My early appointment for a fasting blood draw required starting the day with black coffee. The draw, done at a local office, was a breeze. In a flash, four vials were filled and I was out the door.
I wanted a breakfast treat. So I went to Nectarine, a local coffee shop. It offers all manner of coffee and tea and a variety of pristinely organic, gluten-free temptations. All served in a bright, casual upscale atmosphere.
I ordered a cinnamon roll, my first in ages. And the least expensive small coffee.
The cinnamon roll was $8.75. The coffee $4.75. Add sales tax. And the suggested 20 percent tip.
A Surprising Check
The bill came to $17.53.
I didn’t expect that.
One reason is that I’m a regular customer at McDonald’s. There, I routinely leave with a $6 to $8 bill for a quick breakfast or late morning snack.
So $17.53 seemed a bit much.
What Could It Mean?
I wondered. Could this be a sign that only the well-off can afford casual meals out? Could it be evidence of the much-discussed K- shaped economy where the poor suffer while the rich buy more and get richer?
Clearly, this needed boots-on-the-ground, in-depth research. So I made a list. All the cinnamon roll sources in the Dripping Springs area. I would be driving going as far as 25 miles from our home.
It wasn’t a long list:
- A No Name local donut shop
- Dunkin Donuts
- Nectarine
- Schlotzky’s
- What-A-Burger
I also went to McDonald’s, remembering that it once sold something like cinnamon rolls. But they had been removed from the menu. The cinnamon roll market, I guess, is a hill McDonald’s management chose not to die on.
What I learned
Here are my results:
My Cinnamon Roll Quest
You can also stay home and bake some. HEB sells packages of ready-to-bake Pillsbury Grands Cinnamon Rolls With Cream Cheese Icing for $4.37, or $0.87 each and regular Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls With Icing for $2.97, or $0.37 each. They also sell Pillsbury Cinnabon Flaky Cinnamon Rolls With Butter Cream Icing for $2.87, or $0.37 each.
It’s A Huge Price Range
So there you have it. A price range of $0.37 cents to $8.75. A cinnamon roll in every tummy, no matter your station in life. You can also be sure that a more expensive cinnamon roll is available somewhere in America, Land of the Infinite Upgrade.
Google “most expensive cinnamon roll in America” and you’ll find five-and 10-pound cinnamon rolls in League City(outside Houston), as well as an estimate of the $35,000 per cinnamon roll value of Taylor Swift’s personal baking of rolls for Travis Kelce, based on the value of the time she spent baking them. (You can also read about my relationship with Taylor Swift here.)
Cinnamon Rolls Aren’t The Only Thing
Even hamburgers can experience the Infinite Upgrade. While I can get a simple cheeseburger off the dollar menu at Mickie D’s, a recent listing of America’s most expensive burgers maxed out at a stunning $5,000 – it’s called the “Fleur burger 5,000” and can be had in Las Vegas. (Of course.)
The bottom line?
Ignore the luxury afflictions of the billionaire fringe. For the rest of us, America is still the land of choices and opportunities, now far better than the old “good, better, best” of Sears Roebuck. Someone has a business built to offer whatever we truly need and want.
Amazing. And a good thing.
Related columns:
Scott Burns, collection of Meditation at McDonald’s columns: https://scottburns.com/?s=McDonald%27s
Scott Burns, “Meditation at McDonald’s 5: 10/20/2024: https://scottburns.com/meditation-at-mcdonalds-5/
Scott Burns, “Meditation at Chick-Fil-A, 3/26/2023: https://scottburns.com/meditation-at-chick-fil-a/
Scott Burns, “Taylor Swift and Me,” 7/7/2023: https://scottburns.com/taylor-swift-and-me/
Sources and References:
Christopher Rugaber, “Here’s why everyone’s talking about a ‘K-shaped’ economy,” 12/01/2025: https://stories.td.com/us/en/article/u-s-consumer-spending-still-a-k#:~:text=This%20has%20resulted%20in%20what,shape%20of%20a%20“K.”
Dan Myers, “America’s Most Expensive Burgers,” 5/19/2019: https://www.thedailymeal.com/eat/americas-most-expensive-burgers-gallery/
This information is distributed for education purposes, and it is not to be construed as an offer, solicitation, recommendation, or endorsement of any particular security, product, or service.
Photo by Jess Loiterton: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-of-cinnamon-rolls-covered-in-icing-5507697/
(c) Scott Burns, 2026