I have a yummy recipe for you today. A little twist on a classic cinnamon roll. This one has melted chocolate chips in the center plus a chocolate glaze drizzled on top.
A good cinnamon roll is pretty much perfection on a plate in my opinion, but if you want to try something a little different this might be for you!
I love Pain au Chocolat (chocolate croissants) but they often don’t have quite enough chocolate inside. This recipe reminds me of a Pain au Chocolat but with a generous amount of chocolate and cinnamon and brown sugar. So yummy!
I have made cinnamon rolls in the past and sometimes they are a real labor of love… all day in the kitchen kind of love. These rolls do take 3 hours in total to rise- so make sure you plan for that- but all in all this is a fairly easy recipe that doesn’t require a lot of time in the kitchen.
This recipe makes about 16 rolls and if you have extra, you can actually freeze them. And once these are finished look at this plate of goodness you have to look forward to!
Here goes- there are a lot of ingredients listed but most things we all probably have in the pantry anyway.
- Pastry Dough
- 3½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2¼ teaspoons rapid-rise yeast
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup milk
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 -2 tablespoons of melted sweet cream butter for brushing into pans
- Filling
- 1¼ cup packed dark-brown sugar
- ½ cup milk chocolate chips
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- Glaze
- ¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice (optional)
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
- ½ cup milk
- ⅓ cup of toffee bits (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Start by preparing the pastry dough:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough attachment, add flour, yeast, and sugar.
- Mix on low speed just until combined.
- Lightly beat eggs in a small bowl one at a time and add to mixer.
- In a small pot, heat milk, butter, and cinnamon over medium-low heat until butter is melted and mixture is between 120 and 130°F (use a candy thermometer).*
- Add warm milk mixture and salt to stand mixer.
- Beat on low speed 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl.
- Increase to medium speed until smooth and elastic, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Dough will be very sticky- gently kneed into a nice ball.
- Place ball into a large bowl and cover with saran wrap or a clean towel and set aside for 2 hours to rise in a draft free area. (I use the microwave).
- The dough should double in size.
- Filling:
- Mix brown sugar, chocolate chips, salt and cinnamon in a small bowl.
- Roll dough out on a lightly floured cutting board and roll into a 16 x 12 rectangle.
- Spread the butter generously onto the rolled out dough.
- Now sprinkle the filling mixture over the top.
- Starting at a long edge, roll dough toward you into a log, pinching gently to keep it rolled tightly. With seam side down, cut dough crosswise with a thin sharp knife into 16 equal slices.
- Lightly butter a large baking dish (or two dishes) and place the rolls inside. They will be touching but don't pack too tightly as the dough will double in size again.
- Cover baking dishes with plastic wrap then heavy kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, about 40 to 45 minutes.
- Next prepare the glaze:
- Place a sauce pan over medium heat to start melting chocolate chips- careful as they can burn.
- Add sweet cream butter, continue to stir chocolate.
- Add milk a little at a time and stir in lemon juice, vanilla extract and corn syrup.
- Check consistency of of glaze, when it covers the back of a spoon it is ready.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and bake rolls until tops are golden about 15-20 min.
- Careful not to overbake!
- Remove from oven and brush with melted butter then invert immediately onto rack. Cool 10 minutes. Turn rolls right side up. Drizzle glaze over rolls and add sliced toffee bits. Best served warm.
A few notes on this recipe:
The lemon juice is optional but adds an extra dimension to the chocolate sauce. Sometimes chocolate can be too rich and this will tone it down a bit.
It is easy to overbake these rolls so I suggest you start checking them at 15 minutes. The tops should be slightly golden brown when they are ready.
Lastly, the temperature of the milk is very important. I accidentally started boiling the milk once and although I let the milk cool, my dough did not turn out. I used a candy thermometer to and I pull the milk off right when it hits 120 degrees.
AND if you want to freeze these guys for later, you can simply pop a finished roll that has completely cooled into a freezer bag and seal tightly. These should last a few weeks in the freezer.
Enjoy!
And here are a few other recipes you might like:
Homemade Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream— so simple!
Homemade Starbucks Hot Chocolate
Homemade Marshmallows- if you have never tried from scratch marshmallows before please try this recipe. They are SO GOOD.
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