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Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls feature
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Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls

Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls are soft and warm rolls filled with a rich and gooey chocolate filling and chocolate glaze. These are a chocolate lover's dream!
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time22 minutes
Total Time52 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls
Servings: 12 rolls
Calories: 307kcal
Author: Jill

Ingredients

  • 1.75 cups whole milk warmed (*see notes)
  • 2.25 tsps./1 packet instant yeast
  • 1 large egg room temperature
  • 3 Tbsp sugar
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 3 Tbsp butter melted
  • 4.5 cups white bread flour plus extra if the dough is sticky
  • 1 Tbsp butter for greasing the dish
  • 2 Tbsp butter for brushing the rolls

For the filling

For the glaze

Instructions

  • To make the dough. Fit a stand mixer with the dough hook and large mixing bowl. Add thewarm milk, yeast, egg, sugar, salt, and melted butter into the bowl. Whisk thoroughly by handuntil combined.
  • Tip in the flour and turn the stand mixer to its lowest speed. Mix for 3 minutes. You will needto scrape down the dough once or twice.
  • After 3 minutes, touch the dough with a clean dry finger. If the dough doesn’t stick to yourfinger it is ready. If it does, add extra flour a tablespoon at a time, mixing as you go until thedough doesn’t stick to your finger when you test it. (SEE NOTES ON CHECKING DOUGH)
  • When the dough is ready it will feel tacky and pliable. Add a small drizzle of any oil to a largeclean bowl and turn your dough out into it. Rotate the dough so that it’s oiled on all sides thencover it with cling wrap and leave to rise somewhere warm for 1 hour. It should double in sizewithin that time.

Filling

  • Meanwhile, make the filling. Add the softened butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and cocoapowder to a bowl. Use a spoon to thoroughly mix all the ingredients. You can melt the butterfor a few seconds in the microwave first if it’s not soft enough. Set aside for now.
  • When the dough has risen, punch the air out then transfer it to a lightly floured surface. Useyour hands to shape the dough into a roughly rectangular shape then roll it out to a rectanglemeasuring 40cm by 20cm. It doesn’t have to be exact.
  • Spread the chocolate and cinnamon filling over the surface of the dough leaving a gap ofabout 1cm around the edge.
  • Scatter over the chopped chocolate. Use your hands to gently press the chocolate into thedough so that it doesn’t escape when you roll it up.
  • Wash your hands before you begin rolling so none of the chocolate transfers to the outside of the rolls.
  • With the longest edge facing you, tightly roll up the dough into a sausage shape. When you’redone rolling, pinch the seam together with your fingertips then cut the dough sausage in themiddle so that it’s easier to handle.
  • Cut each section into 6 equal pieces. You can eyeball it or measure it with a ruler for accuracy.Our rolls were 4.5cm each.
  • Grease a large baking dish with 1 tbsp butter then arrange the Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls sothat there is a little room in-between each one. Cover with cling wrap and leave somewherewarm for 30 minutes. The rolls will puff up in size during that time.
  • Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350ºF.
  • Once risen, brush the rolls with 2 tbsps of melted butter.
  • Put the dish into the center of the preheated oven and bake for 22 minutes or until goldenbrown. Remove from the oven and place the dish on a wire rack to cool.

Chocolate Glaze

  • Meanwhile, make the chocolate glaze. Put the cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and milk into abowl. Whisk until thoroughly combined. The glaze will be a thin, pourable consistency.
  • Pour 3/4 of the glaze directly on top of the Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls while they are still in thebaking dish.
  • Remove from the dish and drizzle over extra chocolate glaze.

Notes

Milk - This recipe calls for warm milk and it’s important that it isn’t too hot. We don’t use a thermometer opting to heat the milk in 30-second intervals in the microwave. This usually only takes just over a minute. To check the milk isn’t too hot put your finger into it. If you can leave your finger in the milk comfortably then the milk is at the correct temperature. If it feels hot like bath water leave it to cool down before using.
Yeast - This recipe calls for instant yeast. You can use active, quick, or fresh yeast but do check the packet instructions as timings may vary.• Scoop and level the flour to measure it. It is preferable to use bread flour as it has a higher percentage of protein which leads to a softer dough. However, we have tested this recipe with all-purpose flour and it does work.• When you touch the dough with a clean and dry finger it will feel tacky but it should not stick to your finger. You may need to add up to 1/2 a cup of extra flour a tablespoon at a time.
Dough -  If you don’t have a stand mixer you can still make Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls by hand. Once you’ve added the flour use a spatula to mix it into a shaggy dough then turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it for 5-8 minutes until you have a slightly tacky yet soft and pliable dough. You may need to add extra flour as directed above.• Don’t overwork the dough as it will develop too much gluten and the rolls won’t be as soft.
Rising - If the rolls don’t rise it’s probably because they weren’t warm enough. Simply wait longer than the time stated so that the yeast has a chance to work. The other reason for non rising is inactive yeast or the milk was too hot killing the yeast.
Sugar - We used dark brown soft sugar for the chocolate and cinnamon filling. You can use light brownsugar or white sugar if you prefer.
Re-heating - Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls can be easily reheated in the oven or microwave.
Storage - Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls freeze well for up to one month.

Nutrition

Serving: 12g | Calories: 307kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 46mg | Sodium: 197mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 19g | Calcium: 86mg