Cinnamon Rolls Are 10x More Flavorful When You Add This Spice Mix

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Even though there are at least 12 ways to make canned cinnamon rolls taste homemade, no variety can fully replace the perfectly spiced appeal of those made from scratch. Apart from being warm, fluffy, and ultra-flavorful, you can tailor your homemade recipe to accommodate new and exciting spices. Speaking of which, to give your cinnamon roll recipe a surefire upgrade, consider replacing ground cinnamon with a homemade or store-bought chai spice blend. The varied combination of spices that produce the signature flavor of masala chai is sure to give your sweet breakfast rolls a warmer, more complex taste and aroma.

Though before you begin incorporating this spice mix into your next batch of cinnamon rolls, it's important to understand what chai actually is. In Hindi, chai means tea, and masala chai is tea mixed with milk and warming spices like cinnamon, cardamon, ginger, and cloves. That being said, you have options when it comes to giving homemade cinnamon rolls the masala chai treatment. If you want black tea in your spice mix, use a pre-made blend like Watkins Gourmet Organic Spice Jar Chai Powder from Amazon. Or, combine your own spices and add in a small amount of ground Earl Grey or Darjeeling tea.

However, you can also make chai-spiced cinnamon rolls without tea. Simply mix together your own combination of cinnamon, cardamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg or purchase a pre-made, tea-free blend like Spicewalla Masala Chai which contains ginger, cinnamon, green cardamom, black pepper, clove, and all-spice.

When it comes to upgrading your cinnamon roll recipe with chai spice, prepare the bread dough as usual and before baking, apply a filling made of your own preferred combination of softened butter, brown sugar, and homemade or store-bought chai spice blend. Once you bake these perfectly spiced rolls, feel free to top them in a variety of unique glazes for an extra special finishing touch.

For example, instead of preparing a standard powdered sugar glaze made with milk and vanilla extract, add some maple syrup, salt, and melted butter to the mix for a salted maple glaze. Or, if you're used to topping cinnamon rolls with a luscious cream cheese frosting, why not upgrade this accompaniment with some added chai spice mix for a more complementary topping? You can also skip the spices and include a small amount of freshly brewed espresso for a rich, espresso-flavored icing.

Once you feel more comfortable using chai spice in your classic recipe for cinnamon rolls and dressing them in your favorite toppings, you can start incorporating this spice blend into other tasty breakfast options and classic sweet treats. For example, use this combination of spices to doctor up a standard bowl of oatmeal or to craft a more specialized meal like almond chai chia pudding. You can also add chai spice to your favorite sugar cookies, blondies, or standard vanilla cupcakes for a more complex flavor.