Springing from a 21-year old legacy in southern Arkansas, Cinnamon Crème Bakery is Little Rock’s newest family-run bakery, filled with favorites like cinnamon rolls, apple fritters, fresh bread, and fried and baked pies alike. With a charming couple at the helm, Crystal and Truman Cooper, they intend to steer Little Rock towards some of their favorite homemade recipes.
“My father-in-law opened Country Village Oven Bakery (in Star City, Arkansas) in 1996. It was all family when they originally opened, but they eventually had to hire non-family members to keep it going,” says Crystal Cooper, wife to Truman Cooper who is the son of the founder of Country Village Oven Bakery.
A popular destination in southern Arkansas, Star City’s favorite bakery, now run solely by Truman’s brother Wesley, sells quite a few favorites, including Little Rock’s current darling, the cinnamon roll.
“I actually bake cinnamon rolls at home,” says Crystal, “which is funny being married to a baker. But, I told [my husband] when we moved up here that I thought his cinnamon roll was better than mine, but that my icing was better than his. We combined the two!” Residents seem to like the combination, many clamoring for earlier hours so that they can get their cinnamon roll fix before work begins, as the bakery currently opens at 10 am.
The cinnamon raisin pull-apart bread is another popular item and the inspiration behind the name of Cinnamon Crème Bakery. “When we were deciding on what to name our new bakery, we came across a few names that we liked, one of which was Strudel and Crème,” says Crystal. “We don’t sell strudel, but we do sell Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread, and the name was born out of that!”
Crystal also mentioned one of her favorite desserts in the shop, something that she chooses for her birthday each year – her White Chocolate Caramel Pie:
“It’s a semi-sweet chocolate shortbread crust, and the filling is nothing but white chocolate and heavy cream melted together with a chocolate ganache and toasted pecans on top.” Cooper says she loves this pie so much that she’s eaten a whole one by herself.
If you prefer the fried variety of pie, look no further. Though fried pies are one of the most popular things in their Star City bakery, selling anywhere from 300 to 500 pies a week, the Coopers decided to focus on these pies once a week because of their time-consuming nature.
“We’re calling it Fried Pie Fridays.” Crystal mentioned. Be sure to check out this southern Arkansas legend and get in line—it’s worth the wait!
Cinnamon Crème Bakery
17200 Chenal Parkway, Little Rock
Tues-Sat: 10:00 AM – 5:30 PM
