Cinnaholic Toronto
Cinnaholic is a bakery chain specializing in vegan gourmet cinnamon buns, which you can customize with frosting and toppings for a treat that's totally egg- and dairy-free.
The healthy person's answer to Cinnabon's sugary, gooey rolls, Cinnaholic is already wildly popular in America with 21 locations and counting.
The brainchild of the husband-and-wife team Florian and Shannon Michelle Radke, Cinnaholic is Shark Tank-approved, which is an impressive accolade when it comes to business models and might explain the chain's explosively-fast expansion.
Those looking for a healthy substitute for Cinnabon won't be disappointed. As with all its locations, Cinnaholic's menu offers its Classic Old Skool Roll (a basic vegan cinnamon bun) for $5.50.
The first step of your order is decking out your roll with a frosting flavour, for 50 cents each. Options include around 17 flavours like banana cream, cake batter, almond, or peanut butter, with other options of seasonal flavours available.
Next, you get to spruce up your roll with toppings for 75 cents each. There's 24 options to pick from, including favourites like their famous cookie dough, "Oreo" cookies, or strawberries. There's also tons of nut options like walnuts and pecans. A standard bun with one frosting and two toppings should cost close to $9. All buns are served heated, and despite being completely egg- and dairy-free, taste pretty close to their non-vegan counterparts.
If you can't decide between all the fun flavours, there's also a collection of buns in the glass case by the cashier that are pre-designed for standard enjoyment.
The Cookie Monster is a popular order: vanilla frosting is topped with cookie dough, chocolate chips and chocolate drizzle for a hulking dessert.
The Strawberries and Cream is a favourite, and tastes close to a regular Cinnabon with far less guilt. Frosting is paired with pieces of strawbs and strawberry drizzle on a soft — very doughy — sweet bun.
Aside from the main menu, there's four options of side orders like fudge-style brownies for $2.50 and orders of baby buns, which are three for $5. Each come with a choice of frosting and toppings.
These super cute bites are pretty satisfying and let you sample a few different flavours all in one go. You can also get six for $10, or a full dozen for $20.
Cinnaholic's cookie dough is also a hit: you can get in an 8oz container to take home for $5.
If you get it by the scoop ($3), you'll have the option of paying the extra fees to deck it out with your choice of drizzle and toppings.
While it certainly lacks the same satisfaction as stealing bites of Pillsbury cookie dough from the freezer (which really shouldn't be ingested), this stuff is actually supposed to be eaten. It's not as sweet but should do the job of holding over cold cookie dough lovers. Chocolate chip or Cinnadoodle cookies are $2 each, and if you're looking to supply a party, they also offer giant Cinnacakes which you can amp up with one frosting flavour and up to five toppings — just call 24 hours in advance.
Hector Vasquez