
For the biscuits:
- ½ cup (1 stick) salted butter
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon aluminum-free baking powder
- 1 ½ Tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the glaze:
- 2 Tablespoons cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 Tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450F degrees (yes, that is the correct temperature). Spray an oven-safe glass or ceramic 8×8-inch or 9×9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray (I like the kind with flour in it).
- In a microwave-safe bowl, melt 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter in the microwave. Pour melted butter into prepared baking dish. Note: if your dish is microwave safe, you can just melt the butter directly in the baking dish.
- In a medium bowl, mix together 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, ¼ cup packed light brown sugar, 1 Tablespoon aluminum-free baking powder and 1 1/2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon.
- Pour in 2 cups heavy cream and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Stir until a sticky batter forms. If batter still seems too dry add a tad bit more heavy cream until the batter is thick and sticky.
- Pour biscuit dough into baking dish (right on top of the melted butter.) Some of the butter will run over the top of the dough. Tip: I will spray my hand with some nonstick spray to help spread the dough out evenly in the pan.
- Cut the dough into 9 squares (as best you can). This will help with cutting later when the biscuits are baked.
- Bake (on the middle oven rack) for about 25-30 minutes, rotating dish once during baking. If you find the biscuits are browning too much, you can tent with foil about halfway through.
- Oven times DO VARY since different ovens have different hot spots, but basically biscuits should be golden brown on top and spring back to the touch. Insert a toothpick into the center. If it comes out clean with no batter, they are done!
- Place on the countertop and let cool slightly while making the glaze.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whip 2 Tablespoons cream cheese, with 1 cup powdered sugar with an electric hand mixer until smooth.
- Add 1-2 Tablespoons milk and mix it in, the glaze should be thick but pourable, if it seems too thick, add up to another tablespoon of milk.
- Drizzle the glaze over the warm biscuits and serve.
Video
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
- You can use a different size pan, you’ll just need to adjust baking time.
- Please note, oven times do vary. The factor depends on many things like if you have an electric, gas or convection oven. It also changes depending if you use a metal pan (not recommended) versus ceramic or Pyrex. It also varies depending on which oven rack you use. A toothpick inserted should not have any wet batter on it. Start with the lowest baking time and go up from there. Use your best judgement based on your own personal knowledge of your particular oven.
- Other flour may be used, I just haven’t tested the recipe with it yet so I can’t guarantee any results.
- These may appear darker, but they aren’t burnt. It’s just from the cinnamon sugar.
- Because this recipe has cream cheese in the frosting, you need to refrigerate the rolls.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
You’ve outdone yourself, lady! This one has me running for the flour!!
Ha! Thanks so much Mich!
Any make-ahead advice? Can the batter sit in the butter a while before they go into the oven? After baking, do they keep and reheat well? I’m doing a Meal Train for someone going thru chemo, and her appetite is iffy so they may not get eaten right away. These seem like a nice thing for her to have ready to heat up. Obviously I’ll keep the glaze separate, any other advice?
Hey Robyn! How sweet! I know it will be so appreciated! I would make and bake them ahead of time. These reheat very easily. Pop them into the microwave for a few seconds. They can hang out in the fridge for a week (probably longer to be honest) and be just fine!
These look amazing! Is it possible to make these with buttermilk instead of cream? If so, would you make any other changes to the recipe to adjust to this change? Looking forward to making these!
Maria, have a look at my original recipe for Butter Dip Biscuits that uses buttermilk. Buttermilk will provide more tang to the recipe as opposed to heavy cream 🙂 https://www.thecountrycook.net/butter-dip-biscuits/