We traveled to Amarillo to find the best cinnamon rolls this Texas town has to offer. But first, a quick history lesson!
Cinnamon rolls in America date back to the 17th century and were introduced by German and Swedish Immigrants. They are a labor of love and are enjoyed by many.
According to the U.S. Census data and Simmons National Consumer Survey(NHSC), 67.46 million Americans consumed cinnamon rolls in 2020!!! That is a lot of dough!
There is much more to a cinnamon roll than meets the eye. The dough, the buttery flavor with just enough salt to counter the sweetness, and the depth of the cinnamon and spice mix.
Cardamon, ginger, and nutmeg are just a few of the ingredients that we found being added to cinnamon roll recipes in the great state of Texas. They give a punch that causes the palate to crave more.
A good cinnamon roll has to have delicious icing with just the right sweetness to complement the cinnamon roll. The frosting, however, should never be the star of the show.
Our team was on a quest to find the best cinnamon rolls in Amarillo, Texas. Did we find the soft & pillowy cinnamon rolls with the perfect rise? Did we track down the secret ingredients rumored to be used at several bakeries in Amarillo?
We started our cinnamon roll quest with 10 restaurants and bakeries offered in the Amarillo area. We narrowed down the best cinnamon rolls to these three bakeries:
- Ye Old Pancake Station
- Butterlove Biscuits
- The Kind House Ukraine Bakery
Let’s dive in!
Ye Olde Pancake Station
Ye Olde Pancake Station, a breakfast cafe in Amarillo, was the first stop of the day for our well-traveled cinnamon roll team. They have been serving Amarillo and the Panhandle since 1981.
The diameter of this bad boy was nine and a half inches and only $5.50. Talk about Texas value! The cinnamon mix had a punch to it.
The cinnamon roll icing was not overstated and was very light in texture. They used bread flour in their mix to give that soft and pillowy cinnamon roll experience you would expect.
Jennifer, our waitress at Ye Olde Pancake Station, said many people order two or three of the cinnamon rolls to share with a whole table of customers.
Legend has it that the Cinnamon Rolls at Ye Olde Pancake Station have a secret ingredient but our efforts to get this information failed.
Roger King, the general manager, promised to tell us the secret ingredient someday….but not the day of our visit.
These famous cinnamon rolls have been on the menu for years. Donnetta Finley’s, star employee, brought this family cinnamon roll recipe to the restaurant. It’s perfection.
Trust us, we’ll back for the cinnamon rolls and a conversation with Roger King about that secret ingredient.
Next up on our list of cinnamon roll stops in Amarillo was Butterlove Biscuits.
Butterlove Biscuits
What’s not to love about a secret family and trademark recipe? Our team was intrigued! This fabled recipe originated at the Ruffled Cup.
Susan Robinson, general manager, and owner, and Deanna Hurt are passionate about food.
They are also sisters, Susan says she is the savory element and her sister is the sweet.
Susan sat down with our team and us to understand how much baking is science.
The cinnamon roll is a labor of love and very time-consuming. The yeast must have time to do its job and every step of the job is labor intensive.
These cinnamon rolls are highly sought after and also sold at local coffee shops.
The icing is a perfect blend of butter and brown sugar. As you would expect from bakers focused on science, the cinnamon roll was light, soft, and pillowy. Plenty of rise in these cinnamon rolls. They were sweet and full of flavor.
At $3.50, this was one of the best values we found in the Amarillo area.
Image Credit: Butterlove Biscuits
The Kind House Ukraine Bakery
After a long day of sampling Amarillo’s best cinnamon rolls, we stopped at The Kind House Ukraine Bakery.
Every order saves men, women, and children from starvation. What is donated goes to help orphans and others who live in the war zone of Ukraine.
Glenda Moore is the founder of the non-profit bakery. “We’ve never had prices and we never will. People donate whatever they want to give to help people in Ukraine. We have been providing humanitarian aid for more than eight years now,” she said.
Cinnamon rolls go out on the porch of her home every morning at 6 AM until they run out…. This bakery will have a storefront come mid-November on Western street.
The cinnamon rolls were the perfect size for one serving. They reminded our team of what you mind find at grandma’s house on a Sunday morning.
Perhaps the sweetest thing about these rolls is they are made to save lives half a world away in Ukraine.
The Best Cinnamon Rolls in Amarillo
Our quest for the best cinnamon rolls in Amarillo didn’t disappoint. This town of 200,000 gave us all we could handle but three bakeries stood out among the rest. Whether you’re a local or just passing through Amarillo, be sure to stop by and experience Ye Olde Pancake Shop, Butterlove Biscuits, and The Kind House Ukraine Bakery.
Houston is currently recognized as being the Cinnamon Roll Capital of the United States and Omaha is making a run for that title.
Can you find the World’s Best Cinnamon rolls in Amarillo? We’ll let you be the judge of that!
