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4.88 from 8 votes

Chocolate cinnamon rolls

These yeasted rolls get a brown sugar, cinnamon, and chocolate chip filling and topped with a chocolate cream cheese frosting.
Prep Time45 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Resting Time1 hour
Total Time2 hours 10 minutes
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Servings: 12 rolls
Calories: 605kcal

Ingredients

For the dough

  • 1 cup (240 ml) milk very warm
  • 2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast
  • ½ cup (1 stick, 113 g) unsalted butter
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 large egg room temperature
  • 4-4 1/2 cups (480-540 g) all purpose flour
  • ½ cup (99 g) granulated sugar

For the filling

  • ½ cup (113 g unsalted butter) very soft
  • ¾ cup (160 g) packed light brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 cup (170 g) miniature chocolate chips
  • 1/2 Cup (120 ml) heavy cream for pouring over the rolls

For the cream cheese icing

  • 4 ounces cream cheese softened
  • 2 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter softened
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 ¼ cups (150 g) confectioners sugar
  • ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Instructions

For the dough

  • Pour the warm milk in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast overtop. Let the mixture sit for 5-10 minutes until foamy.
  • Add the eggs, butter, salt and sugar.
  • Add in 4 cups of flour and mix using the beater blade just until the ingredients are barely combined. Allow the mixture to rest for 5 minutes so the flour has time to soak up the liquids.
  • Scrape the dough off the beater blade and remove it. Attach the dough hook.
  • Beat the dough on medium speed, adding in up to 1/2 cup more flour if needed to form a dough. Knead for 5-7 minutes or until the dough is elastic and smooth. **The dough should be tacky and will still be sticking to the sides of the bowl.
  • Spray a large bowl with cooking spray.
  • Use a rubber spatula to remove the dough from the mixer bowl and place it in the greased large bowl.
  • Cover the bowl with a towel or wax paper.
  • Set the bowl in a warm place and allow the dough to rise until double. (about 1 - 1 ½ hours, this will vary depending on how warm your kitchen is. The colder the kitchen the longer the rise. You can speed this up by putting your bowl in an oven. To proof in your oven: Preheat your oven at it’s lowest temperature for 1-2 minutes, then turn it off. Place your bowl of covered dough in after it’s off.
  • While the dough is rising, prepare the cinnamon filling. In a medium bowl, combine the soft butter, brown sugar and cinnamon, mixing until well combined. Set aside.

Shaping The rolls

  • Sprinkle a pastry mat generously with flour. Turn out the dough onto the pastry mat and sprinkle the top of the dough with additional flour.
  • Flour a rolling pin and roll the dough to about a 24 by 15 inch rectangle. (the size of the rectangle can vary…it does not have to be exact!)
  • Spread the cinnamon filling over the whole dough rectangle. Mixture can be difficult to spread. I recommend using your hands!
  • Cut the dough (I used a pizza cutter) into 12 equal strips. Roll up each strip into a spiral and place sprial side up into a lightly greased 9x13 baking pan. If any chocolate chips fall out, just sprinkle on top of the rolls.

Baking The Rolls

  • Cover the pan and allow the rolls to rise for 20 minutes or until nearly double.
  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  • Warm the heavy cream until the chill is off. It should NOT be hot, but warm to the touch.
  • Once the rolls have risen, pour the heavy cream over the top of the rolls, allowing it to soak down in and around the rolls.
  • Bake at 375 degrees for 20-22 minutes, until the rolls are lightly golden brown and the center rolls are cooked through. Baking tie can vary based on how you rolled and cut the rolls, so start checking at 20 minutes but it may take an additional 5-7 minutes beyond that. If they are getting too browned, cover loosely with foil for the remaining baking time. I recommend checking the internal temperature of the rolls with a digital thermometer inserted into a center roll. Temperature should read 190F.
  • While the rolls are cooling, prepare the cream cheese frosting.

Make The Icing

  • Cream the cream cheese and butter together.
  • Add in remaining ingredients. Mix until smooth. You may need to adjust the consistency with additional cream.
  • Frost cooled rolls.

Notes

  • Tools Needed: Stand Mixer |Red Star Yeast | Pastry Mat|Pizza Cutter9x13 Baking Pan | Rolling Pin
  • Make Ahead: Make the dough and let it go through the first rise. Then I fill and shape the rolls and place them into the pan. At this point I cover them with plastic wrap and pop them in the fridge to rise overnight. The next morning, I let them sit at room temperate for 30 minutes before baking.  If you find your rolls didn't rise overnight in the fridge you may need to let them sit for up to an hour before baking to allow them to double in size. 
  • Instant yeast: If using active dry yeast your rising times will be a bit longer.
  • Freezing: You can freeze the cinnamon rolls after they have been shaped and placed into the pan BEFORE the second rise. Make sure they aren't touching and line the pan with parchment paper so they can be easily released from the pan after they are frozen. Freeze them in the pan for about 1 hour, then place into a sealable plastic bag to be frozen for up to 3 months.  When ready to bake them, you need to place the rolls in your pan and then in the fridge overnight to thaw. The next morning, pull the pan out of the fridge and let the rolls rise until puffy and about doubled in size, about 1 hour. Then once risen, bake as normal!
  • For Smaller Rolls: Cut them into 15 rolls instead of 12 and then use a slightly larger pan like a 10x15 pan.
  • Note About The Yeast You Use. You want to use a thermometer to test the temperature of your milk before adding the yeast. I used Red Star platinum yeast, and the package says to warm the milk to 120 - 130F. But if you are using a different yeast then check what the package says. Typically the liquid needs to be between 105-110F. Yeast is a living thing, which means if the milk is too hot, it will kill the yeast. If the milk is too cold the yeast will not proof properly. You can read more here from Bob's Red Mills about what temperature kills yeast. 
  • Look for foam! After combining the milk and yeast, wait 5-10 minutes to double check that your yeast gets all foamy. This means it's coming alive and starting to produce carbon dioxide, which is what helps makes the dough rise. If you don't see any foam, then that means your milk might have not been hot enough to "wake it up" or too hot and you killed the yeast. Or your yeast is old and it's expired. Yeast packets have expiration dates on them, so if you're not sure check the package! If you don't see any foam then it's best to start over.
  • Don't be tempted to add more flour! I start with 4 cups, and then see if I need to add more. The dough will still be sticky and stick to the sides of bowl so start with 4 cups and add up to a 1/2 cup more. You might be tempted to add more, but don't! You will end up adding too much flour resulting in tough, dry rolls.
  • Proof in your oven for a quicker rise. You can leave on your counter to rise, but it will take longer and if you have a colder kitchen it will take even longer! So preheat in your oven. I turn my oven to its lowest setting (for me that's 170F) and let it heat for a few minutes and then shut it off. I then place my bowl of dough, covered, in the oven. It's basically a homemade proofing box.

Nutrition

Calories: 605kcal | Carbohydrates: 84g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 89mg | Sodium: 263mg | Potassium: 167mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 45g | Vitamin A: 779IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 86mg | Iron: 3mg