The Not-So-Secret Ingredient Behind Cinnabon's Famous Scent

If you've ever walked by a Cinnabon store and immediately felt enamored with the scent wafting from it, you're not alone. The chain's products smell slightly different compared to regular cinnamon rolls, and the taste is impossible to fully capture when attempting to cook the same pastries at home. This is because Cinnabon uses a special kind of cinnamon called Makara cinnamon, which is trademarked by the brand.

According to Cinnabon's website, the cinnamon is grown on cassia trees in Indonesia. Makara is a special proprietary blend that can only be found in Cinnabon stores, which uses korintje, also known as padang cassia, a type of cinnamon. The chain first trademarked Makara cinnamon in 1995, and the trademark is still active to this day. Because of this, the exact cinnamon blend is a closely guarded company secret.

Chef Jerilyn Brusseau, who was hired by Cinnabon founder Rich Komen to help create the iconic treat, talked about the process of selecting the cinnamon in an interview with Kiro News Radio. She described how Crescent Spices, a Seattle company, helped them test several varieties of cinnamon, eventually landing on the Makara blend. "Korintje cinnamon from Sumatra was chosen," she said. "It had the biggest volatile oil, the biggest flavor, and that's what we went with."

Because of the trademark on Makara cinnamon, recreating your own Cinnabon treats is not as simple as picking up the right ingredients at the grocery store. This cinnamon blend isn't available at traditional retailers, nor can it be found on the company's online storefront. The ingredient can be purchased at select physical Cinnabon stores, but not all locations will carry it. Using this spice along with cream cheese icing will net you the closest possible dupe to a Cinnabon treat.

Cinnabon does offer premade versions of its products online, including Pillsbury Grands! Cinnamon Rolls, which the brand says uses original Cinnabon icing and cinnamon. While not as satisfying as made-from-scratch cinnamon rolls, these can be a convenient option for those who crave the classic Cinnabon taste but don't live near a Cinnabon that sells the spice blend. Plus, they earned the number two spot on Tasting Table's ranking of store-bought cinnamon rolls.

If you want to try to capture the Cinnabon taste without Makara cinnamon, the best thing to do is to purchase a different korintje cinnamon blend. While Cinnabon's Makara blend can be hard to acquire, korintje cinnamon is not, being widely available on Amazon and alongside other types of cinnamon at numerous physical retailers. Then, you can spice up your cinnamon rolls with some unique fillings.