These Cinnamon Raisin Yogurt Biscuits are one of my new favorite biscuit recipes, and it all came together by accident. I was making a different biscuit recipe (always such a quick and easy addition to any dinner) that called for buttermilk. Side note: I know a lot of times buttermilk is the same thickness as whole milk, but when you buy REAL buttermilk, it’s actually about as thick as yogurt.
Anyway, I did not have any buttermilk on hand (I only buy it for biscuits and sometimes homemade ranch dressing—what do you use it for?) and while my first thought was to sub in regular milk (like so many other biscuit recipes), I decided to try yogurt instead because of the thicker consistency. The outcome was such a hit that I’ve decided that my new obsession was going to be trying different yogurt biscuits! Haha, it’s the little things in life, right?
Our Weekday Breakfast Struggle
The timing of this experiment could not be any more perfect. My daughters (both middle schoolers) have been turning down breakfast more and more on school mornings. They just aren’t in the mood, and I know, I know…it’s the most important meal of the day! However, I’ve learned that they WILL actually eat breakfast if I have something magically prepared that is so delicious, they just can’t resist.
So, that’s led to me racing into the kitchen and throwing together homemade avocado toast as fast as I can in the mornings—alternatively, all sorts of egg dishes, oatmeal, power balls, you-name-it. We do have the frozen breakfast burritos that I make about once a month, but some mornings are so rushed that there’s often not even time for them to heat and eat them. Not to mention, it’s a lot of food for someone who claims they’re not even hungry (they have been taking, and loving, the burritos in their lunches).
And here’s the thing, I don’t particularly like to race into the kitchen like there’s a fire drill first thing in the morning so I can have something ready (before the pressure of the bus’s morning arrival—hello childhood nightmares!) in hopes it’ll be appealing enough for them to decide to eat it. Which is why I’m so excited to have a new, super easy option—we might as well call it “breakfast in a biscuit”—that I can make in advance and basically throw at them as they walk out the door.
That reminds me of a waffle that actually WAS thrown across the mud room one morning when I tried to hand it off upon their exit (how dare I think it could be eaten without syrup!). LOL, gotta love those moody middle schoolers! So now you further understand the struggle here and why this new combo that they both love (and would never pass up!) is a welcome one.
Cinnamon Raisin Yogurt Biscuits
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour (plus extra for patting out the dough)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk plain yogurt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.
- Cut the butter into tablespoon size chunks and sprinkle on top of the flour mixture. Work the butter into the flour using a pastry cutter tool, the back of a fork, or by pinching it into small pieces with your fingers. You could also use a food processor with a dough blade.
- Stir in the raisins with a fork or spoon, and then add in the yogurt. Use your hands to squeeze the dough to help bring it together.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, sprinkle the top with more flour, and pat it out by hand to about 1" thickness. Cut out pieces with a cookie cutter of choice (any shape will work!), fold over scraps, and repeat until all the dough is used.
- Space out pieces on a baking sheet and bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. My daughters think these are best served warm so eat right away or reheat before eating any leftovers.
Notes
Nutrition Facts
Made them twice. Both times a sticky gooey mess. Not sure what I am doing wrong.
Hi Rosaria, we’re sorry to hear that they keep coming out sticky for you. One of our other readers said she added a little bit more flour until it wasn’t as sticky for her and then also used wet hands when working with the dough. – Nicole
Are you able to post of video of you making these? I am a bit of a visual learner.
Hi Rosaria, we’ll definitely pass this along to Lisa. – Nicole
We could only find a whole wheat pastry flour so we used an enriched cake/pasty flour by Monarch and the dough was very sticky…..kept adding more flour to no avail. We did bake them up and they tasted good…a little dense but still good. Any ideas?
Yes, if you used a different flour it could end up needing more (or less) so you did the right thing by adding more when it felt sticky. I think regular whole-wheat flour would be a better substitute over an enriched white flour. It would be a more real food choice, that is for sure!
I just made these for the first time and also found it very sticky. What I did was add more flour, then used wet hands to bind it. Took a while of adding flour little bits at a time to get it into a dough, but to me, it was worth it. Mine came out very flaky. My only complaint with the recipe is that the cinnamon was too little. I would double or triple the amount, and maybe add some maple syrup to the yogurt before adding the yogurt to give it a bit more of a breakfast/sweet flavoring instead of a buttery biscuit (though there is nothing wrong with buttery flavor :) )
Thanks so much for the feedback. I’m glad you were able to make them to suit your tastes! – Nicole
Could I freeze these before baking? Trying to prepare food for a trip.
I have not tried it with this exact recipe, but I do think it would work!
Having made Lisa’s other biscuits many times, I recommend freezing after baking. I warm it up in the microwave for about 1 minute with a moist paper towel. Comes out hot, and doesn’t dry up because of the wet paper towel.
We try to limit our saturated fat intake so do you have any recommendations on a substitute for butter? I typically use nonfat yogurt and fat free buttermilk when recipes call for those full fat ingredients. Thanks.
I have not tried any of those. Only sub I’m sure about is solid coconut oil, but doesn’t sound like what you are looking for.
Oh, what an interesting recipe! I really like cookies, any cookies! I often bake oatmeal cookies, with spices, with raisins, with fruits, berries and dried fruits – they are always delicious with a large cup of herbal tea, a small cup of coffee or a cup of milk :) I have never made cookies with yogurt, I’ll definitely try to bake them today, they look super appetizing ! Thank you for your blog!
I use buttermilk in smoothies and they are delicious.
Can you use Whole Wheat Flour and just process it until its a finer grind? I read that the only difference between whole wheat and whole wheat PASTRY flour was that pastry flour was ground a little finer. I have King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour. Can’t find the pastry
We haven’t tried that yet, but if you can grind it, then yes, give it a try. Let us know how they turn out. – Nicole
These were great! I love how quick and convenient they are. I used greek yogurt, about 10 oz and they came out great. I will definitely make them again.
Awesome. Glad to hear they came out great using Greek yogurt. – Nicole
We just made these for Easter breakfast and they were delicious! Thanks, and Happy Easter and Happy Passover to all who are celebrating!
Wonderful! Glad to hear you loved them. – Nicole
These are delicious! I made a batch and my boys polished them off, so we made another batch the same day! They are yummy right out of the oven. The raisins add just a touch of sweetness and they hardly take any time to whip up! The first batch I used half buttermilk and half yogurt. Second batch I only used buttermilk. Both came out great. Thank you for the recipe.
Glad to hear delicious and the boys liked them :) – Nicole
Did you use 1.5 cups of buttermilk?
My favorite banana bread recipe calls for either sour cream, yogurt, or buttermilk. So far sour cream has been our favorite and I usually have that on hand. I can’t wait to try these biscuits. I make your whole wheat biscuits all the time and serve with sausage gravy for breakfast.
I’ll have to try sour cream next! :)
Just fyi, you can make “buttermilk” by adding a tablespoon of either plain white vinegar or lemon juice to a scant cup of regular milk. Let it sit a few minutes, it will thicken and curdle slightly, and you are good to go.
Yes, true! Thanks for the reminder :)
No egg?
Not for this recipe! – Nicole
Could you make your own whole wheat pastry flour and if yes, what would you recommend?
I have not tried that, but I would avoid red wheat berries – see if you can get anything lighter.
I used non fat greek yogurt and they came out nicely, although I made them too thin so they cooked super fast and were slightly burned. My kiddos liked them. My question is what do you do with the biscuits for future use? Thanks for another great recipe!
These are very freezer friendly. – Nicole
I would love to try this recipe…but my kids aren’t huge raisin fans. Do you think another fruit (blueberries? raspberries?) would work? I’ve made your other muffins a bunch of times so it would be great to mix it up a little. Thanks!
While you can definitely sub out for something that you like, just take into consideration the pairing of cinnamon with other fruits. Cinnamon and raisins work great together. – Nicole
I made these this morning using Greek yogurt. They turned out amazing!!!! Even better than the original fluffy whole wheat biscuits. This may be my new go to biscuit recipe. I’ll try it again leaving out cinnamon and raisins for a plain version.
Glad to hear they worked out for you using Greek yogurt. – Nicole
Made these today and the butter amount must be wrong, it should be 4 T, not 8
How many biscuits did you end up making? This recipe makes 20 2″ biscuits. – Nicole
The butter amount is correct, I tested them again last night.
I just looked at your whole wheat biscuit recipe….and it only calls for 4 tablespoons of butter….perhaps the 8 tablespoons here is a mistake? The butter was running out all over the pan as the biscuits cooked…..
The recipes are different – the 8 tablespoons here is correct. Did you follow the recipe exactly and was your butter cold (just out of the fridge)? I’ve made these several times and again last night. They came out great!
I just tried these with Greek yogurt and it didn’t come out. The biscuits didn’t rise and they are sitting in a pool of fat/butter (and I used 0 percent t fat plain Greek yogurt. Other yogurt recipes for biscuits can for only 3/4 cup of yogurt….perhaps the amount of yogurt here is too much? I make your whole wheat biscuits all the time and they always come out great….for some reason these did not
I am sorry to hear that – did you follow the recipe exactly? Was your butter cold (just out of the fridge)? I have made these several times (and again last night) and had no issues at all. I’ve used both whole milk and 2% yogurt.
can you substitute greek yogurt?
Yes, it’s a little thicker so you may need to adjust the quantity to make the dough come together.
This kills me!!! Any advice on getting breakfast into a moody middle schooler is welcome here! Haha! I am so glad to know we’re not the only ones. That alone makes this post my new favorite :) And, can’t wait to try the biscuits… though we will likely sub in mini chocolate chips for raisins.
HAHA! Glad others are in the same boat too! You can definitely sub. I’d suggest making sure they are dark chocolate ;) – Nicole
Our kids are much younger, but 4 little boys wake up HANGRY, so I have to have something ready to go as well! I’m sure my boys would love these. The most consistent successes at our house lately have been the pumpkin baked oatmeal from Two Peas and Their Pod and these chocolate zucchini muffins –
https://pin.it/u6wvq7lpkzz3ik
Thanks for sharing!
I am new to your site but can already tell I will be using your recipes daily! I am celiac, do you have any recommendations for a gluten free flour that may work for this recipe?
Thanks for all you do!
Welcome to my blog! Since I don’t have an allergy/sensitivity I don’t usually test things out with GF flour, but I have purchased the 1:1 substitute bags to cook for friends so I’d probably start with that and see how it goes. You may need to adjust the quantity to get it just right. Good luck!
I use full fat buttermilk to make super tender, fluffy pancakes! Leftovers are turned into pancake sandwiches with homemade jam for school lunches.
When you reference flour measurements are you measuring by weight or volume? (Ie: are you using a scale or measuring cups?). When I made your fluffiest whole wheat biscuits, they were really, really wet when I scaled the ingredients. I had to add a LOT of flour to get the dough manageable. These look delicious, so I’d love to give them a whirl! Not sure why grinding my soft wheat berries should make such a big difference if you are using whole wheat pastry flour!? It should be essentially the same thing.
Megan, all Lisa’s recipes are measured using measuring cups. So, this recipe calls for 2 cups of flour. Hope that helps. – Nicole
They look delicious! Buttermilk in homemade Mac and cheese and you will never look back!
Never thought of that – have to try it now!
Could I use Greek yogurt???
Yes, it’s a little thicker so you may need to adjust the quantity to make the dough come together. But it should work just fine!
My daughter doesn’t eat butter, could I use coconut oil 1 to 1? Your suggestion.
I’m excited to try these. Is it ok to use greek yogurt?
Yes, it’s a little thicker so you may need to adjust the quantity to make the dough come together.
Those biscuits look wonderful. I use buttermilk for biscuits and dressing too. I also soak chicken in buttermilk over night before making homemade fried chicken. My nine year old daughter loves the taste of buttermilk so much that she drinks a small glass of it regularly.
Oh wow, never heard of drinking it straight! Interesting!
One of my dad’s favorite treats. He sprinkles pepper on top. :)