Cinnamon Roll News

Dallas chef's new TipsyBuns startup does sticky buns with a boozy glaze

Sticky and tipsy, all in one.

Photo courtesy of Tipsy Buns

Sticky cinnamon buns are surely one of life's most perfect foods and it's hard to imagine improving upon them, but one Dallas chef has very possibly done just that. Called TipsyBuns, it's a ghost kitchen concept that specializes in sticky buns that can get you tipsy, thanks to their whiskey-spiked glaze.

The buns come in six flavors:

The Original Tipsybun
Caramel Apple Bun
Summer Peach
Turtle Bun
Maple Bacon
S’mores Bun

You can order a single bun, or in quantities of a half dozen or a dozen. Prices range from $10 for a single bun up to $84 for a dozen. You order online with 72 hours notice, and if you're in the Dallas area, they're delivered to your door.

TipsyBuns is from Ashley Henderson, a veteran chef who'd worked at places such as the Tower Club and wanted a situation in which she was managing her own time. In addition to the buns, she also does occasional pop-ups as well as meals to go.

The tipsy buns were just a side thing she offered on an impulse at one of her pop-ups. The response was so over-the-top enthusiastic, she realized she probably had something.

"A tipsy bun is a sticky bun infused with a decent amount of premium liquor such as Crown or Hennessey," she says. "The classic is the Hennessey pecan-covered bun, but I also have caramel apple with a brown-butter crumble and summer peach made with Crown."

It's a lot of work: from making the laminated dough to proofing to baking to glazing, a process that takes three days which is why she requires 72-hour notice - although she generally has a few to spare for those sticky bun emergencies.

She's already in talks with a few businesses that are interested in stocking her buns, and she's right at the point of deciding whether it's time to find a storefront.

"I'd been at the Tower Club for three years, and I think now about the holiday rush we'd be gearing up for, with parties of anywhere from 200 to 1800 people," she says. "After three years, I was exhausted. Now I love what I do."

desserts

McDonald's News

McDonald's closes 2 CosMc's beverage spinoffs in Dallas-Fort Worth

Photo courtesy of CosMc's

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After less than a year, McDonald's is cutting back on its CosMc's beverage spinoff, and that includes shutting down locations in Dallas-Fort Worth.

McDonald's introduced the beverage led concept in December 2023, when it opened the first location in Bolingbrook, Illinois. The concept — which seemed to be competing with Swig, the drive-through drink chain from Utah — features coffee, lemonade, slushies, and energy drinks, plus bites such as the Egg McMuffin, hashbrowns, and McPops — like doughnut holes.

They went on to open six more locations, all in Texas: two in San Antonio and four in DFW. Both San Antonio locations still show up on the website as open but two have closed in DFW so far, as follows:

Watauga at 7304 Denton Hwy.
Arlington at Abram's Alley, 300 E. Abram St. #150

Their website currently shows the Dallas location at Campbell Road, which was the original location, as still open, as well as a location in Fort Worth on McPherson Boulevard.

Despite the closures, McDonald's still plans to continue the test in the US for the foreseeable future, a spokesperson says, including opening two new smaller format stores in Texas in 2025.

That includes a location in Allen at 861 W. Stacy Rd.

The plan is to close three of the larger locations that were remodeled into CosMc’s locations — meaning that one of the locations currently still open is due to close.

"Since opening CosMc’s, we have had the benefit of testing out different location sizes and setups – from revamping larger restaurant spaces to building smaller prototype locations that focus more on the drive-thru and digital experience," their statement says. "We learned that the smaller format stores allow us to test new, unique circumstances that are reflective of our customer base. As a result, we will open two new smaller format stores in Texas in 2025, and close three of the larger locations that were remodeled into CosMc’s locations."