The Best Cinnamon Sugar Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What's the difference between ground cinnamon and cinnamon sugar? ›

What Is the Difference Between Cinnamon and Cinnamon Sugar? Cinnamon is a spice made from the ground bark of a plant and is used in sweet and sometimes savory dishes. It has a spiced, slightly sweet flavor. Cinnamon sugar combines ground cinnamon with sugar to make a sweet ingredient or topping for desserts.

Cinnamon word is derived from a Greek word meaning “sweet wood”. Its sweetness is due to the presence of its essential oil called cinnamaldehyde. It is an important component of cinnamon. This aromatic spice, commonly found in everyone's kitchen, is one of the oldest spices in the world.

When does cinnamon sugar expire? Unopened, cinnamon sugar should adhere to the best before date printed on the packaging, which is typically 2-3 years. Once opened, it should keep its peak quality for about the same time, assuming no moisture or contaminates have entered.

When combined with sugar, cinnamon's warm, spicy flavor cuts sugar's sweetness and lends an unmistakable aroma. It's the comforting scent of Sunday morning cinnamon toast and mid-summer's peach cobbler.

Ceylon cinnamon might lower blood sugar levels.

Can You Use Cinnamon Sugar Instead of Ground Cinnamon? Yes! Cinnamon sugar is a good substitute for ground cinnamon as both contain the key spice: cinnamon. Obviously the sugar should be considered and lessened in the recipe as a result.

McCormick, a more than 125-year-old company, is a trusted name in the food industry that you can count on to deliver a marriage of quality and affordability. Their ground cinnamon is classified as cinnamon cassia, so the flavor profile is much stronger and sweeter than Ceylon cinnamon.

The cinnamon bark is harvested directly from the tree—McCormick sources premium quality whole cinnamon, which mitigates the chance for added ingredients and contamination that could be encountered by sourcing a pre-ground product.

"Hot" cinnamon flavor comes from cinnamon oil, whereas the sweet cinnamon flavor comes from the whole bark, either in sticks or powder, so it may just be an issue of the concentration of flavor to just those that are carried in the oil.

There's no research to suggest you can overdose on cinnamon. The concern with eating too much cinnamon relates to its coumarin content, which in excessive amounts, could increase your chance of liver damage.

Can dogs have cinnamon? ›

Cinnamon is non-toxic to dogs according to the ASPCA. In small amounts, which means one teaspoon or less per serving as an occasional treat, it is perfectly safe and may even offer health benefits. However, in large quantities, it may irritate the mouth or stomach, cause low blood sugar or even liver disease.

McCormick Culinary® Cinnamon Sugar has a shelf life of 720 days when tightly closed and stored in a cool, dry place to protect against flavor loss and moisture. Avoid exposure to heat, humidity, direct sunlight and fluorescent light to maintain flavor and color.

A review of 9 studies including 641 participants showed that taking cinnamon reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressure by an average of 6.2 mm Hg and 3.9 mm Hg, respectively. This effect was stronger when people took cinnamon consistently over 12 weeks. Cinnamon is easy to incorporate into meals.

Some of this work shows it may curb blood sugar by lowering insulin resistance. In one study, volunteers ate from 1 to 6 grams of cinnamon for 40 days. (One gram of ground cinnamon is about half a teaspoon.) The researchers found that cinnamon cut cholesterol by about 18% and blood sugar levels by 24%.

Another review of 13 studies found that cinnamon could reduce triglyceride and total cholesterol levels, both of which are risk factors for heart disease ( 13 ). Cinnamon has also been shown to reduce blood pressure when consumed consistently for at least 8 weeks ( 14 , 15 ).

Ground cinnamon and cinnamon sticks are like fraternal twins: same but different. As its name implies, ground cinnamon is the dried inner tree layer that's been pulverized into a fine powder. A cinnamon stick is that same bark, only it left the party before the spice grinder was brought out.

If you're baking, Korintje (Indonesian) cinnamon is the best choice. It's the sweetest of the cinnamons, so its flavor lends itself happily to baked goods. Saigon (Vietnamese) cinnamon has an aggressive flavor, so it's great for savory applications.

Given that Ceylon cinnamon contains little to no coumarin, it would be considered the healthiest type of cinnamon to have if you plan to consume it regularly compared to cassia.