Fluffy Cinnamon Raisin Biscuits with Brown Sugar Glaze

With lots of flaky layers and raisins in every bite, these cinnamon raisin biscuits are made from simple pantry ingredients and come together in under an hour. A quick cinnamon glaze on top adds just the right amount of sweetness and makes these biscuits irresistible for breakfast, brunch, or an afternoon treat.

These homemade cinnamon raisin biscuits are inspired by classic bakery-style versions but are easier and fresher when you make them at home. They feature flaky layers from cold butter, a tender crumb from buttermilk, and plenty of cinnamon and plump raisins in every bite. The recipe starts from a reliable buttermilk biscuit base, with a few adjustments to make them sweeter and more cinnamon-forward.

The Temperature Of Your Ingredients Matters

Keep the butter and buttermilk cold right up until you use them. Cold butter creates distinct layers in the dough. As the biscuits bake, the butter melts and produces steam pockets that puff the dough into tall, flaky layers. Warm butter will melt into the flour too soon and prevent good rise, so plan to use ingredients straight from the refrigerator.

Tips For Making The Dough

• Measure flour accurately. Too much flour makes dry, dense biscuits. Use a kitchen scale or the spoon-and-level method to avoid packing the flour into the cup.
• Mix dry ingredients well first. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt before adding butter and wet ingredients to ensure even distribution and reduce the need to overmix later.
• Cut the butter into pea-sized pieces. Use a pastry cutter or grate chilled butter into the flour for the same effect. Small cold butter bits yield flakier layers.
• Don’t overwork the dough. Gently fold rather than knead. Overworking warms the butter and develops gluten, which results in tough, dense biscuits instead of light, flaky ones.

How To Fold & Cut The Dough

Folding the dough is optional but recommended for extra flaky layers. Folding only takes a few minutes and creates thin layers of butter that puff up in the oven.

Folding steps:

• Pat the dough into a rectangle and fold it into thirds like a letter.
• Turn the dough, flatten it again, gather crumbs, and repeat.
• Repeat the fold-and-flatten process a total of three times.

When cutting, use a sharp round cutter dusted with flour and press straight down—do not twist. Twisting seals the edge and prevents the biscuit from rising properly.

The Icing

The cinnamon icing is simple and uses just powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. Mix until smooth and adjust thickness with more milk or more powdered sugar. If you prefer, omit the cinnamon in the glaze for a plain vanilla icing, or skip the glaze and brush warm biscuits with melted butter and sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top.

These cinnamon raisin biscuits bake up tall, tender, and flaky with sweet pockets of raisin in every bite. They are perfect straight from the oven with a drizzle of cinnamon icing or a pat of butter. Make a batch for weekend breakfasts or whenever you crave warm, cinnamon-flavored comfort.

If you make this recipe, leave a comment to share how they turned out. Happy baking!