Julie Clark
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Homemade Cinnamon Chips (Soft Baking Chips)
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Homemade cinnamon chips are sweet, tender baking chips made with real ground cinnamon. They take about 35 minutes to make and are perfec tfor adding little pockets of cinnamon flavor to recipes like cinnamon buttermilk muffins and pumpkin sugar crunch cake.
Have you ever tried Hershey cinnamon chips in any of your cookie recipes or cake recipes? They are certainly convenient if you can find them. But here’s a little secret….cinnamon isn’t even listed as an ingredient.
All the ingredients say is “natural flavor”. So yes, some of that flavor could be cinnamon. But I would love to see real ground cinnamon as an ingredient.
This is your answer.
What are cinnamon chips made of?
Homemade cinnamon baking chips need just five ingredients:
- Granulated sugar: Gives the chips their sweetness and helps them hold together after baking.
- Ground cinnamon: I love using a strong, sweet cinnamon such as Korintji or Saigon cinnamon. Since cinnamon is the main flavor, choose one that is fresh and fragrant.
- Vegetable shortening: Helps create a tender texture. Butter works, too, but the finished chips may be crispier.
- Light corn syrup: Helps bind the sugar and cinnamon mixture together.
- Vanilla extract: Rounds out the cinnamon flavor.
For this recipe I prefer Korintji Cinnamon. It has an amazing, sweet flavor that will pop in all of your cinnamon recipes. We purchase large containers of this cinnamon from Amazon, but you can most likely find it in your local grocery store, too.
How to Make Cinnamon Chips
- Prepare. Preheat the oven to 225°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray the parchment with cooking spray to help prevent sticking.
- Mix. Combine the sugar, cinnamon, shortening, corn syrup and vanilla in a medium bowl. Use two forks to mix until everything is evenly combined.
- Press. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking sheet and press into an even layer about ¼ inch thick.
- Bake. Bake for 30–35 minutes, until the sugar mixture looks slightly melted. Watch closely near the end. The center doesn’t have to bubble vigorously, but the sugar should look melted.
- Cool and cut. Let the cinnamon mixture cool completely before cutting it into small chips with a knife or pizza cutter.
Julie’s tip: Keep the layer an even thickness so the edges don’t finish baking before the center. The chips will be easier to cut once they’ve cooled completely.
How do you know when homemade cinnamon chips are done?
Homemade cinnamon chips are ready when the sugar mixture looks slightly melted, usually after 30–35 minutes at 225°F. The center doesn’t have to bubble, but it should no longer look like a loose, dry cinnamon-sugar mixture.
If the center still looks dry, continue baking and check it often. Let the chips cool completely before cutting them into pieces.
Soft Homemade Cinnamon Chips
Have a favorite cinnamon dessert? Take it to the next level with this homemade cinnamon chips recipe. Only 5 ingredients and easy to make!
Servings 8
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons ground Saigon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
- 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 225º Fahrenheit. Line a cookie sheet with a piece of parchment paper sprayed with cooking spray.
- Combine the sugar, cinnamon, shortening, corn syrup and vanilla in a medium size bowl. Use two forks to combine the mixture until it is well mixed.
- Pour the cinnamon mixture on the prepared sheet. Use the palms of your hands to press and flatten the mixture to be about 1/4" thick.
- Bake until cinnamon sugar mixture is melted slightly. This will take about 30-35 minutes, but watch it closely.
- Cool completely, and then cut into small pieces.
Video
Notes
Yield: Makes approximately 2 cups of homemade cinnamon baking chips.
Cinnamon: Saigon or Korintji cinnamon both work well. Use a fresh, flavorful ground cinnamon.
Baking: Press the mixture to an even ¼-inch thickness. Bake until the sugar looks slightly melted. The center does not need to bubble vigorously.
Doubling: If doubling the recipe, press the mixture into two separate sections on the baking sheet so it bakes evenly.
The calories shown are based on the recipe making 2 cups, with 1 serving being ¼ cup of chips. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information.**
Nutrition
Calories: 116kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 4mg | Potassium: 13mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 9IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 1mg
What do cinnamon chips go in?
So many different ideas! Consider adding them to:
- Homemade pancake batter
- Cinnamon chips scones
- Sprinkle them over vanilla ice cream.
- Crush them over vanilla yogurt, fruit dip or a hearty oatmeal.
- Snickerdoodle muffins
- The Best Snickerdoodles
- Cinnamon crunch bread. Better than Panera Bread!
- Cinnamon crunch pumpkin knots
- Add to pumpkin spice cake batter.
- Add to filling of pumpkin cinnamon rolls or traditional cinnamon rolls.
Can you use butter instead of shortening?
You can use butter instead of shortening, but butter has a higher melting point so the chips will get a little crispier than they will with shortening. We prefer shortening because it keeps the chips soft and tender.
You could also use butter flavored shortening.
My cinnamon mixture isn’t melting in the oven. Why?
This can happen for many reasons such as oven temperature, type of pan used, and how thick you’ve pressed out the mixture. If you feel like you need to give it more time, you can. We find that about 30 minutes is good.
My cinnamon chips aren’t bubbling in the middle. Is that ok?
As long as the sugar looks melted in the middle, they should work.
Can you use pumpkin spice or nutmeg along with the cinnamon?
Yes! We think that is a great idea. I would still use cinnamon, but add in other spices of your choice to equal the 3 tablespoons.
Can I melt these cinnamon chips to make a smooth glaze or drizzle?
No. These cinnamon chips will not melt like other packaged chocolate chips after they are made. They are best used baked, cooled and as an addition to batters and doughs.
How do you store cinnamon chips?
You can store your cinnamon chips in an airtight container at room temperature if you plan to use them relatively soon.
Can you freeze cinnamon chips?
Yes! We’ve frozen cinnamon chips in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Allow them to defrost, then add them to your desserts.
You may also love our cinnamon roll pie crust and taco corn casserole!
Hello Lizzy, thanks for this recipe; I plan on trying it, altho first, I noticed that KAB includes wheat flour in their Cinnamon Sweet Bits. What proportion of flour do you recommend adding? Perhaps the flower will help bind the ingredients together throughout the baking time for final result of the baked good?
Can I use any cinnamon
Do these chips hold their shape in a cookie or scone? I ask because I make a cinnamon scone recipe that calls for Hershey’s cinnamon chips. I’d enjoy making them with a homemade chip, but not if they will melt out of the dough.
I don’t use shortening any more now that it is made with soybean oil
Okay, so it is nice to be able to make my own of something. And thank you for putting this out so we can do that- except you forgot one thing (or 5 things if you will) the amounts! How much of these ingredients do you use. I know it can’t be equal amounts of each, that would be insane. I would love to be able to try this recipe but will have to put this on hold until I find out how much of each I will be using. Thank you.
Is there any substitute for the granulated sugar?
Can you use a silicone mat instead of parchment paper?
Not sure I did it correctly, the disc seeped the oil out but I was able to cut them up and use in the scone. The scones were tender and moist and the chips did give that extra burst of cinnamon but the leaked out of the scone while baking. I’m going to try again . I did weigh my ingredients for exact measurement so not sure if that what was supposed to happen .
An absolute essential for my Pecan Streusel Coffee Cake and Cinnamon Scones. This is the easiest recipe ever. If you can find the British Lyle’s Golden Syrup it could sub for Corn Syrup. I don’t bother although I might try it sometime
How dry are the chips after cooling? Could I put them in a dry muffin mix to store for later, or are they moist enough to make the mix clump?
Sounds delicious. Can there be a substitute for corn syrup?
Can this recipe be made with a sugar substitute e.g.: Splenda?
Cinnamon Chips
I don’t have shortening on hand. I have many oils, butter, even ghee. I was thinking peanut oil since the smoke point is quite high.
I don’t keep shortening on hand so it’s either coconut oil or butter, which would be best?