15 Sensational Cinnamon Dessert Recipes
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There's no spice more sensational, warm, and delicious than cinnamon. It's an ingredient in many classic fall recipes (including pumpkin pie, apple crisp, and mulled apple cider), but we wanted to take a moment to share some of the many other ways cinnamon shines in other desserts that are delicious any time of the year.
Most of our recipes call for ground cinnamon, which has a delicious sweet and spicy flavor and is shelf stable for a couple of years. To check if a jar of cinnamon is still good, take a sniff; if the aroma is dull or nonexistent, it means the spice has lost its potency and it's time to buy a new one. Cinnamon sticks are used in drink recipes for mulled cider or wine, for poaching fruit, or making applesauce.
Cinnamon fans will adore a sweet snack like a slice of bread or piece of puff pastry topped with a sprinkling of granulated sugar and cinnamon. Broil until it's crunchy and wait for the smell of cinnamon to fill the kitchen. Upgrade that snack to full-on dessert by using slices of pound cake toasted with the same cinnamon and sugar. You could also mix cinnamon and sugar for a slightly spicy topping to a honey-infused crème brûlée.
Certain recipes, like churros or cinnamon-sugar knots, simply wouldn't be the same without cinnamon. Our easy take on this Mexican dessert classic calls for using store-bought puff pastry sprinkled with cinnamon. Baking the churros, rather than frying, means these treats are healthier, too. This favorite spice also appears in the chocolate dipping sauce because two times the cinnamon is twice as good.
These cinnamon desserts are sure to have you going back for seconds.
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Cinnamon-Almond Stars
Vanilla-orange icing and gold sugar are the secrets to making these cinnamon cookies sparkle and shine.
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Easy Churros with Mexican Chocolate Sauce
Churros and chocolate are always a good idea! Our shortcut: use store-bought puff pastry and bake them in the oven.
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Cinnamon-Honey Crème Brulee
Mellow clover honey is a lovely foil for spicy cinnamon in this creamy-crunchy custard.
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Cinnamon-Roasted Apples with Pecans and Ice Cream
The trick to unbelievably flavorful apples? Roast them with cinnamon sticks. They get wonderfully fragrant and tender. Serve with toasted pecans and vanilla ice cream.
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Cinnamon Spritz Cookies
Turn up the volume on simple butter cookies by throwing vanilla beans and cinnamon sugar into the mix.
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Cinnamon-Toasted Pound Cake
This favorite dessert comes together in mere minutes. All you have to do is sprinkle slices of pound cake with cinnamon sugar, then broil them, top with ice cream and macerated strawberries—and enjoy!
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Mexican Hot-Chocolate Cookies
We've transformed one of our favorite winter warmers into spectacular spicy-meets-chocolaty cookies by pairing cocoa powder with cinnamon and chile powder.
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Clementines in Cinnamon Syrup
You can use any citrus you like in this refreshing winter dessert. The warm cinnamon syrup is super versatile.
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Cinnamon-Sugar Palmiers
It's amazing what you can do with just four ingredients! All you need for these uber easy cookies are sugar, cinnamon, puff pastry, and bittersweet chocolate.
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Sugar-and-Spice Layer Cake
Cinnamon pulls double duty in this party-ready cake—it goes in the batter as well as the sugar topping.
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Individual Cinnamon-Apple Tarts
Pizza dough doubles as a scrumptious base for these sweet tarts. Serve with ice cream for dessert or sweetened yogurt for brunch.
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Cinnamon-Log Slices
You can't beat a good slice-and-bake cookie. Not only can you make the dough for these beauties a day in advance, but you can also bake them off three days ahead.
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Cinnamon-Raisin Pound Cake
Take pound cake to the next level with the classic combo of cinnamon and raisins. A simple glaze gives it extra oomph.
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Cinnamon Custard Pie
Cinnamon and vanilla play nicely together in this oh-so-sophisticated custard pie. It would make a great addition to any holiday table.