One of my top missions in life, besides creating high quality video and photo material, is to find the best cinnamon roll in Michigan. Each place I travel to, I visit a popular bakery in that city and try their cinnamon rolls. In case you were on a similar mission, I decided to provide you with my Top 5.
1. Johan’s Pastry Shop, Petoskey Michigan: Hands down, the best cinnamon rolls I have ever experienced. There is enough frosting and sugar coating to make your teeth hurt, but not so much that you can’t finish it in one sitting. This bakery also makes some of the best donuts and other desserts, it makes sense they’re at the top.
2. Anna’s House, Grand Rapids Michigan: Anna’s House is a great restaurant with locations in West and Southeast Michigan, and a huge menu with gluten free and vegan options so anyone can find something to eat here! I just recently tried these cinnamon rolls for the first time. The roll was listed on the menu as a side item, but it arrived bigger than my fist. This is by no means a complaint, just an “FYI”. When this cinnamon roll came, I immediately asked for a box realizing I was biting off more than I could chew. They arrive piping hot, with a beautiful slathering of cream cheese frosting and cinnamon sprinkled in on multiple layers. They’re double layered with cinnamon cream cheese frosting in the middle and top, really all I could ever ask for. These cinnamon rolls are more accessible than Johan’s, but if you’re looking to finish in one sitting it’s for you. They’re less sweet, but so dense you can’t have more than a few bites, meaning no sugar headaches and LEFTOVERS. I will be returning to Anna’s to get another one of these. Pastry Meter 9/10.
3. Auntie Ann’s, 12 Oaks Mall, Novi Michigan: Probably one of the most generic of this list, but I have experienced these cinnamon rolls one time, two years ago, and I have not stopped thinking about them. They came in a box of 4, piping hot, sticky, and covered in so much icing there were some patches I couldn’t see the pastry underneath. The fact that these have stayed with me for all these quiet dark nights is a testament to their deliciousness.
4. Quality Dairy, basically anywhere in Mid Michigan: Quality Dairy is a staple of the Lansing/Mid Michigan area, known for its donuts and salsa (separate, not together as far as I know). You can get these in the donut case at pretty much any QD. These are toward the bottom of the list because they’re not served hot. They’re coated in a thick amount of cream cheese frosting and sweet enough to give you a headache; the level of sweet I look for in my cinnamon rolls. They’re not aesthetically pleasing, but like Lansing, there’s parts that don’t look great, but have great flavor and will give you a wonderful experience.
