A close cousin to the cinnamon roll, these chocolate rolls do have a touch of cinnamon, but also have a delicious and rich chocolatey flavor!

Chocolate Rolls

Ingredients:

For the dough:

½ cup (120 ml) whole milk, 105-110˚ F

¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar

2 tsp. instant (rapid rise) yeast

1 large egg, at room temperature

2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour

½ tsp. salt

3 tbsp. (45 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

For the filling:

8 oz. (225 grams) bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar

½ tsp. ground cinnamon

Pinch of salt

3 tbsp. (45 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

To finish:
1 large egg beaten with 1 tbsp. milk or cream

Directions:

1. Combine milk, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl. Add egg, flour, and salt until blended. Add butter until incorporated (and make sure that your butter is room temp, not melted!). Knead with a mixer or by hand for another 10 minutes.

 

2. Place dough in a greased bowl, covered with plastic wrap  or a kitchen cloth. Allow to rise for about an hour, or until doubled in size.

 

3. Now it’s time to make the filling. There are two ways to do this: if you have a food processor, combine chocolate, sugar and cinnamon until it appears almost powdery, then add butter until incorporated. If you don’t have a food processor, melt the chocolate and butter together, then add in the cinnamon and sugar.

 

4. Prepare your baking pan. You can either  grease an 8×8 brownie pan or a 12-muffin mold.

 

5. When the dough has finished rising, gently deflate it on a clean countertop. Allow to rest for about 5 minutes, then roll it out into a large rectangle of desired thickness (ideal would be about 12 x 20 inches). If you used a food processor for the previous step, you can sprinkle the chocolate mixture over the dough. If you melted the chocolate, you’ll need to spread it out with a spoon (be gentle, as it can be easy to break the dough using this method).

6. Roll the dough into a tight log, then begin cutting into 12 equal pieces (or more if you’re making smaller rolls).

7. Place the cut rolls in your pan, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for another 30 minutes.

**Save time in the morning and make these the night before! You can place them in the fridge right now and bake them directly from the fridge. 

Don’t worry if your rolls look too small for your pan, they will rise during the 30 minutes, and they’ll rise even more in the oven.

8.  Preheat oven to 350F and lightly brush your rolls with the egg wash. Allow to cook for 15-20. Best when served warm.

 

 

 

Source: Annie’s Eats, originally from the smitten kitchen