Quick Recipe Version (TL;DR)

Yield: 8 tall biscuits
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes

Quick Ingredients

1 cup (150 g) raisins
2 1/2 cups (312 g) all-purpose flour, plus 1 tsp for tossing raisins
3 tbsp (38 g) granulated sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp fine salt
1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter, very cold, cubed
1 cup + 2 tbsp (270 ml) cold buttermilk, plus 1 tbsp for brushing
1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar
2 tbsp (30 ml) milk
1 tbsp (14 g) unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Do This

1. Heat oven to 425°F (218°C). Soak raisins in hot water 10 minutes; drain and pat very dry.
2. Whisk flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut in cold butter until pea-size.
3. Stir in cold buttermilk just until a shaggy dough forms.
4. Pat into a rectangle, fold into thirds, rotate, and repeat once. Sprinkle raisins (tossed with 1 tsp flour), fold once more.
5. Pat to 3/4-inch thick. Cut 8 biscuits and place snugly in a buttered 8-inch round pan. Brush tops with buttermilk.
6. Bake 14–16 minutes until tall and deeply golden. Whisk glaze and drizzle over warm biscuits.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Flaky, tall layers: Simple folds give you that classic biscuit rise and tenderness.
Plump raisins in every bite: A quick soak keeps them juicy instead of chewy or dry.
Warm vanilla icing glaze: Pours into the nooks and crannies like the nostalgic fast-food favorite.
Home-cook friendly: No mixer needed, just a bowl, a cutter, and cold butter.

Grocery List

Produce: None
Dairy: Buttermilk, unsalted butter, milk
Pantry: All-purpose flour, granulated sugar, powdered sugar, raisins, ground cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, fine salt, vanilla extract

Full Ingredients

For Plumping the Raisins

1 cup (150 g) raisins
Hot water (enough to cover raisins in a bowl)
1 tsp all-purpose flour (for tossing drained raisins)

For the Cinnamon Buttermilk Biscuit Dough

2 1/2 cups (312 g) all-purpose flour
3 tbsp (38 g) granulated sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp fine salt
1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter, very cold, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 cup + 2 tbsp (270 ml) cold buttermilk, plus 1 tbsp for brushing

For the Warm Vanilla Glaze

1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar, sifted if lumpy
2 tbsp (30 ml) milk
1 tbsp (14 g) unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of fine salt

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Prep the oven and pan

Arrange an oven rack in the center and preheat the oven to 425°F (218°C). Butter an 8-inch round cake pan (or an 8-inch cast-iron skillet). Biscuits rise taller when they’re baked close together, so a round pan works beautifully.

Step 2: Plump, drain, and dry the raisins

Place the raisins in a small bowl and pour hot water over them to fully cover. Let soak for 10 minutes.

Drain well, then spread the raisins on a clean kitchen towel or paper towels and pat very dry. (If they’re wet, they’ll make the dough sticky and can create gummy spots.) Toss the dried raisins with 1 tsp flour to help them disperse evenly and reduce clumping.

Step 3: Mix the dry ingredients

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until evenly combined.

Step 4: Cut in the cold butter

Add the cold cubed butter to the bowl. Use a pastry cutter, two forks, or your fingertips to work the butter into the flour mixture until it looks like coarse crumbs with plenty of pea-size and a few bean-size pieces of butter still visible.

Those cold butter pieces are what create flaky layers as they melt and steam in the oven.

Step 5: Add buttermilk and bring the dough together

Pour in 1 cup + 2 tbsp (270 ml) cold buttermilk. Stir with a fork or spatula just until a shaggy dough forms and most dry flour is moistened.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Gently press it together into a cohesive mass. If it seems overly dry, drizzle in additional buttermilk 1 teaspoon at a time (avoid over-wetting).

Step 6: Fold for flaky layers and add the raisins

Pat the dough into a rectangle about 10 x 6 inches and about 3/4 inch thick. Fold the dough into thirds like a letter (left third over center, then right third over). Turn the dough a quarter turn, pat gently back into a rectangle, and fold into thirds again.

Now sprinkle the floured raisins over the dough, press them in lightly, then fold the dough in half and pat gently to trap the raisins inside without tearing the dough too much. Aim to keep the dough thick; biscuits rise best when you don’t roll them too thin.

Step 7: Cut, bake tall, and glaze warm

Pat the dough to an even 3/4-inch thickness. Using a 2 1/2-inch round biscuit cutter, press straight down (do not twist) to cut biscuits. Re-press scraps gently as needed to get 8 biscuits.

Place biscuits snugly in the prepared pan so the sides are just touching. Brush the tops with 1 tbsp buttermilk.

Bake for 14–16 minutes, until tall and deeply golden on top.

While the biscuits bake, whisk together the glaze ingredients: powdered sugar, milk, melted butter, vanilla, and a pinch of salt until smooth. The glaze should ribbon off the whisk; if it’s too thick, add 1 tsp milk at a time.

Let biscuits cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then drizzle glaze over the warm biscuits so it melts into the flaky layers. Serve warm.

Pro Tips

Keep everything cold: Cold butter and cold buttermilk are the secret to flaky layers. If your kitchen is warm, chill the mixed butter-flour bowl for 5 minutes before adding buttermilk.
Don’t twist the cutter: Twisting seals the edges and reduces rise. Press straight down and lift straight up.
Dry the raisins well: After soaking, pat them very dry so they don’t make the dough gummy.
Snug placement = taller biscuits: Baking biscuits touching encourages upward rise rather than spreading.
Glaze while warm: That’s how you get the nostalgic “melts into the cracks” finish.

Variations

Cinnamon-brown sugar swirl vibe: Add 2 tbsp (25 g) light brown sugar to the dry ingredients and increase cinnamon to 2 1/2 tsp.
Orange-vanilla glaze: Replace 1 tbsp of the milk with 1 tbsp orange juice and add 1/2 tsp finely grated orange zest.
Extra-buttery finish: Brush hot biscuits with 1 tbsp (14 g) melted butter before glazing for a richer bakery-style sheen.

Storage & Make-Ahead

Room temperature: Store cooled biscuits (unglazed or glazed) in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Rewarm in a 300°F (149°C) oven for 8–10 minutes.

Freezer (best option): Freeze baked, completely cooled biscuits unglazed in a freezer bag for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature, rewarm at 325°F (163°C) for 10–12 minutes, then glaze.

Make-ahead unbaked: Cut the biscuits, place on a parchment-lined sheet pan, and freeze until solid (1–2 hours). Transfer to a freezer bag for up to 2 months. Bake from frozen at 425°F (218°C) for 16–18 minutes.

Nutrition (per serving)

Approximate per biscuit (1 of 8, including glaze): 350 calories, 15 g fat, 49 g carbs, 6 g protein, 19 g sugar, 520 mg sodium.

Copycat Hardee’s Cinnamon Raisin Biscuit With Vanilla Glaze