Readers say these are KC’s best cinnamon rolls. They can thank ‘Granny’

For years, Kansas Citians have been tirelessly seeking answers to one question hanging on their lips:

“Where’s the best place to get cinnamon rolls in the metro?”

After a poll from The Star and tens of thousands of votes, the search has ended. According to our readers, it’s Christy Weilert’s cottage bakery, Granny’s Bakery, in Belton.

While she makes cookies, cakes and a variety of flavored loaves, cinnamon rolls are largely what her customers are hungry for.

“They have become the No. 1 piece of my business,” Weilert said.

The 28-year-old mom and real estate agent first launched her business in 2021, and today she offers her baked goods at events and the Belton Farmers Market. Customers can also order through her website (grannysbakes.com), and Weilert will deliver.

She’s a favorite for many Belton residents, she said. They recommend her to friends looking for goodies — and vote for her in cinnamon roll polls. Her little community keeps her business flourishing.

“I’ve gained a really, really tight-knit community of customers and clients,” she said. “It took off like I never thought it would.”

When telling Weilert’s story, it’s impossible not to mention her inspiration and bakery’s namesake. Weilert and her grandmother (whom she called Grams) were always close, spending endless hours in the kitchen together, baking cakes and banana bread.

Weilert shared her bakery dreams with her grandmother, who was always encouraging.

“She saw in me what I don’t think anybody else did growing up,” she said.

Grams passed away just a few weeks ago, leaving Weilert behind several boxes of recipe cards that she has yet to sort through. On Weilert’s last visit with Grams, she asked her what her favorite thing to bake was.

“Cinnamon rolls,” Grams said. “because you can do so much with them.”

Though she’s just a few years into it, the idea of starting a bakery has been in the back of Weilert’s mind for far longer. She’s been drawing up blueprints for her potential space since she was a little girl.

“It is something that I can do over and over, every single day, and I never get tired of it,” she said.

Though she operates out of her home, the prospect of a physical storefront is not out of the question. She hopes to open a space of her own once the opportunity comes along. It’s just a matter of right place, right time.

If and when she does open a spot, she wants it to be close to her local customer base.

If a love for cinnamon rolls is genetic, Weilert inherited the gene. The recipe is her own, and it’s taken her years to perfect.

“I’m always testing out new recipes, I’m always testing out new flavors,” she said.

She offers a rotating selection of cinnamon roll flavors: orange cranberry, blueberry lemon, original, cinnamon toast crunch and fruity pebbles, to name a few. One dozen of the specialty flavors might run you $50.

Plus, she’s planning a caramel apple flavored cinnamon roll come fall.

What makes them taste a little different than other cinnamon rolls? Weilert won’t give away her secrets, but she uses a “longer and colder process” to develop her dough that gives it more flavor.

Some people hear the name “Granny’s Bakery” and remark that Weilert doesn’t look like a granny. Weilert said she just smiles.

“I just tell them I look like mine,” she said.

This story was originally published August 19, 2025 at 5:00 AM.

Jenna Thompson

The Kansas City Star

Jenna Thompson covers retail news for The Kansas City Star. A native of Lincoln, Nebraska, she previously reported for the Lincoln Journal Star and graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she studied journalism and English.