Monday, March 14, 2011

CINNAMON RAISIN BISCUITS (better than eating them out)



I know this picture is terrible!  But the biscuit was SO DELICIOUS!


This weekend it was our older daughter's 23rd birthday!  I had lots of cooking to do but since we weren't eating until 3:00, I wanted to have something "decent" for breakfast to ward off "the hungries".  I decided to try a new recipe I had lying around.  I love the cinnamon-raisin biscuits you get at Hardees.  And true to form, I just HAVE to be able to recreate this stuff at home so I don't have to leave the house to get my favorites.  These are PERFECT!  I decided they would also be good with grated apple added in instead of raisins, or omitting the cinnamon and adding a Tablespoon of blueberry pie filling to the middle of each biscuit before baking.  These are the perfect "starter" for lots of good ideas for biscuits. 

These are so delicious!  Instead of wopping open that tube of cinnamon rolls you find in the grocery store, try these!  They will taste so terrific you will never buy those canned cinnamon rolls again. 

Additional Hint:  I'm going to try flash freezing these (unbaked) and bagging them up for when I want a treat and don't feel like making too much mess.  This is a definite KEEPER recipe!

Cinnamon Raisin Biscuits


2 cups all purpose flour (unbleached is BEST!)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup shortening/margarine or butter (I used margarine.)
1 cup buttermilk or regular milk (I combined 1/2 cup yogurt stirred into 1/2 cup 2% milk because I still had homemade yogurt in my fridge.  Just stir until smooth before adding to the dry ingredients.)
1/3 cup raisins (I omitted because my hubby dislikes raisins but I know this would be great!)


Frosting (I microwaved some leftover white frosting I already had in the fridge.  It doesn't take much):
But this is the recipe listed on the site:
1 cup powdered sugar
1-1/2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla


Instructions modified a little bit but originally posted on http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/.  First get out a cereal bowl. Place the raisins in it and cover Them with warm tap water. Allow them to plump up while you prepare the dough.

Next, take a large mixing bowl. Measure the flour, baking powder, sugar, cinnamon and salt into it. These are the dry ingredients. They are called dry ingredients because they are not wet or sticky. So mix up these dry ingredients with a fork or a whisk, getting the salt and baking powder evenly distributed throughout the mixture.

Measure the shortening (or if using margarine/butter). (I like using sticks of margarine or butter because I cut off 5 1/3 Tablespoons of the margarine/butter and don't have to measure anthing because this equals 1/3 cup.).  I cut this length of measured margarine into small slices on top of my dry ingredients.   Use a fork or a pastry blender to casually smash the shortening/butter/margarine and flour together until it is crumbly, but still has a few lumps the size of dried beans. One of the secrets of good biscuits is not to over mix at this stage. The lumps of shortening/butter/margarine make the biscuits tender and flaky when they bake. Add the milk or buttermilk and stir up the dough. Squeeze the raisins dry and add them to the dough. Mix in the raisins by kneading the dough about 10 or 12 times.

Drop the biscuits into a greased/sprayed large pie pan or cookie sheet.  Pat with floured hands just enough to take the sharp peaks off the biscuits.  Or pat out the dough and cut with a large glass for perfectly round biscuits. Don't pat the dough too flat - you want it about 1 1/2 thick.

If cutting the biscuits, after cutting, lay the biscuits on a greased/sprayed baking sheet or pizza pan.

Bake at 400° (make sure the oven is fully preheated before putting the pan in the oven)  for about 15 minutes, or until they are brown on top. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.

Meanwhile, mix up the frosting ingredients. Drizzle the frosting over the biscuits and serve. Leftovers may be heated up and used as snacks or breakfast the next day - that is, if you have any left!