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Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

Have you ever wished that chocolate babka came in a more portable (and dare we say more portion-controlled) form? Well, this chocolate cinnamon roll recipe is here to make your dreams come true.
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Resting Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
Servings 12 rolls

Equipment

  • 12-cup muffin tin
  • stand mixer
  • food processor
  • offset spatula

Ingredients
 
 

For the dough

  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
  • 1 large egg at room temperature
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour plus more to dust your work surface
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature plus additional for greasing muffin tins

Filling

  • 3 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 8 oz semisweet chocolate or chocolate chips
  • pinch of salt
  • 3/4 tsp cinnamon

Egg wash

  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 tsp heavy cream

Instructions
 

For the dough:

  • In a medium saucepan, heat milk and a pinch of sugar to between 110 and 116 F. Don't overheat, or you will kill your yeast. Sprinkle the yeast over the warm milk and let it stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and usgar, then slowly whisk in the yeast mixture.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, combine flour and salt. Add egg mixture to the flour mixture, mixing on low. Add butter and mix on medium speed.
  • Switch to the dough hook attachment and knead for 10 minutes on low speed. You should end up with a very soft dough.
  • Grease the bottom and sides of the bowl and place the dough in it. Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size (1 hour).

For the filling:

  • Roughly chop the chocolate. Add the chocolate, salt, cinnamon, and sugar to a food processor. Pulse until the chocolate is finely chopped. Add softened butter and pulse until well combined with the chocolate.

To assemble:

  • Generously butter or spray with non-stick cooking spray a 12-cup muffin tin.
  • Once dough has doubled, place dough on a well-floured surface. Roll dough using a rolling pin into a large rectangle rouhgly 12 x 20 inches.
  • Use an offset spatula to spread the chocolate filling evenly over the dough's surface. Starting at the short end, roll the dough tightly, forming a tight log, roughly 12 inches in length. Place the log seam side down. With a sharp serrated knife or dental floss, gently cut into 12 equal pieces, roughly one-inch wide. Place each of the 1-inch rolls in a prepared muffin cup. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let rise another 20 minutes.
  • Preheat oven to 350 F.
  • While you wait for the second rise, whisk together the egg yolk and cream until smooth and brush the egg wash over each muffin top. Bake rolls 15 to 20 minutes until puffed and golden brown.
  • Let rolls cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Notes

Rolls can be fully prepared the night before and then baked the next morning straight from the refrigerator. They will take a little longer; roughly 25-30 minutes.
Eat warm rolls immediately, ideally with a cup of coffee. If necessary, you can store in an airtight container, but you will notice a severe drop-off in tastiness.
Keyword babka, chocolate, roll
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