The Cinnamon Chip Lover's Guide

“Being out of cinnamon chips is like being out of chocolate chips.”

If you're not using cinnamon chips, you're missing a lot of baking opportunities.. There so much you can do with cinnamon chips, hundreds of things you can bake, really splendid recipes.  

And they're clever little things. They're mini chips. That means there are more of them in a measure, more to get dispersed. You get a burst of cinnamon in every bite

And they sparkle; they really do burst with flavor. Our common cinnamon is Korintje cassia cinnamon. These are a blend of cinnamon. Saigon or Vietnamese cinnamon originated in Viet Nam (obviously). Vietnamese cinnamon has more flavor and more spark.  The flavor in an apple pie jumps, it has more flavor, a brighter flavor. 

You can taste the Vietnamese cinnamon in our cinnamon chips.

The Cinnamon Chip Guide 

We've published this guide to cinnamon chips for years. It's a great starting point.

• For pancakes, add 2/3 cup for each pound of pancake mix
• For yeast breads, add 3/4 cup per loaf
• For cookies, add 1 1/2 to 2 cups per 4 dozen batch
• For muffins, add 1 cup per twelve muffins
• For a sheet cake, add 1 to 1 1/2 cups per large cake

But this is more of a "deep dive." We'll walk you through the world of cinnamon chips in each category. We'll tell you what we know after using thousands of pounds of cinnamon chips. And we'll share proven recipes with you.

The  Care and Keeping of Cinnamon Chips

Don't refrigerate them. Don't let them melt. They begin to melt at 93 degrees.. Keep them stable. 

A cool place in the basement is perfect. But you don't have to keep them there. I don't. But we live in an air-conditioned house with little temperature change. But they're not high and the kitchen doesn't get hot.

They will "bloom" with temperature changes, like chocolate chips.  The sugar migrates to the surface, and your chips get a white, dusty appearance. But if you don't have bloom on your chocolate chips, chances are, you won't have bloom on your cinnamon chips either.

What if they do bloom? Use them anyway. They melt in the oven. No one will know.

Cinnamon Chips in Your Bread

If there is a challenge to using cinnamon chips, this is it.

Breads take muscle. Gluten takes muscle, and without gluten, bread is not bread, at least in the traditional sense.  

Gluten is formed with two proteins found in wheat flour. When those two proteins are hydrated and mechanically worked together, they twist and forms strands of protein. The strands form the netting that catches the gases created by the yeast in the dough. That's what creates the lightness, the open crumb in bread.

But that mechanically working, that's the kneading of the bread. (Who says bread isn't a miracle?)  

Those little cinnamon chips, they're not tough guys. They won't stand up to a lot of kneading. In a moist environment, that kneading tears the chips apart.  But it's simple to solve. After the kneading, gently fold the chips into the dough until the chips are dispersed.

You can also make cinnamon-swirled bread or rolls.

Cinnamon Chips in Dessert Breads