The Hardee's Biscuit With Connections To The California Raisins

Over the years, Hardee's has teamed up with famous faces like Kate Upton, Kim Kardashian, and Paris Hilton. Still, arguably one of its most successful partnerships was in the 1980s with the California Raisin Advisory Board (CALRAB). As part of the organization's campaign to encourage Americans to eat more raisins, Hardee's introduced cinnamon n' raisin biscuits: a delicacy that featured a cinnamon swirl-version of its delicious made-from-scratch biscuits that was filled with raisins and topped with sweet icing.

The treat marked a win for Hardee's — and not just because of how tasty the a.m. dessert was. The collaboration also allowed the restaurant to work with The California Raisins back in their heyday. (They were those wildly popular singing, anthropomorphic raisins that CALRAB created to promote its cause.)

The group performed its rendition of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" in a Hardee's ad for the cinnamon n' raisin biscuits. Additionally, Hardee's also offered $0.99 raisin figurines with the purchase of either two of the sweet biscuits or another dessert, which sent customers to the chain in droves — so much so, in fact, that the company's original order of 15 million wasn't enough to keep up with demand. By the second week of the promotion, Hardee's had to place an emergency order for thousands more figures to fly to stores in Florida that had already run out.

These days, demand for Hardee's California Raisin figurines isn't quite as high as it was when they were initially released in the 1980s. (eBay has several listings for the toys at reasonable prices). However, since the cinnamon n' raisin biscuits were discontinued in 2002, demand for the sweet treats has remained sky-high.

It's unclear why Hardee's decided to give the sugary biscuits the axe, but the decision devastated fans nonetheless, many of whom begged Hardee's to bring them back. Their efforts finally paid off in November 2023 when the chain announced it was bringing back its cinnamon n' raisin biscuits after a 21-year hiatus. Yet, despite selling more than 3 million of them during their return (and without the help of The California Raisins, at that), the treats were gone once again by January 2, 2024.

Fortunately, the chain left the door open for another return. "Don't worry, we'll have more for our dedicated fans next year," reads a Hardee's Facebook post shared on December 7, 2023. In the meantime, you can always try adding cinnamon chips and California raisins to our three-ingredient biscuit recipe, and top the final product with this easy cinnamon roll icing to create a close copycat at home.