Cocoa Cinnamon Swirl Rolls

Snow, snow and more snow, we got hit hard; 14”!!! What are we supposed to do with 14” of snow, better yet what do you do inside when there’s 14” of snow outside? You bake of course. Being snowed in with no snacks is no fun. So in advance of the storm I made a trip to the store to stock up, (me and a cazillion more people).I started these rolls before I set out yesterday and they took forever and five days to rise. My kitchen/lab is a bit on the chilly side so I turned the oven on to warm it a bit, let it cool a bit and then put the rolls into to rise. I was fretting over these rolls almost as much as I did about the weather. Don’t know why I was in a tizzy about the weather, that one was/is totally out of my hands. After the first and second rise the rolls were FINALLY ready to be baked. And yeah, they were worth the wait. The hubby, pint size diva, and the apple crisp queen all gave them two big thumbs up.

This super yummy recipe came with my mixer and sounded simple enough, so I figured why not. It’s starts with a basic sweet dough and then I went to the Cinnamon Swirl Rounds and added a bit of a twist. Somewhere in my sweet roll search I spotted a chocolate cinnamon roll recipe; interesting huh? Not wanting to dive fully into that one just yet I tweaked this one a bit by adding some cocoa to the cinnamon roll mixture.

Here we go with the recipe and I hope whatever corner of the world you’re in, you’re safe, well and happy. Enjoy!

Basic Sweet Dough – KitchenAid¾ cup low-fat milk
½ cup sugar
1 ¼ tsp salt
½ cup butter
2 pkgs active dry yeast
1/3 cup warm water (105°F – 115°F)
3 eggs, room temperature
5 ½ – 6 ½ cups all-purpose flour

Place milk, sugar, salt, and butter in small saucepan. Heat over low heat until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Cool to lukewarm.

Dissolve yeast in warm water in warmed mixer bowl. Add lukewarm milk mixture, eggs and 5 cups flour. With the dough hook, mix on speed 2 to mix about 2 minutes.
With the mixer still on low (speed 2) add the remaining flour ½ cup at a time and mix for about 1 ½ minutes until the dough to start to clean the sides of the bowl. Then mix for 2 more minutes.

Place dough in greased bowl, turning to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft free place, about an hour or until doubled. Again, because my kitchen is so cool I had to warm my oven a bit first. After it’s doubled in bulk, punch it down and shape as desired.

Cinnamon Swirl Rounds – adapted from KitchenAid1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup sugar
½ cup butter, softened
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 TBS cocoa
1 ½ TBS cinnamon
1 recipe Basic Sweet Dough
½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans ( I didn’t use any)
Caramel Glaze1/3 cup evaporated milk
2 TBS brown sugar
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Place brown sugar, sugar, butter, flour, cocoa, nuts (if you’re using them), and cinnamon in medium size bowl. Mix on low speed about 2 minutes.

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Roll dough to 10×24” rectangle. Spread sugar-cinnamon mixture evenly over dough. Roll dough tightly from long side to form 24” roll, pinching seam together. Cut into 24 – 1” slices. Place 12 rolls each in 2 greased 9×13” pans. Cover and let rise in warm draft free place 45-60 minutes, or until doubled in bulk.

Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes. Remove from pans immediately. Spoon caramel glaze over warm rolls.

For the glaze. – Place evaporated milk and brown sugar in small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until mixture begins to boil, stirring constantly. Place milk mixture, powdered sugar, and vanilla in mixer bowl. Beat on medium speed about 2 minutes or until creamy.