Cinnamon Chips for Baking: Homemade Recipe and Uses

This homemade cinnamon chips recipe creates flavorful little cinnamon bits perfect for baking—cookies, scones, or breads like the viral cinnamon burst bread.

These cinnamon chips are quick and simple to make. With a few practical tips below, they perform well in a variety of recipes and are an excellent alternative if store-bought cinnamon chips are unavailable, expensive to ship, or have an artificial taste.

How (and Why) to Use Homemade Cinnamon Chips

After the success of the cinnamon burst bread recipe, many readers asked for a homemade version of the cinnamon chips used in that loaf. While commercial cinnamon chips are available in some places, they’re often costly to ship, melt during transit, or simply aren’t sold locally. This homemade version uses a few basic ingredients and yields chips that taste great and work reliably in baking.

Ingredients Notes

• White bar chocolate: Use real white baking chocolate—not almond bark or candy coating. Real white baking chocolate has a creamier flavor and better texture. Ghirardelli is a commonly available option.
• White chocolate chips: Chips are slower to melt and brands vary. Ghirardelli chips performed best in testing; Nestle and Guittard can work but may require extra patience and gentle warming.
• Vanilla extract: Use pure vanilla for best flavor.
• Ground cinnamon: Add gradually to control the intensity. The full 6 teaspoons gives a pronounced cinnamon flavor; 5 teaspoons is slightly milder.

Using both white bar chocolate and white chocolate chips balances flavor and texture. All bar chocolate makes chips that are too soft and melt quickly. All chips can be harder to melt smoothly and tend to be less creamy. Combining both gives the best result.

How to Make Homemade Cinnamon Chips

1. Chop the white baking chocolate and combine it with the white chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in 30-second intervals at 50–60% power, stirring between intervals, until the bar chocolate is fully melted. Don’t overheat; white chocolate can scorch and seize.
2. Stir in the vanilla and 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon.
3. Add the remaining cinnamon one teaspoon at a time, stirring thoroughly after each addition until fully incorporated.
4. Spread the mixture evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet to a thickness of about 1/8–1/4 inch.
5. Refrigerate for 20–30 minutes until the chocolate is firm.
6. For easier cutting, let the sheet sit at room temperature 5–10 minutes, then use a knife or bench scraper to chop into small bits.
7. Immediately transfer the chopped cinnamon bits to a container or bag and store in the freezer.

Important: Keep these cinnamon bits frozen until use and add them straight from the freezer. They melt more quickly than commercial cinnamon chips, so handle them quickly and avoid allowing them to warm.

Proof These Homemade Cinnamon Chips Work in Cinnamon Burst Bread

I tested these homemade cinnamon chips in the cinnamon burst bread recipe and they perform very well. A few differences to note when substituting homemade chips for store-bought:

• Add the frozen cinnamon bits at the very end of kneading and use them straight from the freezer.
• The homemade chips may absorb more into the dough or give a slightly oily texture to the dough. That’s normal—work quickly and gently so the bits don’t melt with warm hands.
• Texture in the baked loaf shows pockets of cinnamon flavor throughout. Homemade chips can create a slightly more swirled appearance than commercial chips, but the flavor is excellent.

After making the bread many times with commercial chips, I find I prefer the flavor and texture of the homemade chips just as much, if not more.

A Few Additional Notes

One batch yields roughly 1 3/4 to 2 cups of cinnamon bits. The cinnamon burst bread calls for 1 1/2 cups, and because the homemade chips soften slightly more during baking, using the full batch works well.

Key reminders:

• Melt the white chocolate slowly and thoroughly.
• Freeze the chopped cinnamon bits before using.
• Add them at the end of mixing and avoid over-handling.

Being able to make your own cinnamon chips means you can bake cinnamon burst bread, scones, and more whenever you like—no reliance on store-bought chips required.