Chocolate and cinnamon rolls
Last week I took a last minute trip to Melbourne to visit family. I had a great time and, for the better part of my visit, the weather was typically hot and dry for this time of year. But on the final few days, the weather took a bit of a turn and it was a lot cooler than this Sydney-sider had anticipated or packed for!
The cooler weather left me craving comfort food, which in a way was a good thing because with all the extra mouths to feed, it was the perfect opportunity to try baking these gorgeous Chocolate and cinnamon rolls.
I’d been wanting to make them ever since I saw Joy the Baker’s Pistachio and orange rolls, which she posted back in December having been herself inspired by The Pioneer Woman’s Cinnamon rolls. If you’ve somehow not heard of either of these women, then you should definitely check out their blogs. Both are fantastic and hugely inspirational.
These Chocolate and cinnamon rolls were so simple to make and really delicious, especially when served warm from the oven. If you’re tempted to them try, just make sure to allow yourself plenty of time because although they’re extremely simple to make, they do take a bit of time to prepare when you factor in leaving the dough to rise and rest in the fridge.
I’ve included a recipe card for these rolls as I used a combination of both the Pioneer Woman’s original recipe and Joy the Baker’s adaptation. I hope it’s easy to follow, but if you need some visual prompts for assembling the rolls, then both ladies provide gorgeous photos which double up as terrific visual prompts.
Enjoy x

- 2 cups milk
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup white sugar
- 1 sachet of dry yeast (approx. 7g)
- 4 ½ cups plain flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate soda
- A pinch of salt
- 120 g unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup white sugar
- Ground cinnamon
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips
- 1½ cups icing sugar
- 2 tbsp milk
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp vanilla
- In a large saucepan*, heat the milk, oil, and sugar over a medium heat until it just begins to simmer then remove from the heat and leave until it has cooled but is still warm.
- Sprinkle the yeast on top and let it sit for one minute, then add 4 cups of plain flour and stir until just combined.
- Cover with a lid or clean tea towel and leave in a warm spot for an hour, after which the dough should have risen nicely.
- Add the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and the remaining plain flour and stir to combine thoroughly. Cover again and refrigerate for at least another hour before use.
- Divide the dough into two equal parts. Roll one half of the dough onto a lightly floured surface, forming a rectangular shape, approximately 30cm x 20cm.
- Pour half of the melted butter over the dough, then sprinkle half the sugar and a generous dusting of cinnamon on top and finish with a scattering of chocolate chips (making sure to retain half the chocolate).
- Using both hands, start rolling the dough evenly and reasonably tightly towards you so that it forms one long roll.
- Using a sharp knife, divide the roll into equal sized smaller slices, approximately 2.5 cm – 3 cm thick.
- Repeat the same process with the remaining half of dough, butter, sugar, cinnamon and chocolate so that you should have approximately 16 – 18 individual rolls in total.
- Arrange the rolls into pre-greased pie dishes* (or individually on a baking tray lined with baking paper). Be careful not to pack the rolls into the dishes too tightly as you want to allow room for them to rise. Each pie dish should hold approximately 8 – 9 rolls.
- Cover the rolls and leave in a warm spot for at least a further 20 minutes before baking.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 190°C.
- Uncover the rolls and place in the preheated oven for 15 – 20 minutes, or until golden.
- While the rolls are in the oven, start on the icing.
- Add the icing sugar, milk and vanilla extract into a small mixing bowl and combine until it forms a thick, smooth glaze. Add a little extra milk if the glaze is a little too thick.
- Once cooked, remove from the oven and leave to cool for a couple of minutes, then generously drizzle the icing over the rolls.
- *I used a round, 24 cm cast iron casserole pot / Dutch oven and 24 cm pie dish.
- It’s not essential to leave the dough in the fridge, but it is more difficult to work with if you use it straight away.
Bianca @ Confessions of a Chocoholic
28/02/2014 at 3:29 am (11 years ago)These look lovely! It’s almost lunchtime for me but I’d still want one of these 🙂
Rachel
01/03/2014 at 9:48 am (11 years ago)Thanks Bianca, so glad you like them. I think the best thing about these rolls is that you can eat them anytime. Perfect with a cuppa morning, noon or night 🙂
Medeja
26/02/2014 at 9:51 am (11 years ago)They look delicious! Would be perfect for breakfast with a glass of milk 🙂
Rachel
27/02/2014 at 11:38 pm (11 years ago)I think you’re right Medeja! That would be a perfect way to start the day 🙂