Name: Chocolate Sweet Rolls
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 2 h 35 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 and 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar (175 grams); 2 tablespoons water, warm; 1 cup warm water (235 milliliters); 1 tablespoon instant dry yeast; 2 tablespoons white sugar; 3 tablespoons oil; 1 egg; 1 teaspoon salt; 3 cups all-purpose flour (360 grams); 1/2 cup cocoa (65 gram); 1/3 cup white sugar (70 grams); 1/4 cup oil* (60 milliliters); 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

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Chocolate sweet rolls are the chocolate-lovers' cinnamon rolls. They are fluffy and have a rich deep flavored chocolate filling.

These chocolate sweet rolls are cinnamon rolls and chocolate babka/rugelach's love child.

They have the same fluffy dough as my dairy free cinnamon rolls, but with the rich chocolate filling used in my chocolate babka and Israeli chocolate rugelach.

My brother Ari loves cinnamon rolls, cinnamon babka, cinnamon rugelach, and really anything with cinnamon filling. My brother Aaron, on the other hand, takes after our mom and loves chocolate.

One day while making cinnamon rolls, I got the idea to fill them with chocolate instead of cinnamon. So, the next time I made cinnamon rolls for Ari, I made a double batch of dough.

While I worked on the cinnamon rolls, Aaron stood beside me rolling out the remaining dough.

While I love to do anything in the kitchen, Aaron loves to bake. It started out with boxed brownies with our mom, but nowadays he’s taken to helping me with desserts he wants to eat.

I decided to fill the chocolate sweet rolls with chocolate rugelach and chocolate babka filling. Seriously, does chocolate filling get better than that? I think not.

Needless to say, the chocolate sweet rolls were a huge hit. The one downside is that Aaron now asks me to make them all the time.

In fact, he insists that whenever things go wrong in my baking that making these chocolate sweet rolls will break the curse. He hasn’t been wrong yet…

HOW TO STORE

Cover the rolls tightly with plastic wrap. This will preserve them for two days at room temperature. To preserve them for up to a week: refrigerate the rolls in a sealed plastic bag with as much air removed as possible.

HOW TO FREEZE

To freeze, store inside of a heavy-duty freezer bag and squeeze out the excess air before sealing. Freeze for up to 2 to 3 months. After that point, they are still safe to eat but their quality begins to degrade.

Recipe Tip:

While I used a sharp chef’s knife to cut the roll into slices, you can also use flavorless dental floss for easy cutting. If you don’t want to take the time to chill the dough, lightly oil your rolling pin so the dough doesn’t stick.

Also, for a thin glaze, add another spoon or two of water.

Yield: 12 rolls

Chocolate Sweet Rolls

These chocolate sweet rolls are the love child of chocolate rugelach and cinnamon rolls! They are moist and fluffy, have a rich chocolate filling, and are just the right amount of sweet.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Additional Time 2 hours

Total Time 2 hours 35 minutes

Ingredients

Dough

1 cup warm water (235 milliliters)
1 tablespoon instant dry yeast
2 tablespoons white sugar
3 tablespoons oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups all-purpose flour (360 grams)

Filling

½ cup cocoa (65 gram)
⅓ cup white sugar (70 grams)
¼ cup oil* (60 milliliters)
½ teaspoon cinnamon

Glaze

1 and ½ cups confectioners' sugar (175 grams)
2 tablespoons water, warm

Instructions

Place water, sugar, and yeast into the bowl of the stand mixer. Let sit for a few minutes until the yeast is activated.
Then add oil, egg, salt, and flour. Knead using a bread hook attachment until the dough is smooth but sticky. Add more flour if needed.
Cover bowl with a damp towel and place into a warm oven to rise until doubled in size.
Chill for half an hour so it will be easier to roll out. Then, place it on a floured surface and roll the dough out until it's approximately 16 inches long by 12 inches wide.
In a mixing bowl, combine cocoa, sugar, cinnamon, and oil together in a bowl. Spread it evenly on the dough.
From the longer side, roll the dough tightly and cut the roll into 12 pieces. Place the pieces in a 9 x 13 inch baking pan lined with parchment paper.
Cover with a damp towel and let sit in a warm place until the rolls double in size. (See note if you don’t have a warm place.)
Preheat your oven to 360°F or 180°C.
Bake for 20 minutes or until it begins to brown slightly. Remove and let it cool.
Combine the confectioners' sugar and water and mix until you have a nice, thick, smooth glaze. If it is too thick, add more water a ¼ teaspoon at a time until you achieve the desired consistency.
When the sweet rolls are completely cool, spoon the glaze over the rolls. Best served at room temperature.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 256Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 16mgSodium: 184mgCarbohydrates: 39gFiber: 2gSugar: 12gProtein: 5g

Friday 10th of September 2021

Hello! May I know what type of oil to use? Thank you! :)

ElissaBeth

There is a section addressing this within the post because a variety of oils can be used :)

Elana

Monday 18th of January 2021

Wow, these rolls are amazing! My whole family just loved it and I was able to finally enjoy dairy free yumminess:) so simple, yet perfect! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! Big hugs from Jewish family from NZ

You're very welcome! I'm so glad to hear you and your family enjoyed them so much :)

Airah

Sunday 12th of January 2020

Hi... Thanks for this yummy recipe! I made itband it turned so delicious... ;)

Happy to hear it! Thanks for sharing :)

Asher

Thursday 23rd of May 2019

I would give this 100 stars if I could

Meagan

Tuesday 5th of March 2019

These were very chocolate-y and decadent. I gave the recipe 4 stars, because there was a lot of cocoa and I needed to add 4 Tbsp more of butter and 1/4 tsp of stevia so that it would be sweet enough and spreadable on the rolls. The filling pretty much stayed in the inside when it baked and didn't seem out a ton. But, it was still pretty thick when eating it. Other than that, the recipe cooked as expected. I served it with cream cheese on top to tame the decadence a little for my kids. :) I'll make this recipe again, but might try less cocoa powder to see how it affects the flavor and texture. Thanks for doing the experimentation! Most of the recipes that I've looked at used chocolate chips, but I didn't want that. It was nice to find one with cocoa powder so that I can control the sugar. All the best!

Thursday 7th of March 2019

I'm glad you liked them! Since this recipe calls for oil not butter I can see why you had trouble. Oil is thicker than butter and should not be exchanged evenly. 1/4 cup of oil would be about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of butter. I hope that is helpful!