I tried three different kinds to determine the best store-bought ginger cookie.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
I tried three kinds of packaged ginger cookies from the grocery store.
Tate's gluten-free ginger zinger cookies impressed me with bits of crystallized ginger.
The best store-bought gingerbread cookies were Little Debbie's iced gingerbread cookies.
Nothing says the holiday season like a ginger cookie for dessert.
Many brands release seasonal versions of their most popular items during the holidays, from peppermint Milano cookies to Reese's peanut-butter Christmas trees.
I tried three kinds of ginger-flavored cookies, all of which can be found on most grocery store shelves and pack just the right amount of spice for the holiday season.
Here's how store-bought gingerbread cookies ranked, from worst to best.
My least favorite brand of cookie was Tate's Bake Shop's gingersnap cookies.
I tried Tate's Bakeshop gingersnap cookies.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
The bag cost $5.79 at my local Key Food Marketplace.
The bag came with 14 cookies.
The bag came with an impressive serving of cookies inside.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
This is comparable to other brands of packaged cookies I usually buy.
The cookies were very crispy, but they were not hard to bite into.
The cookies were slightly smaller than the size of my palm.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
Sometimes I find ginger snaps can be a little tough, but these ones crumbled easily.
The cookies were a touch too spicy for my liking.
The cookies had a little too much spice.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
I thought the cookies tasted strongly of spices like cinnamon and molasses but were slightly off-balance in sweetness.
These cookies were borderline spicy, which I'm personally not a huge fan of. However, I did enjoy the texture.
Next up were Tate's gluten-free ginger zinger cookies.
I tried Tate's gluten-free ginger zinger cookies.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
These cookies, the most expensive of the ones I tried, cost $5.99 at my local Key Food Marketplace.
This package also came with 14 cookies.
The cookies were slightly thicker than the ginger snaps.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
However, unlike the ginger snaps, these cookies supposedly contained pieces of crystallized ginger. I was excited to see how the flavors would measure up.
The cookies were about the same size as the ginger snaps but slightly thicker.
They had a golden ginger color.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
I could also see the pieces of ginger on the surface of the crispy cookies.
These cookies were sweet, with just the right amount of ginger flavor.
I preferred the texture of the ginger zingers to the gingersnaps.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
I loved the texture of the crispy cookies and the crystallized ginger and thought these were just as good as any non-gluten-free cookies I've ever tried.
My favorite of the three kinds of ginger cookies was the Christmas gingerbread soft cookies from Little Debbie.
I tried the Christmas gingerbread soft cookies from Little Debbie.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
At my local Stop & Shop grocery store, a box of eight cookies cost $3.59. They were the least expensive, but the box also contained the fewest cookies.
Each cookie came individually wrapped.
The cookies came wrapped in festive packaging.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
I thought these cookies would be a really cute touch for a festive school lunch or snack on the go.
The cookies were sweeter than the other two kinds I tried.
I loved the look of these cookies.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
The icing and smattering of red and green sprinkles upped the sweetness, but I also preferred the softer texture of these gingerbread cookies compared to the other two kinds.
Aesthetically, I also thought these were the most festive for the holiday season.
The cookies brought me back to my childhood with their perfect balance of sweetness, spiciness, and soft texture.
They were soft, sweet, flavorful, and extremely festive-looking.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
While I enjoyed all of these cookies, I would choose the classic gingerbread cookies for a sweet, festive treat.
I tried store-bought cinnamon rolls from four different brands and ranked them from worst to best.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
I tried cinnamon rolls from Pillsbury, Immaculate Baking Company, Annie's, and Amazon.
The Pillsbury Grands flaky cinnamon rolls blew me away with their fluffy, doughnut-like texture.
The Amazon-brand cinnamon rolls were a little too bread-like for my taste.
For many people, there's nothing better than the smell of cinnamon rolls straight out of the oven wafting through the house, especially around the holidays.
The comforting aroma of cinnamon rolls is more than nostalgic — it's also a major business driver, especially during the holiday season when sales of seasonal products like store-bought cinnamon rolls rise.
Pillsbury is one brand dominating the ready-to-bake market, but smaller brands like Immaculate Baking Company and Annie's Organic also have their own versions. Even Amazon, which has its own e-commerce grocery brand, has joined the competition with its own line of cinnamon rolls.
I tried five different kinds of store-bought, canned cinnamon rolls from Pillsbury's, Immaculate Baking Company, Annie's Organic, and Amazon to see which brand had the best-canned cinnamon rolls.
Here's how the store-bought cinnamon rolls ranked, from worst to best.
Ahead of the holiday season, I tried cinnamon rolls from four different brands.
The five different kinds of cinnamon rolls I tried.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
I tried cinnamon rolls from Pillsbury, Immaculate Baking Company, Annie's, and Amazon's Happy Belly, which has since rebranded as Amazon Fresh.
To make the cinnamon rolls, I greased a baking sheet and baked them according to the instructions on each can. They all took around 20 minutes to bake in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Each can of cinnamon rolls also came with icing, which I allowed to come to room temperature while the rolls were baking.
My least favorite brand was Amazon's Happy Belly cinnamon rolls, which have since rebranded to Amazon Fresh.
I tried the Amazon Fresh cinnamon rolls.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
The can cost $2.49 and included eight rolls plus a bag of icing. This was the least expensive brand I tried, and it came with the most rolls.
The can contained more rolls than the other brands.
The cinnamon rolls were smaller than some of the other brands.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
However, each cinnamon roll was smaller. The icing, which came in a small plastic bag, melted nicely onto the rolls when they were fresh out of the oven.
I thought the texture of the cinnamon roll was a little bread-like.
I wasn't a fan of the texture of these cinnamon rolls.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
I didn't love the texture of this cinnamon roll. It was a little stodgy and thick rather than flaky.
It also lacked the spiced flavor I expect from a cinnamon roll. It was a touch bland, and all I could taste was the sweet, sticky icing. It wasn't bad, per se, but it wasn't my favorite out of all of the rolls I tried.
My fourth-favorite brand of cinnamon roll was from Immaculate Baking Company.
Next up was the Immaculate cinnamon rolls.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
The can came with five cinnamon rolls and icing. It cost $8.49, making it the most expensive brand I tried.
The cinnamon rolls were medium-sized.
These cinnamon rolls had a thick layer of cinnamon spice inside.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
This made them easy to hold and bite into. I could see a rich layer of cinnamon swirled inside the bun.
The texture was on the thicker side, but fluffier than the Amazon-brand cinnamon rolls.
They were sweet and buttery.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
The cinnamon roll was sweet, spicy, and buttery, and the icing wasn't too sweet — it was just right. However, for such a high price tag, I expected to be more impressed with these rolls than I was.
The Pillsbury Grands cinnamon rolls landed square in the middle of my ranking.
These cinnamon rolls were inexpensive.
Erin McDowell/Insider
A can of five rolls, including Cinnabon icing, cost $3.49.
The cinnamon roll was among the largest of the rolls and rose a significant amount while baking.
The Pillsbury Grands cinnamon rolls were the largest I tried.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
The icing, which came in a small plastic tub, did require a knife to spread over the top of the roll, which added an extra step. However, I thought it was worth it.
The cinnamon roll was light and flaky, with a balanced amount of sweetness.
The cinnamon rolls were crispy on the outside.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
The roll was slightly crispy on the outside but fluffy in the center. The Cinnabon icing was also very decadent, without being sickly sweet or toothache-inducing.
The second-best brand I tried was Annie's organic cinnamon rolls.
I also tried Annie's Organic cinnamon rolls.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
The can came with five cinnamon rolls and cost $7.99.
These cinnamon rolls were packed with cinnamon flavor.
These cinnamon rolls were really flavorful.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
The icing settled into a creamy coating over the top of the rolls.
The texture was also very flaky, almost like a croissant.
I enjoyed the flakey texture.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
I thought these cinnamon rolls had the perfect balance between buttery and flaky texture, without being too sweet.
But my favorite brand that I tried was the Pillsbury Flaky Grands cinnamon rolls.
My favorite brand was the Pillsbury Flaky Grands cinnamon rolls.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
A can of five rolls, including Cinnabon icing, cost $7.69.
The cinnamon roll was the largest of the ones I tried.
The rolls were large and flakey, almost like a croissant.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
Its texture was super flaky, just as the packaging promised, and the texture of the roll was very similar to a croissant.
When I bit in, the roll reminded me of a buttery, flaky doughnut.
The strong cinnamon and butter flavor reminded me of a doughnut.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
The roll had just the right amount of cinnamon and butter flavor, but its texture blew me away. It practically melted in my mouth.
I enjoyed all of the rolls, but the flakiest one was the winner in my book.
The finished cinnamon rolls.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
Not only did the Pillsbury Flaky Grands cinnamon rolls have the best flavor and texture, but I also thought they were well-priced for such a decadent dessert. They tasted like they could have come from an actual bakery.
The next time I'm looking to make a cozy, holiday breakfast, I know which brand I'll be reaching for at the grocery store.
