Cinnamon Sugar: Easy Ways to Use It

Cinnamon sugar is one of those small pleasures that makes an ordinary day a little nicer. It is the jar that turns plain toast into a treat and a mug of coffee into something you slow down for. We make ours with our own Ceylon cinnamon, so it is soft and sweet rather than sharp, and it disappears faster in our house than almost anything else we sell.

Here are the ways we actually use it, from the everyday to the slightly indulgent.

The classics that never get old

Some things are classics for a reason. If you have never had them made properly, with real Ceylon cinnamon, they are worth revisiting.

Cinnamon toast. Hot toast, real butter, and a generous shower of Ceylon cinnamon sugar while the butter is still melting. That is the whole recipe. It is the first thing most of us learned to make and still one of the best.

A dusting over porridge or yoghurt. Instead of stirring plain sugar into your breakfast, sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top so you get little pockets of sweetness and spice. It works beautifully over Greek yoghurt with a few berries.

In your coffee. A small spoon stirred into a flat white or a filter coffee gives you a gentle spiced sweetness without any syrup. Try it before you buy the fancy cafe version.

For baking and quick treats

This is where a jar of cinnamon sugar really pulls its weight, because it saves you measuring two things every time.

Snickerdoodles and biscuits. Roll your cookie dough balls in cinnamon sugar before they go in the oven for that classic crackled, sugary top.

Cinnamon sugar palmiers. Take a sheet of shop-bought puff pastry, dust it heavily with cinnamon sugar, roll both sides into the middle, slice, and bake until golden. Five minutes of effort for something that looks like you tried very hard. Nobody needs to know otherwise.

On top of muffins and banana bread. A sprinkle over the batter before baking gives you a crisp, sweet crust. It is the easiest upgrade there is.

If you enjoy baking with cinnamon, we go deeper into it in our guide to baking with Ceylon cinnamon.

Fruit loves cinnamon sugar

Cinnamon and fruit are old friends, and the sugar makes the pairing effortless.

Baked apples or pears. Halve them, scoop a little hollow, fill it with cinnamon sugar and a knob of butter, and bake until soft. Serve with cream or ice cream.

Grilled or pan-fried banana. A sliced banana in a hot buttered pan, dusted with cinnamon sugar until it caramelises, is a two-minute dessert that feels like much more.

Over fresh fruit. A light dusting over sliced oranges, peaches or berries brings out their sweetness. It is a nice way to finish a heavy meal without much fuss.

Drinks and little comforts

Rim your mug or glass. Wet the rim, dip it in cinnamon sugar, and you have a lovely edge for hot chocolate, chai, or a cold drink.

Warm milk before bed. A cup of warmed milk with a spoon of cinnamon sugar stirred through is a small, comforting thing on a cold night, especially for little ones.

Sprinkle over hot chocolate or a cappuccino. Straight on top of the foam, it looks and tastes lovely.

A note on what is in the jar

The reason our cinnamon sugar tastes gentle rather than harsh is the cinnamon itself. It is true Ceylon cinnamon, Cinnamomum verum, grown and hand-rolled on our family estate in Sri Lanka. Ceylon cinnamon is the sweeter, more delicate variety and is naturally low in coumarin, which is the compound you would rather have less of if you are enjoying something sweet and spiced often. We explain that difference simply in Ceylon cinnamon vs cassia.

If you would rather make your own blend, you can grind our true Ceylon cinnamon powder into caster sugar, roughly one part cinnamon to four parts sugar, and adjust to taste. Making it yourself is lovely, though the pre-made jar is the thing that actually gets used on a busy morning.

However you use it, keep the jar somewhere you will see it, near the kettle or the toaster, because cinnamon sugar only works its magic if it is within reach. If you would like to try ours, our Ceylon cinnamon sugar is made from our own estate cinnamon, and every jar helps the growers who tend the trees. Enjoy the little treats.

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A little further reading: Healthline on the difference between Ceylon cinnamon and cassia cinnamon.