Photo courtesy of Cinnabon
When it comes to dessert, manageable adventure seems to be the order of the day. We crave sweets that are comforting, but a little different, and maybe just a tiny bit spicy.
That’s where cinnamon comes in. It’s proliferating in pies, doughnuts, and especially cakes, providing customers with something that feels like home.
“It’s a flavor that feels familiar and comforting,” Sunny Street Café president Mike Stasko said. “For a lot of people, it brings back memories of homemade desserts, holiday baking, or favorite breakfast treats, which creates an emotional connection beyond just the taste.”
The breakfast-and-lunch concept based in Columbus, Ohio, added Country Fair Doughnut Holes to its menu for the summer, tossed in cinnamon sugar and served with crème anglaise, a vanilla cream sauce, for dipping.
“Nostalgia was definitely the play for us,” Stasko said. “Warm, fresh doughnut holes tossed in cinnamon sugar bring back a little bit of childhood. We wanted to create something fun and shareable that reminded guests of summer fairs, family outings, and simple treats that make people smile.”
The chain of around 20 restaurants also offers Cinnamon Roll Pancakes, which are one of the most popular items in its “Fancy Pancakes” section. Cinnamon sugar is swirled into the batter and then it caramelizes on the griddle. The pancakes are topped with cinnamon butter and a swirl of tres leches.
“Guests love them and they have been strong performers because they deliver the same comforting, indulgent flavor people associate with fresh-baked cinnamon rolls,” Stasko said.
Cinnamon is made from the inner bark of several related tree species. It’s peeled from the outer bark, dried — traditionally in the sun — and then naturally curls into sticks.
One of its compounds, cinnamaldehyde, bonds with the same receptors in the tongue that detect hot temperatures and the burn of chiles, but it works a little differently, resulting in a sweet-spicy coziness, unless you go overboard as some cinnamon candies tend to do. 
Qdoba’s churro chips combine comfort and crunch. | Qdoba
Cinnamon use is on the rise, according to Technomic Ignite Menu data. It was used by 24.4% of restaurant operators in the first quarter of this year, up from 21.4% five years ago — a substantial increase for something that’s already so popular. Its mention in doughnuts is up by 4.8%, pies by 5.2%, and cakes by a substantial 21.5%.
Mentions of cinnamon in fried desserts is up less — 2.4% — but that’s probably because the most popular fried-cinnamon dessert, churros, is already so popular.
But it’s morphing into new formats. Miami-based Pincho Burgers & Kebabs introduced Churro Fries in February, and they proved to be so popular that they’re still on the menu. They’re fried churro sticks coated in cinnamon sugar and served with hot dulce de leche for dipping. Grimaldi’s Pizzeria offered a Churro Cheesecake this spring. It was a brown sugar cheesecake in a Nilla Wafer crust topped with whipped cream and cinnamon sugar. And Qdoba just added Churro Chips — flour tortilla pieces in cinnamon sugar — to its permanent menu.
“When we’re developing something new, it has to feel thoughtful and grounded in flavors people truly connect with,” Qdoba chef Katy Velazquez said. “Churro Chips tap into that with a warm cinnamon-sugar profile that feels instantly familiar — and the beloved flavor of Mexican Churros — paired with a light, crispy texture that makes them really enjoyable to eat. It’s simple, but when those elements come together in the right way, it creates something guests want to come back for.”
As operators innovate when it comes to churros, they’re largely sticking to their knitting when it comes to the other big fried cinnamon item: apple pie. McDonald’s recently brought back its fried apple pie for the first time since 1992, and although the official description doesn’t mention cinnamon, it’s in the ingredient list. Burger King put the spice front and center when it brought back its Cinnamon Apple Pie earlier this year. It was advertised as being available while supplies last, but it’s still on the menu.
Golden Chick also just introduced a Fried Apple Empanada spiced with cinnamon.
Sunny Street Café’s new Country Fair Doughnut Holes evoke nostalgia for home baking and holidays. | Sunny Street Café
And then there are cinnamon rolls, something Cinnabon executive chef Jennifer Holwill has a lot to say about — particularly the cinnamon they choose.
There are four main species of cinnamon: Ceylon, Saigon, Korintje, and cassia. Ceylon is sometimes called “true cinnamon,” and the other three are often referred to together as cassia.
Cinnabon uses Makara brand cinnamon, an Indonesian cassia variety.
“This unique sourcing results in a cinnamon that is naturally sweet, smooth, and slightly earthy, creating the rich, indulgent flavor profile that’s become synonymous with the brand,” she said. “Unlike other varieties of cinnamon, which tend to have a sharper, spicier aroma often associated with cinnamon candies or gum, Makara Cinnamon delivers a more balanced sweetness. It’s this distinct profile that allows the flavor to shine in our products without overpowering them.”
Onsite, the Makara Cinnamon is mixed with a signature brown sugar blend and made into rolls.
Henry Johnson, chef de cuisine of the new Dallas location of Palladino’s Steak & Seafood, is a big fan of cinnamon rolls.
“What’s not to like? It’s the only dessert that you can eat in the morning and not have regrets,” he said.
He also loves the spice itself.
“It’s a warming spice and it always instantly makes you feel comfort,” he said, noting its prevalence at Thanksgiving and Christmas, and its ability to add depth to savory dishes, particularly in Middle Eastern and North African dishes, such as tagines and other stews.
It’s also used in Southeast Asian dishes, such as southern Thai pork leg, which is stewed with cinnamon and other warming spices, and the northern Thai noodle-curry dish khao soi.
And of course it’s in drinks, too, particularly Mexican horchata, where it’s combined with white rice — or a variety of seeds and nuts — water, cinnamon, sugar, and sometimes milk and vanilla. Starbucks often rotates its versions of horchata onto the menu, such as its Horchata Frappuccino, which combines espresso with milk and horchata flavors and tops it with whipped cream and cinnamon powder.
Other coffeehouse chains take similar approaches, and this spring Gott’s Roadside, a fast-casual burger chain based in the San Francisco Bay Area, offered a horchata shake of vanilla ice cream spun with cinnamon and almond milk.
Back at Palladino’s, Johnson stacks three large cinnamon rolls on top of each other like a layer cake, bound with cream cheese glaze, and topped with a large scoop of white coffee gelato with an inverted waffle cone on top, “which kind of looks like a unicorn,” he said.
“It really is a magical way to end the evening.”
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