Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls

Week 454. Winter 2024. I am 41 years old and standing in my kitchen — the Bench house kitchen, the one that held cancer and divorce and cinnamon rolls — and the stove is on and something is cooking and the house smells like soup and bread and this is my life. This is the life I built.

The clinic was busy this week — spring puppies and summer emergencies and the constant, comforting cycle of animals who need care and humans who love them enough to bring them in.

Mason is 13 and navigating middle school with the quiet competence that has always been his way — focused, kind, certain of who he is in a way that took me thirty years to achieve.

Lily is 11 and riding horses with the fearlessness of someone who has never considered the possibility of falling.

I made chicken tikka masala this week. The food continues. The food always continues. It is the thread that connects every week to every other week, every year to every other year, every version of me to every other version — the woman on the kitchen floor, the woman at the chemo recliner, the woman at the grill, the woman at the outdoor table under the string lights. All of them, connected by the food they made with their hands. All of them, me.

I mentioned the cinnamon rolls almost without thinking — they’re just part of what this kitchen is, what it has always been — but after I said it I stood there for a moment and thought, yes, I should make those this weekend. The chocolate version felt right for a week that was steady and full and quietly good, something a little richer than ordinary, something worth the extra hour on a Saturday morning when the kids are still asleep and the house is still and mine.

Prep Time: 30 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 2 hrs 30 min (includes rise time) | Servings: 12

Ingredients

Dough:
1 cup whole milk, warmed to 110°F
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (1 packet)
1/3 cup granulated sugar, divided
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 tsp salt
4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
Chocolate Cinnamon Filling:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbsp ground cinnamon
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
Cream Cheese Glaze:
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
3–4 tbsp whole milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Activate the yeast. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine warm milk, yeast, and 1 tbsp of the granulated sugar. Stir gently and let sit 5–10 minutes until foamy.
Mix the dough. Add the remaining sugar, eggs, melted butter, and salt to the yeast mixture. Stir to combine. Add flour one cup at a time, mixing until a soft dough forms. Knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 8 minutes, or with a dough hook on medium speed for 5 minutes, until the dough is smooth and slightly tacky.
First rise. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm spot for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until doubled in size.
Make the filling. In a small bowl, mix together the softened butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and cocoa powder until a thick paste forms. Set aside.
Roll and fill. Punch down the risen dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll into a rectangle approximately 16x12 inches. Spread the chocolate cinnamon filling evenly over the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border along one long edge. Scatter the mini chocolate chips over the filling.
Shape the rolls. Starting from the long edge closest to you, roll the dough tightly into a log. Pinch the seam to seal. Cut into 12 even rolls using a sharp knife or unflavored dental floss.
Second rise. Arrange rolls cut-side up in a greased 9x13-inch baking dish. Cover and let rise 30–45 minutes, until puffed and touching.
Bake. Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake rolls for 22–25 minutes, until golden on top and cooked through. Do not overbake — they should still look slightly underdone in the center when you pull them out.
Make the glaze. While rolls cool for 5 minutes, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk one tablespoon at a time, mixing until pourable but thick.
Glaze and serve. Drizzle or spread the cream cheese glaze generously over the warm rolls. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls — The Kitchen That Held Everything