Edmonton’s dessert scene just got a little sweeter. I was invited to check out Cinnaholic today, a gourmet cinnamon roll bakery opening up in Downtown at the Mayfair on Jasper. The American franchise offers vegan gourmet cinnamon rolls and was featured on popular TV show, Sharktank. Alongside cinnamon buns, there are also other baked goods such as cookies and brownies.
What makes Cinnaholic different from places like Cinzeo? Cinnaholic offers more than one combination of flavours – it is more than just the standard cinnamon roll. With over 20 options for both icing and toppings, you can get pretty creative and build your own creation! As previously mentioned, it’s also vegan. Truthfully, there isn’t really any other place that specializes in cinnamon rolls quite like Cinnaholic. This is also the first one to open in Edmonton AND Canada. As a result, I expect to see Cinnaholic being quite popular – especially if you have a sweet tooth.
Given the size of each cinnamon bun, prices seem fairly reasonable with the Classic Old Skool Roll (cinnamon roll+vanilla icing) starting at $5.50. You can customize cinnamon rolls by choosing frosting ($0.50 each) and toppings ($0.75 each). There are also premade creations which you can choose from, with 3 speciality creations made just for Canadian locations – Everything is better in Canada, Nuts about Maple, and Moose Tracks.
Cinnaholic is definitely set up as a cafe style/quick eats place – after ordering at the till, your name will eventually be called and cinnamon rolls are given in takeout containers. Definitely easy to take on the go and bring back to work, for instance. There is also catering available!
I decided to try the Cookie Monster, one of their popular combinations. This cinnamon roll consisted of vanilla frosting, cookie dough, chocolate chips, and chocolate syrup/drizzle. The roll itself is large and super moist, especially in the middle. Getting a bite with just the right amount of icing, topping and, the bun was pretty dang good. Although tasty and definitely Instagram worthy, I personally thought it was very sweet. By the time I finished half of the bun, I was pretty much sugared out. I would likely opt for something simpler next time and try building my own bun with fewer toppings.
My cousin customized her own cinnamon bun with amaretto icing, strawberries, and pie crumble. With less chocolate, it felt a little easier to finish this bun. Her cinnamon roll was definitely unique from the conventional cinnamon roll and I think if you know how to pair your toppings and icing right, you can end up with a really great combination.
Cinnaholic makes cinnacakes too – basically, a cake made up of cinnamon rolls. It’s huge, to say the least! There is also cookies and cookie dough. I enjoyed the cookies which were soft, but chewy. The brownies, on the other hand, were mediocre for me as they were a bit dry. The cookie dough looked delicious, though. If you’re not a fan of cinnamon rolls, know that you still have some other options when stopping into Cinnaholic.
Service and the owners, themselves, were very friendly. Owner Johnny Zhan described Cinnaholic’s cinnamon buns as “healthier” than places like Cinzeo due to the vegan recipe. I find it hard to believe cinnamon buns can be healthy, especially where there are so many sweet toppings, but I will take his word for it!! I look forward to coming back to try different combinations and customizing my own roll – an “Eat with Sharon cinnamon roll” if you will ;).
You can check out Cinnaholic starting tomorrow! They are officially opening Friday, May 11th and are even offering cinnamon buns for $1 from 10AM-2PM (see the event here). Whether you buy a single cinnamon bun or a dozen, I can confirm that you’ll get a delicious looking Instagram picture. Whether or not you’ll love it though, well, that may depend on your sugar tolerance. I am wishing Cinnaholic success as they open their doors to Edmontonians!
For another quick recap on Cinnaholicm, check out Leduc’s (from LetsEatYEG) review here.
Cinnaholic
10075 109 St. Edmonton
Eat with Sharon 
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