I was recently buying a few spices at the grocery store when I saw this premixed cinnamon and sugar.
This little jar caught my attention because it was cinnamon and sugar, already mixed together, and being sold for a few dollars. I have to admit that I did a double take to make sure I really was seeing a jar of already mixed cinnamon and sugar being sold at the store.
Maybe this has been around for awhile and I have missed it. Or maybe my smaller town grocery stores are behind the times and just started selling it.
But whatever the case I had no idea until recently that this product was available.
I had originally planned on posting my thoughts about buying premixed cinnamon and sugar, but I decided it would be more fun to hear your thoughts.
What do you think of this product and other convenience products like it?
Good or bad? Worth the money or a waste of money?
Total rip off, money wise. However, I admit to buying it once…and I refill it myself… :o)
@Tina, Me, too!!!
Crazy! I recently washed out an old pepper shaker we no longer use and filled it with my own cinnamon-sugar mix. Why buy what you can easily make??
It sounds like a waste of money to me – because usually you have Cinnamon in the cupboard already and you most likely have sugar too… mix it yourself! I grew up in a house where my mom always mixed our Cinnamon and Sugar into a separate container – it’s great on toast!
I just don’t get spending the extra money when you already have the supplies.
For me, it would be a total waste of money. I can see how a single person that doesn’t use much sugar or cinnamon would find it useful, as opposed to buying a huge bag of sugar and a huge bottle (relatively speaking of course) of cinnamon that just sits around forever. Not cost-effective, but useful.
Crazy insane waste of money! I saw this at the grocery store and also did a double-take. It almost felt “predatory” – I mean really????
This has been around forever, or at least since I was a kid, but it came in fun bottles shaped like clowns. It is so much more economical to make your own though 🙂
@The Happy Wife/Danielle, I guess I am really behind the times. I really had never seen it until recently. I had no idea it has been around for years.
I agree with all the comments so far… and can I add… What else is in this jar? Usually premixed things have fillers and preservatives and all sorts of other invisible things. For example, did you know that powdered sugar usually has corn starch in it?!?! I would love to know what else is in here. Also what is the ratio of sugar to cinnamon? If you make your own you can control how much sugar goes into the mix.
I bought a large container in the Dollar Tree. It was about three times the size of the one pictured. I knew I could make it but I wanted that large shaker. LOL! For just $1, it was worth it to me. Any more than that, no way!
@Amanda, I also bought a BIG shaker at dollar tree for $1. My family uses the big shaker, and I refill it. 🙂
I think this premade cinnamon-sugar mixture is a good example of “pre-made syndrome” America suffers from. Breads, brownies, cookies, even potatoes! I mean, come on, people! I can’t imagine blindly spending so much money on a product I could easily throw together myself for a fraction of the cost.
@Melanie:::Adorkable,
You’re so right! I never knew how easy it was to make those mixes until I had to cut back on our grocery bill. I found out I could make them and not only was it cheaper, but healthier too! And yet most of my girlfriends think I’m crazy for “cooking so much”! huh??
It has been around for years. My mom had a fun shaped bottle she had bought and she always refilled it on her own. I do the same now. I bought my bottle at the dollar store, and whenever it is empty I refill. It gets used alot at our house because I have a sone who loves toast with cinnamon and sugar
Definitely not economical for your readers, but for a college student that doesn’t have a kitchen and only maybe a toaster/microwave, they might use it for breakfasts. Or single and/or elderly who don’t have any reason to buy a who container of cinnamon… There’s a market for it!
I totally agree with Melanie!
My in-laws introduced me to this idea–not cinnamon-sugar, just purchasing it already mixed. They always keep buying it b/c it’s “more convenient”, though I fail to see how it’s more convenient to go the store, remember to buy it, and pay more. My mom also kept a mix in the cupboard of cinnamon-sugar in a homemade shaker (small jar with metal like that she pierced with little nails all over). I don’t do either, but may start keeping a small jar of the premixed stuff for my baking as I’m always forgetting to mix the cinnamon sugar for the topping on my sweet breads and I do like it on toast and apples.
I use an old cinnamon bottle and mix my own. Easy and cheap.
What a waste of money! Can you imagine buying premixed cinnamon and sugar? and I bet they go light on the cinnamon since it is a more espensive product than sugar, I normally keep a containter of the mixture in my cupboard and it is wonderful with lots of rich cinnamon. mmmm
I bought a pretty stainless steel shaker for less that cost of the premixed stuff and I make my own. We go through a lot of cinnamon sugar as DD is addicted to home made bread with butter and cinnamon sugar.
I mix my own cinnamon sugar, but have been known to buy ice??? Now, my only excuse is I did not have flat freezer shelf space to make enough at a time for my needs…but…who doesn’t have a good recipe for ice? Sometimes convenience is worth it.
A waste of money, yes, but…it wasn’t until I saw this in the store a few years ago that it hit me to use a 1/2 full bottle of cinnamon to make my own. The next day I introduced cinn/sugar toast to the kids! LOL!!
complete waste of money. do you know how much of this you could make up yourself for the price ..a ton..
ugh. we bought a cute pizza cheese shaker from the dollar store and mixed up our own to use for cinnamon toast…really, is there anything EASIER than mixing your own cinnamon sugar?!?!?!?!
I bought mine at the Dollar Store too and it’s convenient as all get out. I love it…. and I figured for a buck, it was worth it. It makes cinnamon toast sooooooooo easy.
Well, I “discovered” this several years ago when in a hurry at the grocery store. Grabbed a bottle of cinnamon on my way down the spice aisle, got home and ….. you guessed it – not cinnamon – this mix. Grrrrr……
For myself I know it is a waste of money. But I can think of some of my friends who don’t cook or bake and would pick it up without even realizing that they can make their own. In a sense, the company is capitalizing on how many people lack basic cooking and baking skills.
I wouldn’t buy it, but there are a lot of items I think others would consider convenience items that I ALWAY buy. Like tartar sauce, it is easy to make, just easier to buy. Cake mix, I buy it a lot just to rush, but a cake from scratch isn’t much more work. I gues it just depends on what you consider convenience right?
Nope. It is more sugar than cinnamon. Making your own you can adjust to your own taste. I like a lot more cinnamon than they add to the pre made stuff.
This is also true for salt mixtures any spice or herb salt, they’re mostly salt. In my cooking classes at University we were forbidden to use garlic salt etc beciase of that. Plain slat, plain spices, plain herbs, it’s easier to adjudt seasonings that way.
I didn’t know this product was still made. I remember finding a old container in my grandma’s spice cabinet years back. I’m curious as to what sort of proportions those of you who make your own use? When I sprinkle cinnamon and sugar (well, Equal or Splenda) on toast, I just give the bread a good dusting of each. Any issues with the sugar hardening?
how much lazier can americans get.. really.. is it that hard to mix cinnamon and sugar… give me a breatk…..
i bought a bottle the other day cuz the kids were bugging for some cinnamon toast ‘like they serve at the daycare’ and this is what they use….
It’s been around for a while b/c I have some in my pantry…that I know I never bought. That can only mean it was given to me by someone when I got married…which means it’s really old!
I use a small Mason jar. I just use about 1/2 jar of cinnamon and add the sugar incrementally till it looks right. Lasts a long time and I’ve been known to use it on top coffee cakes instead of measuring out the cinnamon and sugar individually.
Waste of my money if I did buy it. However, I haven’t nor will I buy one as I’ve been making my own cinnamon and sugar mixture since I was a child…and I’m mid 40s now. 😉
I think it is a waste, i got caught and purchased some (different brand here though) and it wasn’t even nice, far to strong in flavor!! So much cheaper to make it yourself & at least it will taste nice:)
I am 66, and have been mixing my own since childhood. It’s so much cheaper that way, which is always my main focus; and I can adjust the ratio of cinnamon to sugar to fit my own taste.
I only noticed it recently too, and I probably felt the way you did. People today are pretty lazy. I’ve had a Tupperware shaker for years, that someone gave me, that I keep c-s premixed all the time. Takes about a second to put together and it’s always on hand. However, I do most things from scratch, as my mother did 🙂
What approximate RATIO of SUGAR to CINNAMON do you use when refilling your shaker? 50-50? Or some other ratio… THANKS! —Paul
I think that a single person might like the convenience, or like Kristine, had posted a college student that lives in a dormatory. I would never buy because I have always made my own and don’t see the value of buying it premade. My kids go through it like it quickly so I make mine in bulk!
Duh!!! What a waste of money. Buy a spice jar and fill it with your own cinnamon and sugar mix. Or even better, recycle an old empty spice jar.
Total waste of money. I have a pampered chef shaker and make my own. It takes what, maybe, 30 seconds?
Lynn, I use the premixed cinnamon and sugar, not necessarily McCormick’s, which have used in the past. I find it the perfect blend. It is so much easier to use when in a hurry. Would recommend it to anyone who likes cinnamon and sugar on food.
@Kandi, I am curious if the texture is different on the premixed kind. Do they use finer sugar or anything to make it?
I remember my mom buying the fun shaped containers too. My son loves cinnamon toast, but one time I tried making it with just the cinnamon and no sugar and he didn’t say a thing. So ever since I’ve just sprinkled cinnamon on his toast, figuring if he doesn’t miss it why load him up with more sugar?
I recently too found this in the spices section and did exactly what you did- a double take. I couldn’t believe that they would sell this item pre-mixed. I think it just is a showing of the times we are in. It’s all about convenience. I just worry that things like this will eventually hurt our kids. Like they won’t know that sugar and cinnamon are actually two different things, not always mixed. I think it is unnecessary. It takes two minutes to mix it at home yourself.
I get premixed cinnamon sugar at Penzey’s Spices (I’m telling you you HAVE to try Penzey’s…SOOOO much better than any spice you buy at the grocery store and much cheaper too!)
I like the accuracy of flavor and yeah, the convenience too. I do not consider myself lazy for using it either!
@lori, Do you mail order Penzey’s Spices or do you have a store near you? I have received their catalog, but I have not bought any of their spices.
@Lynn,
I order from their catalog and I LOVE them! I really like their spice blends, like the Bavarian is awesome on beef roast, Fines Herbs is good in eggs, etc. Try them, you’ll love them too!
a ridiculous waste of money
I’ve seen this for years on the shelf and have never bought it. To me, it’s a sign of Americans in decline if they can’t mix their own cinnamon and sugar together! lol However, I can see a one-time purchase for a container. I have a stainless steel shaker I bought at a kitchen outlet store a long time ago, but a few-dollar investment in a nice container is where I draw the line 🙂
This has been around for at least 20 years and it’s no more worth buying today than it was then. I can admit I tend to be lazy, but you have to be truly lazy if you can’t sprinkle cinnamon on your sugar yourself!!! My ratios aren’t the same as theirs. Plus, there is no emergency I can think of that would justify the outrageous price for something you already have at home.
I agree with most of the comments. However, there’s another possible twist. My daughter has celiac disease and cannot ingest even a tiny bit of wheat, barley or rye. McCormick spices has 100% gluten-free and I can see that it might be worth buying it just to know that it’s safe.
I’ve made my own cinnamon/sugar for YEARS! We have a designated shaker that we keep in our fridge…
Complete waste of money. Don’t bother unless you get buy it for 10 cents or less.
When I got married 17 years ago, I found one of these little bottles in my husband’s cupboard. I thought – “How ridiculous!! I can’t believe he bought this!” But I’ve KEPT the bottle all these yeas and continnue to refill it with my own “homemade” (ha!! – so hard) supply.
I have been making “magic sprinkles” for my 8-yo for years: 1 generous tsp cinnamon to 1/4 c sugar. The ONLY thing that would have enticed me to buy pre-mixed stuff would be if it came in some sort of fun container. Even then, I would have only purchased the container once and refilled it myself. As it is, we use an old parmesan shaker (that we got for 10 cents). Seeing as she’s almost 9 though, I think she’s outgrown the “fun container” phase, but I think she will probably refer to the cinnamon sugar as Magic Sprinkles for years to come :+)
I usually mix my own, but I have bought this in the past for a trip when I didn’t want to bring along my larger shaker and I was buying other small condiments for a small vacation. I didn’t have room to lug sugar and cinnamon nor did I want to buy those and have to lug them home (aside from room, I was worried about spillage – seemed more wasteful to possibly throw away or spill than buy a small, already packaged, item. I never knew this pre mixed stuff existed until a friend of mine saw me mix up our own in a plastic baggie and have my kids put their buttered toast in and shake it up themselves…she apparently grew up with it. But I agree its not economical and I wouldn’t regularly buy it.
My brother had this when I was a kid in yes fun bottles, he refilled – that was 30 plus years ago. For me, now, I make cinnamon equal (Aldi brand) toast and can’t premix it due to the small amount of equal to cinnamon, half a packet does 2 toast pieces. No matter what you do the cinnamon is good for regulating your blood sugar and has other health benefits.- In general anything premixed CAN be a waste of money but premixed Italian spices I can get at Family Dollar or Dollar Tree and my ever favorite Pizza Spice mix are more than mere convenience, the mix is just right and the pizza mix has a huge shaker. I have the individual spices and may add more say , oregano, but all the rest is great.
Didn’t buy Mccormick got a large off brand container. I think I bought it for the jar or brain was out to lunch. It was no good, got rid of it using the jar for my own mix.
I don’t use Cinnamon Sugar often, but I use Penzeys Cinnamon & Sugar when I do.
It’s hand-mixed from white sugar aged with Vanilla Bean, China Cassia Cinnamon and Ceylon Cinnamon.
The Vanilla bean takes it to another level and it definitely has a better taste than just “regular” Cinnamon & Sugar.
I have made this for at least 40 years and would never consider buying it premixed! I also make chocolate sugar to sprinkle on my homemade espressos. Keep in empty spice jars I wash and re-use. I now make all/most of my spice mixes so I can control the salt content, DH on low salt diet.
@Karen Osmon, Chocolate sugar! I think I need to know how you do that, I have never even thought of doing that, but it sounds really good. Is it just cocoa and sugar?
@Lynn, I take leftover chocolate from my chocolate making and throw it in the food processor. I keep a small jar of the crushed chocolate for topping drinks and desserts (using the rest for re-melting or drinking chocolate). The technique does not work well for chocolate chips, which are too small and don’t crumble, but any chocolate bar or large pieces of chocolate would work well (and dark cocoa in a shaker also works well for topping coffee drinks).
@Karen Osmon, oooh, that sounds like a great idea! I think I might have to liberate a few empty spice containers I recently emptied making my homemade taco mix to make a chocolate sugar topping…..hubs will LOVE it!
It’s a crazy waste of money for those of us who cook and have sugar and cinnamon on hand all of the time. I have had a mixture in a tupperware salt shaker for years and years! On the other hand for college students in dorms or apartments it would be great. A taste of home.
That’s all it is, just cocoa and sugar to taste. I use 3 heaping teaspoons sugar to 1/4 teaspoon cocoa. Or make enough to fill one of those empty spice jars, I really prefer glass, they don’t take up the odor/taste of what was in them!
I love cinnamon sugar! I usually mix my own and keep it in an old cinnamon container. I actually used some this morning in my pancake mix. It’s quick and easy and I LOVE it!
My husband grew up with this McCormick’s cinnamon-sugar blend, so he had a jar when we combined kitchens. We used it, no problem (we both love cinnamon toast!), but haven’t bought another since then — I just refill the jar most of the way with sugar, then add cinnamon until the color looks ‘right’ after shaking it up. 🙂 Having it pre-mixed is a great way to encourage my kiddo (six years old) to eat ‘plain’ oatmeal, too: with a shake of cinnamon-sugar (or two, or three), it’s not plain anymore and she’ll happily eat it.
Joining in with everyone else – yes it HAS been around for years – and came in some fun shaped bottles -a clown, a dog, & a cat at one time. But first of all the expense is through the roof and then the SUGAR content is through the roof also!!!! I want to TASTE cinnamon when I have cinnamon/sugar on my food, NOT just the sugar. I bought a table sugar dispenser and mixed mine up in there – as we use it quite a bit on toast, waffles and baked sweet potatoes.
My mom always bought it when I was a kid, so I continued buying it as an adult. I don’t always have cinnamon and sugar around, so it easier to buy it pre-mixed for the occasional cinnamon toast. I have refilled it myself, but I do end up buying it once a year of so, as I can never get the cinnamon/sugar mix just the right way.
Goofy! But if I ever saw it in a clown bottle like some other commenters have found, I’d swoop it up in a heartbeat just for whimsy’s sake! Still, makes you wonder if there’s such a consensus against it, how it’s been around so long (not that I’ve ever seen it myself but now I’ll probably see it everywhere I shop.)
I have bought it when we were on vacation for a quick breakfast in our cabin. We would never have used up a bag of sugar in just a few days and I’d rather not lug it around.
I’m always amazed at how people waste money on convenience items like the premixed cinnamon & sugar.
The thing that really blew my mind was the prepared pudding cups that started being sold years ago. I thought “Who can’t make pudding?” Then just put it in little Tuperware containers for the kids’ lunches.
But it has certainly caught on and everyone buys it (not me). And now, already prepared items are everywhere and kids demand them!
I’m frankly too cheap to pay for things I can make myself.
I can buy the much larger size at Dollar Tree. For a dollar it’s worth it! It’s been there for years!
This is one of the BIGGEST waste of money I have ever seen. Is it really that dificult to mix sugar and cinnamon?
When the kids were little I had the cute container — mine was yellow. Just kept refilling it because the kids used a lot of it. The special container made it easy for them to find and really fit their hands. Have to admit I do buy the special salt blends — just easier. Keep Paula Dean’s House Seasoning in a Dollar Tree shaker/pour bottle. I make tons of it and give it as gifts.
@Linda from Georgia, I love making the homemade version of both Paula Deen and Emerils. I use them all the time.
This is WAY too easy to make to even think about buying!!! I haven’t seen it on the shelf, but I would have done a double take too!
It’s been around for a while, years.. I love it!
When I was new to cooking/baking, it just didn’t occur to me to make my own spice blends, so when a recipe called for Cinnamon Sugar, I’m sure I purchased one. When I moved to the UK, I brought along my tupperware spice containers, and one of them is labelled as “Cinnamon Sugar” – but it’s now my own blend!
I always keep sugar and I always keep cinnamon…so I mix the two to the ratio I like….so no need to buy! That money stays in my pocket instead of theirs.
Defintely a waste of money and not enough cinnamon for my tast buds.
I loved having the convenience of it already mixed…. So whaif it is a ‘rip-off’ or more expensive, people waste money in a lot more ways than buying pre-mixed cinnamon & sugar. I used to be able to find it at the grocery store, now I can’t 🙁
Where can I buy premixed cinnamon and sugar can I buy it on line
I have seen it at just basic grocery stores in the spice aisle.