Cinnamon Raisin Biscuits
With lots of flaky layers and raisins in every bite, these cinnamon raisin biscuits are made with just a few basic ingredients and come together in less than one hour. The sweet cinnamon glaze on top is so easy to make and takes these biscuits to the next level!
When my husband and I first started dating, he used to love stopping by Hardee’s occasionally for breakfast to pick up a pack of their cinnamon raisin biscuits. They’re discontinued now, but they bring them back every now and then so we have to swing by to get some whenever that happens!
I’m sure it will come as no surprise, but this homemade version is a take on their classic cinnamon raisin biscuits. Except they’re easy to make and taste so much better!
To create these biscuits, I used my favorite buttermilk biscuit recipe as a starting point. I upped the sugar and added vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, and lots of plump raisins to create a sweet biscuit with a lot of cinnamon raisin flavor.
I also drizzled the biscuits with some homemade cinnamon icing for an extra pop of sweetness and to keep them as close to the original as I could. If you love anything cinnamon raisin, I guarantee you will love this recipe!
Recipe Video
The Temperature Of Your Ingredients Matters
The butter and buttermilk must be cold (I’m talking straight from the fridge!).
Why? Because cold butter creates layers of fat within the dough. As the biscuits bake, the butter melts and creates pockets of steam. Those steam pockets are what make the biscuits rise sky high and super flaky!
The biscuits won’t rise very well if the butter is too warm, so keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to add it to the dough. Same goes with the buttermilk! The colder the dough, the better.
Tips For Making The Dough
- Make sure to measure your flour correctly. Too much flour can lead to dry, dense biscuits. A kitchen scale will make it much easier and more accurate to measure your flour. If you don’t have one, I always recommend using the spoon and level method when measuring your flour to prevent over measuring.
- Thoroughly mix together the dry ingredients. Mixing them well before the butter and wet ingredients are added prevents over mixing later on.
- Cut the butter in until you have small pea-sized pieces of butter. I usually use a pastry cutter for this step, but you could also freeze the butter and just grate it into the dry ingredients using a cheese grater.
- Don’t over work the dough. Don’t try to knead the dough, gently fold it (I’ll explain how to in a minute). If you overwork the dough, the butter will warm up and you can over develop the gluten too. If that happens, you’ll end up with dense hockey pucks, not soft biscuits.
How To Fold & Cut The Dough
Folding the biscuit dough is technically optional. I did test this recipe without folding the dough and the biscuits still turned out great, they just weren’t as flaky.
However, folding the dough only takes a couple extra minutes and forms layers of butter in the dough. Those layers of butter translate to light and flaky biscuits!
Here’s how to fold the dough:
- Fold it in thirds like a letter
- Turn and flatten it
- Fold again (you’ll be repeating this process a total of three times)
That’s it! Remember, you don’t want to overwork the dough, just gently fold it. If you need a visual, you can also see exactly how I fold the dough in the recipe video.
Tip: When cutting the dough, make sure to use a sharp round cutter and lightly dust it with some flour. Don’t twist the cutter either! Twisting seals off the edges of the dough and keeps the biscuits from rising in the oven.
The Icing
The cinnamon icing requires just 4 ingredients (powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon). You’re welcome to omit it altogether or leave out the cinnamon for a plain vanilla icing. If you’re looking for another option, the maple cinnamon icing from my baked pumpkin donuts would be delicious too!
If you’d prefer to not ice the biscuits, you could also brush them with some melted butter and sprinkle a little cinnamon sugar on top as soon as they come out of the oven.
I still can’t get over how good these biscuits turned out. My husband was a huge fan of them too, so I think we can skip the drive-thru and just make them at home instead!
If you make this recipe, don’t forget to leave a comment to let me know how they turned out. Happy Baking!
Cinnamon Raisin Biscuit Recipe
Ingredients
Cinnamon Raisin Biscuits
- 2 cups all-purpose flour spooned & leveled (250 grams)
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar (70 grams)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cubed (85 grams; ¾ stick)
- ⅔ cup raisins (105 grams)
- ¾ cup cold buttermilk plus more for the tops of the biscuits (180 ml)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Cinnamon Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar (120 grams)
- 1 ½ to 2 tablespoons whole milk
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon optional (can omit for a plain vanilla glaze)
Instructions
- To make the cinnamon raisin biscuits: Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt until well combined. Add the cubed cold butter and cut it into the dry ingredients using a pastry cutter until you have small pea sized pieces of butter (you may also use a food processor for this step). Stir in the raisins.2 cups all-purpose flour,⅓ cup granulated sugar,2 teaspoons baking powder,¼ teaspoon baking soda,1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon,½ teaspoon salt,6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter,⅔ cup raisins
- Add the cold buttermilk and vanilla extract to the dry ingredients and gently mix until the dough starts to come together.¾ cup cold buttermilk,1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Scoop the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently work it together with your hands. Pat the dough into a rectangle and fold it into thirds like a letter. Turn the dough, gather any crumbs, and flatten it back into a rectangle. Repeat this folding process two more times.
- After the third fold, pat the dough down into a ½-inch thick rectangle (make sure to measure!). Using a floured 2.5-inch biscuit cutter, cut out the biscuits. Make sure not to twist the biscuit cutter as you’re cutting because it will seal off the edges of the biscuits and prevent them from rising. Just press the biscuit cutter straight down and pull it straight back up. I suggest trying to cut out as many as you can the first time (I usually get about 6), as you continue to work the dough the biscuits won’t be quite as good.
- Continue to gather any scrap pieces of dough, patting it back down to ½-inch thickness, and cutting it until you have 8 to 10 biscuits.
- Arrange the biscuits on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart, then place the baking sheet in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Remove the baking sheet from the freezer and brush the top of each biscuit with a little more buttermilk.
- Bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until cooked through and lightly golden brown on top. Allow to cool slightly while you prepare the icing.
- To make the cinnamon icing: In a large mixing bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the powdered sugar, 1 ½ tablespoons of milk, vanilla, and cinnamon until well combined and no lumps remain. If the glaze is too thick, add a little more milk to thin it out. If the glaze is too thin, add more powdered sugar to thicken it.1 cup powdered sugar,1 ½ to 2 tablespoons whole milk,½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Drizzle the icing on top of the biscuits and set aside for 10 to 15 minutes to allow the icing to harden.
