Electric/Mechanical Methods. High-speed Blender Method: Add the cinnamon sticks to the blender, blend on high for 30 seconds. Spice/Coffee Grinder Method: Add the cinnamon sticks to the spice grinder and turn it on, grind into a fine powder.
Step 2: Microplane and Other Manual Methods
There are several manual and mechanical ways that you can use to grind up cinnamon sticks to get your ground cinnamon powder for your recipes.
Microplane Zester
The first way, and my favorite way, if I just want to top a dessert or something with fresh cinnamon is by using a Microplane zester. It is a super handy tool that I use for citrus zest but also works great for grinding cinnamon sticks and nutmeg.
Just hold the zester over a bowl or over your dish, and run the cinnamon stick over it. It will shave very fine shavings of cinnamon. They arent quite as fine as cinnamon powder, but still are awesome, and make for a perfect topping.
If you need more to add to a recipe, you can just spend a few minutes running the stick over the zester which will give you easily enough for 1/4 to 1/2 tsp.
The other popular manual methods are as follows:
Ziploc Bag and Meat Tenderizer
Just throw the sticks in a Ziploc bag, seal it up, then take a meat tenderizer and pound those cinnamon sticks into powder. This is a fun way to release some aggression, haha. Plus, for some reason, I always feel cool wielding the meat tenderizer (mini Thors hammer).
Mortar and Pestle
The other popular and very traditional way for grinding cinnamon sticks into cinnamon powder is to use a mortar and pestle. This is an age-old technique, favored by many, for grinding fresh spices into powder. It works well with cinnamon sticks as well.
Introduction: How to Make Ground Cinnamon From Cinnamon Sticks
In this Instructable, I will show you how to make ground cinnamon from cinnamon sticks. Freshly ground cinnamon is so good and better than preground cinnamon in my opinion. There are several methods to work to grind cinnamon sticks into powder. I showcase a few of those ways in this tutorial. If I can do it, you can do it! Lets get started!
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Follow the easy steps below or watch the video tutorial or do both!
How to Make Ground Cinnamon from Cinnamon Sticks
FAQ
Is ground cinnamon just ground up cinnamon sticks?
Is cinnamon powder just crushed cinnamon?
Do cinnamon sticks dissolve while cooking?