AITA for making cinnamon bread for my sisters-in-law when my MIL is allergic to cinnamon?

Jonathan Hours
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The warm scent of fresh-baked sourdough wafts through a cozy kitchen, where 22-year-old “Tessa” kneads her latest loaf with love. Her Instagram stories, bursting with golden crusts, have her in-laws clamoring for a taste. So, on a family visit, she hauls her starter and pans to whip up custom loaves—cinnamon swirl for her teen sisters-in-law, safe flavors for her cinnamon-allergic mother-in-law. It’s a recipe for smiles, right? Wrong. One bite later, her kind gesture turns into a spicy family feud.

Tessa’s Reddit tale is a masterclass in good intentions gone awry. When her mother-in-law ignores warnings and chows down on forbidden cinnamon bread, the fallout is messier than a flour-dusted counter. Now Tessa’s dodging blame for a tummy upset she tried to prevent. Was she careless, or is this drama all on her MIL? Let’s slice into this story.

‘AITA for making cinnamon bread for my sisters-in-law when my MIL is allergic to cinnamon?’

I (F22) have jumped on the sourdough bread train. I now make the bread we eat instead of buying it, and when I make a loaf of bread, I post a picture of it and post it on my story. I’ve had several people slide up and say they would love a loaf, including my in-laws. Right now, we are home visiting our family.

I brought my starter and baking supplies to make loaves for the people who have asked, while staying at my mom’s. For my in-laws, I made 3 loaves. The SILs (high school age) wanted a cinnamon swirl loaf, so that’s what I made for them. My MIL says she is allergic to cinnamon, so I made her 2 small loaves (regular and a cheddar jalapeño).

I baked her loaves first to avoid any cross contamination, and I wrapped the cinnamon loaf and put it in its own container separate from the loaves that would go to MIL. When I dropped them off, I made sure to tell them that one loaf was cinnamon. Today, while we were there, MIL cut herself a slice of the cinnamon bread saying she wanted to taste it.

All of us said she really shouldn’t since she’s allergic to cinnamon. She said she would avoid the cinnamon swirl and just eat the plain bread. After more protest, it was clear that she was not going to listen. She ate it, said it was good, and cut another slice. After a while, nothing happened. My husband and I assumed that maybe she isn’t as allergic as she thought and everything was fine.

We went back to my mom’s house, and an hour later both of our phones started blowing up. MIL says I gave her horrible diarrhea with my “n**ty bread”, and is now claiming that I tried to poison her by giving them bread that has cinnamon in it. My husband has pressed that I did everything I needed to do to keep the breads separate, and that eating the cinnamon bread was 100% her choice.

She, and now my husbands grandma are adamant that I shouldn’t have brought cinnamon bread into the house at all and I should’ve just told my SILs no. I thought bringing it would be fine. I’ve been there plenty of times when SILs had cinnamon rolls on the stove, or snickerdoodle cookies in a jar. I assumed that she wouldn’t even touch the container because as far as I had seen, she didn’t touch the other stuff.

Baking for family can warm hearts, but Tessa’s loaf landed her in hot water. Her careful steps—baking MIL’s bread first, sealing the cinnamon loaf separately—showed respect for allergies. So why the blowup? Let’s dig in.

Tessa’s no rookie; she knew her MIL’s cinnamon sensitivity and acted like a pro to avoid trouble. Her MIL’s choice to eat the swirl anyway, despite protests, flipped the script. Allergist Dr. Purvi Parikh explains, “Allergy management relies on personal responsibility—ignoring known triggers can lead to reactions, not the fault of those accommodating” (Healthline, 2023). Tessa’s warnings were clear; MIL’s second slice was her call.

This echoes a wider issue: food allergies strain family ties when boundaries blur. About 6% of adults have food allergies, and missteps often spark blame (FARE, 2024). MIL’s reaction—diarrhea, not anaphylaxis—suggests a milder issue, but her accusations feel like a grab for control. Tessa’s SILs enjoying cinnamon treats before proves the house wasn’t a no-cinnamon zone.

Here’s how people reacted to the post:

Reddit’s like a potluck—everyone brings a zesty take. Here’s what they served up for Tessa: These bites are tangy, but do they see Tessa’s effort or just savor MIL’s misstep?

BoatUnhappy6723 − Hey! I have a cinnamon allergy. I always bring my own dessert and would absolutely never expect family or friends to not have what they want because of my allergy.. You are absolutely NTA and your mother in law sounds like a whole lot of work.

Pyritelle − You are obviously NTA, sorry but is your MIL a child? Did she do that to herself for attention? I don't get it.

clairy115 − NTA - you did everything right. It is her own fault for eating it after being told several times that she shouldn't. Also going for seconds is crazy as she would have tasted the cinnamon the first time.

Happy-Mongoose-128 − Cinnamon swirl bread sounds awesome. Your MIL is an a**hole...

catskilkid − info - does your MIL have trouble accepting responsibility for ANYTHING? You did everything you could to bring her bread and the cinnamon for your SIL. Your MIL : 1) Knew that the cinnamon bread was separately packaged, 2) She was told DON'T eat it, 3) She was further warned DOn't eat it and not only did she eat it, she took a second piece. Is she Patrick Starr? The only explanation is she can't accept responsibility for being so insistent to eat something she KNOWS is bad for her. NTA

izanaegi − as someone with a cinnamon allergy, NTA and also you're so sweet for being so cautious

PleasantSpace6267 − Just dropping in to say my friend is allergic to cinnamon...but turns out there are two different types, Ceylon or Cassia. Most cinnamon is Cassia. A friend told her she should be able to have Ceylon and turns out she can!. Anyway, yeah, you MIL isn't a child so NTA. 

forgetregret1day − How are you at any logical way at fault here? You baked what you were asked and took exceptional care not to cross contaminate and carefully label what you brought. MIL, a seemingly responsible adult, made the choice to eat something she’s allergic to and suffered the consequences. I cannot for the life of me understand why she and grandma are trying to put her bad choices on you. If she’s so childish and self destructive that she can’t resist something bad for her, that’s not on you. It’s absolutely ridiculous that they’re trying to blame you for her behavior. NTA.

AgathaM − NTA - your MIL ate it for the attention. She is jealous of the attention you got or get for making the bread. She decided to move the narrative to attention on herself while giving negative attention to you. She wanted people to think negatively of you. It was deliberate.

_firsttimecaller − NTA. MIL is quite literally acting like a child who was told not to touch the stove because it's hot, touches the stove, and then blame you because they burned their hand on the hot stove.

Tessa’s cinnamon saga proves even bread can break bonds if someone’s hungry for drama. Her careful baking honored everyone’s needs, but MIL’s reckless bite kneaded trouble. Was Tessa supposed to ban cinnamon entirely, or is MIL’s tummy tantrum her own dough? A sprinkle of empathy might cool this mess. If you brought a gift that backfired, how’d you handle it? Share below—let’s rise above the crumbs together.

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