Cinnamon Extract
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Homemade cinnamon extract is a delicious substitute for ground cinnamon in your recipes. Learn how to make cinnamon extract the traditional way and how to speed up the process with sous vide.
Oh hi!
I’m glad you’e here. Today we’re gonna talk about cinnamon extract!
Ever go wandering through the baking aisle looking for inspiration? I do, and one time, I found myself staring at the extracts. Vanilla, lemon, maple, mint, and…. cinnamon?
Bet your bottom dollar I bought that cinnamon extract. I loved it. When I went to buy more I noticed the price. *COUGH* Yikes. So I figured out how to make it.
This cinnamon extract recipe is dedicated to yikes!
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Tips + Tricks
No. 1 –> New to sous vide? Check out my sous vide 101 guide!
No. 2 –> Use fresh cinnamon sticks. I’m talking brand new package fresh if you can! They will have much more flavor and impart more flavor to your infusion than older sticks that have been exposed to air.
No. 3 –> If your cinnamon sticks are too long to fit into your jar, which they likely will be as 250 ml jars are short, they can easily be shortened by cutting with a serrated knife.
No. 4 –> Remove your cinnamon sticks from the jar once the infusion is complete as they can continue to break down and start to release bitter flavors.
Key Ingredients
Alcohol: Most homemade cinnamon extracts call for vodka, I prefer to use 190 proof Everclear when making cinnamon extract as the higher ABV is better at extracting flavors from dry and dense spices like cinnamon bark. The other benefit to using Everclear is that it is ungodly alcohol-y but doesn’t have a whole lot of other “flavor” to it which will result in a more pure extract.
If you don’t have access to high-proof Everclear, you can use vodka, but it may not have the same results.
Cinnamon Sticks: Use fresh cinnamon sticks from a freshly opened package if at all possible! Using cinnamon sticks that have been kicking around in your spice cupboard for the last 3 years may not result in your best extract.
How to make cinnamon extract
While I originally wrote this recipe to harness the speed of the sous vide extraction, but it can easily be made without the sous vide – it will just take considerably longer!
- Add 4 cinnamon sticks to a clean 250ml mason jar. If the sticks are too long, simply cut them with a serrated knife so they fit.
- Fill the jar with alcohol, leaving a 1/2 inch headspace. Close the jar tightly.
- Place the jar in a cool dark place and give the jar a good, vigorous shake once a week for 9-10 weeks.
- Once the extract starts to smell strongly of cinnamon, remove the cinnamon sticks.
How to make sous vide cinnamon extract
- Prepare your sous vide water bath. Fill it with hot water from your tap and set to temperature to 135f. I don’t mind giving my sous vide a little boost, as water comes out of the tap around 120f, so I know I can fill my water bath with full hot water and not go over temperature.
- Add 4 cinnamon sticks to a clean 250ml mason jar. If your cinnamon sticks don’t fit in your jar, and they may not, as 250ml jars are short, simply use a serrated knife to saw a piece off the end of your cinnamon stick!
- Fill the jar with the Everclear or Vodka, leaving about 1/2 inch of headspace in the jar.
- Wipe the lip of the jar, and cover the jar with the band and ring. Close the jar finger-tight -> my trick for getting my jars finger tight is to I like to set the jar on my counter and with only one hand tighten the band until the whole jar starts to rotate, then I add another 1/4 turn. An overtightened jar can burst or buckle because it won’t allow the air to escape.
- Using a jar lifter, lower the jar of extract into your water bath and cook your cinnamon extract sous vide at 135f for 3 hours.
- Once the extract is done cooking, carefully lift the jar out of the water bath and set it on a wire mesh rack to cool before shaking vigorously then straining out the cinnamon sticks.
More awesome sous vide recipes
How to use cinnamon extract
Use cinnamon extract wherever you’d use cinnamon powder, except that your cinnamon extract is more potent than ground cinnamon. Substitute 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon extract for 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon.
Your homemade cinnamon extract can be used in any recipe that calls for ground cinnamon, like in eggnog bread, brown sugar banana bread, cranberry sauce, or oatmeal cookies.
Recommended equipment
Sous Vide Circulator: I’ve got an Instant Pot Accu- Slim immersion circulator and we LOVE it! It’s a reasonably priced little unit that we purchased thinking we would test the sous vide waters and upgrade later, but it’s been 2 years and this thing is still kickin arse!
Mason Jars: Mason jars aren’t only for canning. If you’re me, they’re for everything! They work GREAT in the sous vide because they are designed to be used underwater. Half pint jars are perfect for this recipe.
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๐ Printable Recipe
Cinnamon Extract
Ingredients
- 4 cinnamon sticks
- 1 cup high proof grain alcohol like Everclear. Vodka will work in a pinch.
Instructions
- Make Cinnamon Extract Sous Vide
- Prepare your sous vide water bath. Fill it with hot water from your tap and set to temperature to 135f.
- Add 4 cinnamon sticks to a clean 250ml mason jar.
- Fill the jar with the Everclear or Vodka, leaving about 1/2 inch of head-space in the jar.
- Close the jar finger-tight and lower it into the water bath with a pair of jar lifters.
- Cook your cinnamon extract sous vide at 135f for 3 hours.
- Once the extract is done cooking, carefully lift the jar out of the water bath and set it on a wire mesh rack to cool before shaking vigorously then straining out the cinnamon sticks.
Make cinnamon extract without sous vide- Add 4 cinnamon sticks to a 250ml mason jar. If the sticks are too long to fit in the jar, simply cut them to size with a serrated knife.
- Fill the jar with alcohol, leaving a 1/2 inch head-space. Close the jar tightly.
- Place the jar in a cool dark place and give the jar a good, vigorous shake once a week for 9-10 weeks.
- Once the extract starts to smell strongly of cinnamon, it’s time to remove the sticks.Leaving them in can introduce bitter, over-extracted flavor.
I live in South Africa and am an insomniac. I have been drinking hot milk with cinnamon but it leaves a lot of grainy residue in my mouth. Would I be able to use your Cinnamon Extract in hot milk?
It would certainly be worth a try! Hot milk would help evaporate the alcohol flavour similar to baking – I would try with pure vanilla extract first to see if the alcohol flavor is subdued enough for your liking before making the cinnamon if you’ve got it handy!
What do you do with the sticks after removing from the extract? Grind for powder? How long do they stay good for? I donโt use a lot of ground cinnamon and will use even less now with the extract.
I’ve never used them after making the extract, but I’m guessing they could be dried and turned into a pretty potpourri or decoration of some sort while releasing maybe a bit of scent!
If I want a stronger cinnamon flavor can I discard the sticks after the first 9 weeks then add fresh ones for another 9 weeks?
I don’t see why not! If you try it, let me know how it goes!