Baking Spice

Use it anywhere a recipe calls for cinnamon and let it do more work. In pies and cakes, 2 to 3 teaspoons per 9-inch pan is the standard amount, whether that's a classic apple pie, a spice cake, or a batch of pumpkin bread. It's just as good stirred into pancake or waffle batter, worked into bread dough, or sprinkled over fresh fruit for something simple.

This is also the blend behind holiday favorites like gingerbread, snickerdoodles, spiced cider, and eggnog, anywhere that warm, layered spice flavor matters more than heat. A spoonful stirred into softened butter makes a quick spiced butter for warm rolls or toast, and it works just as well dusted over roasted sweet potatoes or squash on a holiday table.

This original blend is warm, balanced, and full of classic baking spices. I love it in baked apples with ice cream or mixed into oatmeal cookie dough. It’s earned a permanent spot in our spice drawer, and always brings out the best in baked goods.

Mike uses it in his Bourbon Sweet Potato Pie, a Southern classic with bourbon, molasses, and a hidden layer of caramelized sugar and honey powder for unique flavor and texture to every bite.

Stargazer Chocolates blends baking spice from our Denver spice store in Lowry into their handcrafted confections for warm, aromatic complexity.

Shop all our Chef-Approved spices and blends.

Baking Spice is built from two kinds of cinnamon, Saigon and Indonesian, along with nutmeg, mace, allspice, and ginger, chosen to layer rather than repeat. Most single-cinnamon blends taste flat by comparison because they're leaning on one note to do all the work; this one doesn't have that problem.

It's the same category of blend that British baking calls mixed spice, a warm, multi-spice mix built specifically for desserts rather than savory cooking. It shares its base with our Pumpkin Pie Spice, which adds clove for a more specific flavor, but this version stays intentionally general-purpose so it works anywhere cinnamon would, cookies, cakes, pies, and breads alike.

Baking Spice Q&A

What are mixed spices in baking?

Baking spices are typically a blend of warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, allspice, and ginger. A mixed baking spice adds real depth of flavor to baked goods and desserts, more than a single spice can provide on its own.

What's the difference between baking spice and just using cinnamon?

Plain cinnamon gives you one note. This blend layers two kinds of cinnamon with nutmeg, mace, allspice, and ginger, so the flavor is warmer and more complex, closer to what you'd taste in a well-made spice cake than a simple cinnamon-sugar topping.

Can I use this in place of pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice?

Not quite. They share the same base of two cinnamons, ginger, nutmeg, mace, and allspice, but our Pumpkin Pie Spice adds clove, which is what gives it that distinct, recognizable pumpkin-spice character. If a recipe calls for pumpkin pie spice specifically, we'd point you to that blend instead. This mixed baking blend is the more general, everyday version, built for anything from cookies to pancakes rather than one specific flavor.

How much baking spice should I use?

For pies and cakes, 2 to 3 teaspoons per 9-inch pan is the standard starting point. For pancakes, waffles, or bread, start with about 1 teaspoon per batch and adjust to taste.

What's the difference between nutmeg and mace, since this blend has both?

They come from the same fruit. Mace is the lacy red covering around the nutmeg seed, and while the two taste similar, mace is generally considered slightly more delicate and less intense than nutmeg. Using both together, the way this blend does, gives a rounder, more layered warmth than either spice alone.