It's National Raisin Day! It's also National Oatmeal Cookie Day, so making oatmeal raisin cookies would have been the obvious choice.

But I don't necessarily like making the obvious choice. I like to veer a bit off the expected path. So I also ruled out raisin bread and raisin pie (otherwise known as Funeral Pie, because the Amish tend to bring it to friends in the community after a death in the family since the ingredients are always on hand and can be put together quickly).

Instead, I baked up a quick batch of Cinnamon Raisin Biscuits to showcase these lovely, sweet fruits without a lot of work or fuss.

Tender and spicy, these are easy to make and delicious to eat! They'd be perfect to serve tonight for everyone's favorite meal, "breakfast for dinner."

Cinnamon Raisin Biscuits

2 cups + 1/4 cup unbleached flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 tablespoons butter, chilled, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup applesauce
1/4 cup vanilla yogurt
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 9-inch round baking pan.

In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix in butter with your fingers until well combined.

Stir together applesauce and yogurt; stir into flour mixture. Stir in raisins, walnuts, and buttermilk until a very wet dough forms.

Combine remaining 1/4 cup flour, cinnamon, and sugar; place onto counter top. Place biscuit dough onto flour mixture and knead until flour is incorporated into a soft dough. Flatten to a circle 1 inch high.

Using a 2-1/2-inch biscuit cutter, cut 12 biscuits; place into prepared pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes until biscuits are golden and have more than doubled in height.

Serve warm.

Makes 12 biscuits.

Mary Bilyeu writes for AnnArbor.com on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, telling about her adventures in the kitchen - making dinner, celebrating holidays, entering cooking contests, meeting new friends ... whatever strikes her fancy. She is also on a mission to find great deals for her Frugal Floozie Friday posts, seeking fabulous food at restaurants on the limited budget of only $5 per person. Feel free to email her with questions, comments, or suggestions: yentamary@gmail.com.

Go visit Mary's blog — Food Floozie — where she enthuses and effuses over all things food-related; and look for her monthly articles in the Washtenaw Jewish News. "Like" her on Facebook, or send a tweet on Twitter, too.

The phrase "You Should Only Be Happy" (written in Hebrew on the stone pictured in this post) comes from Deuteronomy 16:15 and is a wish for all her readers - when you come to visit here, may you always be happy.