Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls

An easy egg-free recipe, these chocolate cinnamon rolls combine the best of both worlds with a sweet cinnamon and dark chocolate filling. The chocolate melts into the filling, making it even more luscious, but not too sweet. Serve these as is or with a simple glaze or cream cheese frosting.

For more sweet bread recipes made with yeast, try these seasonal apple cinnamon rolls, a German butter cake, or classic stollen. If you'd prefer a quicker version of this recipe, you can try adding some chopped chocolate to the filling of these quick cinnamon rolls without yeast.

Ingredients

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

• Flour: we always use all-purpose flour in sweet bread recipes as we don't want the chewiness that higher protein bread flour can bring. You could use up to 50% whole wheat flour if you'd like.
• Brown sugar: use light or dark brown sugar here, it doesn't matter.
• Chocolate: baking chocolate is best as it won't burn in the filling. Chocolate chips won't melt fully so we don't recommend then.
• Yeast: it doesn't matter if you use instant or traditional yeast. The step of blooming the yeast in the warm milk will activate traditional and won't hurt instant, so either is good - the dough might just rise a bit faster with instant.
• Topping: for a less sweet topping, try maple cream cheese frosting instead of standard sugar frosting. If you'd like to add extra sweetness, this maple glaze is nice with cinnamon rolls.
• Make it vegan: use non-dairy milk and a good vegan butter that comes in stick or block form.

Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the printable recipe card with full ingredient measurements and complete instructions.

Method

Step 1: heat the milk in a small saucepan until warm.

Step 2: add the milk to a mixing bowl and melt the butter in it. Add the yeast and set aside to bloom.

Step 3: add the remaining dough ingredients and knead until soft and smooth. Set aside to double in size.

Step 4: roll out the dough into a large rectangle.

Step 5: add the filling to the dough and roll into a log.

Step 6: cut the rolls and place into a greased baking dish.

Step 7: set aside to rise again until puffy.

Step 8: bake until lightly golden and serve.

Top Tips

• Use chopped chocolate: not chocolate chips. Chips contain stabilizers that prevent them from melting completely, and you want the chocolate to melt here.
• Roughly chop the chocolate: leaving some bigger chunks will add a bit more textural interest in the rolls, and a big bite of chocolate every once in a while is excellent.
• Check your yeast: dry yeast should be stored in a sealed container in the fridge to ensure freshness. If you're not sure what you have is still active, test it in a bit of warm water before starting with the recipe.
• The milk should be warm: check the temperature of the milk before adding the yeast. It should be just warmer than your skin (test with a fingertip) or about 100°F (38°C) on a kitchen thermometer.

For Overnight Rolls

You could certainly do an overnight roll here - after placing the individual rolls into the baking tin, cover them tightly and place in the refrigerator to rise overnight. Set them on the counter for about an hour in the morning to come back to room temperature, and then bake as instructed.

Recipe Notes

Give the dough enough time to rise, even if it takes longer than the recipe says. The temperature will really make a difference in terms of rising time, so if your home is cold, it'll take longer. Some other factors like yeast freshness will affect this too (it's always a good idea to test your yeast first).

To really ensure that you don't add too much flour – which makes the rolls tough – you can use a standing mixer or good hand mixer to knead the dough. Generally speaking, most hand mixers that come with a dough attachment will work for softer sweet dough like this one. If kneading by hand, don't add more flour as you're working, just keep going until the dough is soft and not so sticky.

How to Store

Storage: like any cinnamon roll, these are best the day they're baking. You can store leftovers in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 3 days but they will start to dry out over time.

Freezing: for the best results, cool and freeze the rolls the same day they're baked. Freeze in an airtight container for up to 2 months and thaw at room temperature. Soften the buns in the microwave before serving if they're a little hard.

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