Cinnamon Raisin Biscuits
Cinnamon Raisin Biscuits – sweetened buttermilk biscuits with cinnamon and raisins. Great addition to your breakfast menu.
I’m reaching way back for today’s recipe. Twenty years at least. I remember first hearing someone mention Cinnamon Raisin Biscuits back in, oh, about the mid-1980s or so. Of course, I grew up enjoying buttermilk biscuits on a regular basis but the idea of a “sweet” biscuit had really never entered my mind. Biscuits were savory! Weren’t they?
As I soon found out, biscuits can be all sorts of things. Sweet or savory, with combinations of fruit or herbs or cheeses that take that standard, but utterly delicious, buttermilk biscuit to all new heights!
There is a fast food chain that offers Cinnamon Raisin Biscuits on their breakfast menu and this recipe is pretty close to theirs. I love these biscuits with a good cup of coffee and little else. You might also enjoy them split with a pat of butter (preferably a nice, rich Irish variety) and honey drizzled over. They’re also fabulous for an afternoon snack with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream. Hope you enjoy this little retro gem of a recipe!
How to Make Cinnamon Raisin Biscuits
This step is completely optional, but I always like to plump the raisins before adding them to the biscuit dough. It makes them nice and tender and juicy in the finished biscuits instead of hard and chewy. However, if you want to skip right to mixing the dough, be my guest :-)
To plump the raisins, place them in a small bowl and pour over just enough boiling water to cover. Let the raisins sit for about 10 minutes. Drain well.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease or line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and sugar. Add the shortening and butter. Cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or fork until fine crumbs form.
Now, I know someone is going to question why I would include baking soda and baking powder when the recipe calls for self-rising flour. Well, I don’t have a scientific explanation for you, I just know it works. I think it’s because this dough is pretty heavy, and it takes a little extra oomph to push it skyward with all those raisins in the mixture. I’ve left it out before and wished later I had included it. The biscuits are still really good without it, just not so fluffy. Your mileage may vary.
Next, add the buttermilk and raisins. Stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Be careful not to overmix. Sprinkle the cinnamon over the dough in the bowl and stir again only enough to swirl it through the batter.
Turn out the dough onto a floured surface. The dough will be pretty rough and shaggy looking at this point. That’s okay. Knead the dough just enough to bring it together – 3 or 4 times at most.
Flour the top of the dough and pat it into a 1/2-inch thick circle.
Cut out biscuits using a floured 2-inch biscuit cutter and place them on the prepared baking sheets. Gently gather together the scraps, form a circle, and continue cutting out biscuits.
Here’s a little tip – as I said earlier, this is a somewhat heavy dough. It’s also wet and sticky which means it can be difficult to handle. I find it much easier if I keep a little “puddle” of flour on the board and dip my cutter into it before cutting out each biscuit. I also transfer the biscuits from the board to the baking sheet with a spatula dipped in flour.
Also, remember when cutting out any biscuits to press the cutter straight down and pull it straight back up without twisting. Twisting the cutter tends to seal the edges of the biscuits and that prevents them from rising as high as they otherwise would.
Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.
To make the glaze, stir together all the ingredients in a small bowl. Transfer to a zip top bag and press the glaze down into one corner. Twist the top closed just as you would a regular pastry bag. Snip the corner and pipe onto cooled biscuits.
More Recipes You’ll Like
- Sausage Gravy and Biscuits with Tomatoes
- Easy Butter Swim Biscuits
- Easy Pumpkin Spice Cruffins
- Old Fashioned Buttermilk Biscuit
- Raspberry Scones
- Herbed Drop Biscuits
- Bacon Cheddar Biscuits
- Biscuit Pudding
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Cinnamon Raisin Biscuits
Ingredients
- 1 cup raisins
- 4 cups self-rising flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ½ cup shortening
- ¼ cup butter
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Glaze:
- 1 cup confectioner’s sugar sifted
- 4 teaspoons milk
- 1 ½ teaspoon corn syrup
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Place the raisins in a small bowl and pour over just enough boiling water to cover. Let the raisins sit for about 10 minutes. Drain well.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease or line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and sugar. Add the shortening and butter. Cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or fork until fine crumbs form.
- Add the buttermilk and raisins. Stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Be careful not to overmix.
- Sprinkle the cinnamon over the dough in the bowl and stir just enough to swirl it through the batter.
- Turn out the dough onto a floured surface. Knead just enough to bring the dough together – 3 or 4 times at most. Flour the top of the dough and pat into a 1/2-inch thick circle.
- Cut out biscuits using a floured 2-inch biscuit cutter and place on the prepared baking sheets. Gently gather together the scraps forming a circle and continue cutting out biscuits.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.
- To make the glaze, stir together all ingredients in a small bowl. Transfer to a zip-top bag. Press the glaze down into one corner of the bag and twist the top closed. Snip the corner and pipe onto cooled biscuits.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated by software based on the ingredients in each recipe. It is an estimate only and is provided for informational purposes. You should consult your health care provider or a registered dietitian if precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.
Thank you Lana. I look forward to making the biscuits. They sound so good.
Lana could you freeze these? I’m the only one in my house hold who likes raisins and you said the recipe makes a lot.
They should freeze easily. I’d probably wrap them individually and let them thaw in the fridge. Then reheat them in the oven.
yum! you can never go wrong with a good biscuit.. love the flavour combinations and that glaze looks so delicious. love it!
Ooooooo…raisins and cinnamon are such a wonderful combo. Love these biscuits!
I love anything with cinnamon and raisins. These biscuits look so great, Lana! Love the icing too!!
When I was a kid I wouldn’t eat anything with raisins. Then I grew up and realized how much I was missing! These biscuits look great :)
This is my idea of breakfast heaven!
Thanks, Rebecca! I think so , too.
What a great breakfast biscuit!
Yes, they’re great for breakfast or afternoon snacks or bedtime treats or…
Fabulous idea! I’d love to make these when I have overnight company.
They’d be perfect to serve to guests. And the recipe makes quite a lot!
I love love these biscuits. Kind of remind me of hot cross buns—the easy way. Obviously I like to make biscuits better.
Would you believe I’ve never had hot cross buns, Carol! I need to put that recipe on my to-make list.
So many great tips, thanks! And what a yummy sweet biscuit recipe!
You’re welcome, Stephanie! And yes, they are pretty darned yummy.
Perfect weekend breakfast
Why yes. Yes, they are!
I’ve never heard of a sweet biscuit before! Thanks for the tips on handling the dough!
You’re welcome, Coleen. The dough is a bit tricky, but do-able.
I want those right now with a hot cup of coffee. I’d also like a couple for breakfast tomorrow. Am I too demanding?:)
Not demanding at all, Lora! I’ll ship them right out to you :-)
YUM!! Hardee’s has cinnamon raisin biscuits but I’m never out that early in the morning to get them! It has been years!! Thank you for sharing your recipe now I can try them out at home! They are probably a lot healthier too!
They’re a real treat, Crystal! Hope you enjoy them.
Lana: I HAVE Hardee’s regular biscuit recipe. It was given to my son, my baker, by the lady who worked at Hardee’s back in the early 1980’s before the home office began shipping the pre-made biscuit mix to their fast food restaurants. She made them every morning from scratch and shared the recipe with us. What a coo! We must have served thousands of them, as office workers like up in the morning for our freshly made sausage and ham biscuits.
Would you share the recipe ? Pretty please.
Hi Virginia – you’ll find the recipe right there at the bottom of the post.
These biscuits look delicious! They would be perfect for breakfast, desset, and darling in a gift basket for someone!
The gift basket is a great idea, Amanda. Packaged with a pound of really nice coffee and a couple of mugs. I like it!
Oh, Lana. Raisins in a biscuit? I must protest in the strongest possible manner! Raisins are a fine snack, by the handful. But in baked goods? No, no, no! (Don’t even get me started on the bait and switch schemes many convenience stores run with what looks like oatmeal/chocolate chip cookies!) Now, this recipe – but with Craisins, or dried blueberries or cherries – now that would be a thing of beauty! ((Just kidding. Mostly. Except for my disdain for cooked/baked raisins.)) Thanks for a great site!
Well, okay. Thank you? I think…
Sorry if the humor doesn’t come across via text! Out of kizillions of your recipes, this is just the one that I’d personally have to make a few tweaks to to enjoy. =)