1-Hour(ish) Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls with Orange Glaze
My love language is baked goods. And sometimes you don’t have like…4 hours (or overnight) to wait for something to rise. Maybe it’s a craving striking, unexpected company, or needing to bring a sweet treat to a friend in need.
When that’s the case, we have these amazing one-hour chocolate cinnamon rolls.
And I feel like I need to add an asterisk on the “one hour” piece. (Hence, the “ish”.) One hour is being ambitious to be honest…it’s possible, but not likely unless you’re way more disciplined than me.
It’s darn close if you really focus and move things along. But I always find myself puttering about a bit (multitasking while getting ready), so it’s usually more like an hour and a half for me, sometimes closer to two hours from start to finish. But STILL…that’s quite a bit faster than cinnamon rolls or chocolate rolls typically take.
A few specific tips and notes for these fast chocolate cinnamon rolls:
- It will be tempting to use up all the chocolate filling, but don’t do this—it’s a rookie mistake! It will spill out everywhere and make the rolls hard to hold together.
- These are great the day you bake them, but after that they’ll dry out easily if you’re not careful. Store them in an airtight container, and microwave for 7-10 seconds to soften them up again.
- The original recipe says it should make 12 rolls, but for some reason (possibly not rolling the dough big enough), it always makes more like 9 for me.
- I’ve added a simple fresh orange glaze, easy to whip up and packing a flavor punch. I find this easier than a traditional cream cheese frosting and more fun as well.
How to make easy 1-hour cinnamon chocolate rolls
I’ve got more detailed instructions below in the recipe, so will just summarize here. Melt the butter in a small saucepan and add the milk to get it warm. WARM, not hot! Set aside.
In a stand mixer with bread hook attachment, combine 2 1/4 cups of flour, the sugar, salt, and yeast. Give it a quick pulse, then add the warmed milk-butter mixture and the beaten eggs. Mix on medium to bring the dough together, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl to get the flour incorporated. It’ll be pretty sticky, but if it’s super wet you can add a bit more flour.
Knead on low for 3 minutes until smoother. Then place in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let rise somewhere warm for 30 minutes.
To make the chocolate filling, melt the butter and chocolate together until smooth (I do this in the same small saucepan, but you can microwave too). Stir in the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla to form a spreadable paste.
After close to 30 minutes (or a bit more if you’re not desperately pressed for time), preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13 Pyrex pan with butter or cooking spray and set aside.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and roll into a 16” x 24” rectangle. The dough should be thin (it’s too thick in my pics below, I was in too much of a hurry).
Spread the chocolate filling evenly over the rectangle, leaving a 1/2 inch border around the edges. Using the long edge, roll the dough tightly into a log, then pinch the seam and then gently roll it on the counter to seal.
Using floss or a scraper tool (my preference), cut off the ends of the dough where there is not enough filling. Lightly score the dough into equal pieces—for me this is usually 9, but the recipe says it should make 12—and then cut the dough into buns.
Place the buns into your prepared pan, leaving a bit of space between because they will puff up when they bake. If you’re not crazy pressed for time, I like to cover them lightly and let them rise for 15 minutes, but usually I have to bake them right away.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. If the rolls start to get too brown, cover with tinfoil.
While the rolls are baking, make the orange glaze. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, orange zest, orange juice, salt, and vanilla. Add more orange juice as needed to get the thickness right.
Once the buns are out, ideally let them rest for 10-15 minutes before glazing but if you’re in a rush, drizzle or spread the glaze over the warm cinnamon buns and serve right away.
Soft yeasty chocolate-y goodness, with a strong hit of orange!
These are definitely best the day they’re baked, but you can store them in an airtight container for a few days. They get a little dry so I warm up for a few seconds to soften before serving once they’re a day old.
If you’re looking for something cozy and sweet to gift to a friend, or to feed last-minute brunch guests, look no further than these one-hourISH chocolate cinnamon rolls!
Adapted from Broma Bakery
Other roly-poly baked goods you’ll love:
- Orange Cinnamon Pistachio Morning Buns
- Traditional Finnish Cinnamon Buns (Korvapuusti)
- Sweet & Gooey Lemon Cardamom Buns
- Paul Hollywood’s Chelsea Buns
- Norwegian Skillingsboller (Cinnamon Bun Pastries)
- Pioneer Woman’s Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Frosting
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Easy 1-Hour(ish) Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls with Orange Glaze
These 1-hour(ish) chocolate cinnamon rolls are the perfect quick when you need to pull together brunch or a baked good gift quickly. Rather than spending 4+ hours rising, rolling, and baking, these can be ready in just over an hour when you're pressed for time, and they're absolutely delicious! Drizzle with an easy fresh orange flavored glaze, and you've got a winner!
Ingredients
- DOUGH
- 3/4 cup of milk
- 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter
- 2 1/4 to 2 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup of granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
- Scant 1 tablespoon of instant yeast (or 1 packet)
- 2 eggs, room temp and lightly beaten
- Zest of 1/2 orange
- FILLING (only use 1 cup, don't overfill)
- 2 1/4 ounces (65 grams) of good dark chocolate (or approximately 1/3 cup of dark chocolate hips)
- 1/4 cup (60 grams) of unsalted butter
- Scant 1/4 cup (25 grams) of powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons (15 grams) of cocoa powder
- Pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
- GLAZE
- 3/4 cup of powdered sugar
- Orange zest (1/4 to 1/2 orange)
- 2 tablespoons of fresh orange juice (or more, to consistency)
- 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla paste or extract
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Make the dough: In a small saucepan melt the butter on medium-low. Add the milk to the butter, whisking to combine until the milk is warm. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with bread hook attachment, combine 2 1/4 cups of flour, as well as the sugar, salt, and yeast (keep the yeast and salt away from each other at first). Give them a few pulses to stir together.
- Make a well in the center and add the milk and butter as well as the beaten eggs. Mix on medium to bring the dough together, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl to get the flour incorporated. The dough will be fairly sticky but you can add up to 1/4 cup more flour if needed (I prefer a stickier dough).
- Then knead on low for 3 minutes. The dough should smooth out and become less tacky. Form the dough into a ball and place into a lightly greased bowl. Cover and leave to rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.
- Make the filling: Melt the butter and chocolate together until smooth (I do this in a small saucepan, but you can use the microwave if preferred). Stir in the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla. The mixture should form a spreadable paste. Set aside to cool.
- Assemble & bake: After 30 minutes (or a bit more if you're not completely pressed for time), preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13 Pyrex pan with butter or cooking spray and set aside.
- Turn the risen dough out onto a liberally floured surface and use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a 16” x 24” rectangle. The dough should be thin (it's too thick in my pics above, I was in too much of a hurry). Thinner dough means more swirls!
- Spread the chocolate filling evenly over the rectangle, leaving a 1/2 inch border around the edges. Working from the long edge, roll the dough tightly into a log, gently pulling the dough away from you before doing the next roll (this keeps it tighter so there aren't gaps once baked). Once rolled, pinch the seam and then gently roll it on the counter to seal.
- Using floss or a scraper tool (my preference), cut off the ends of the dough where there is not enough filling. Lightly score the dough into equal pieces---for me this is usually 9, but the recipe says it should make 12---and then cut the dough into buns.
- Place the buns into your prepared pan, leaving a bit of space between because they will puff up when they bake. If you're not crazy pressed for time, I like to cover them lightly and let them rise for 15 minutes, but usually I have to bake them right away.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. If the rolls start to get too brown, cover with tinfoil.
- Make the glaze: While the rolls are baking, make the orange glaze. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar (sift for no lumps), orange zest, orange juice, salt, and vanilla. Add more orange juice as needed to get the thickness right.
- Once the buns are out, ideally let them rest for 10-15 minutes before glazing but if you're in a rush (again, I usually am), go ahead and drizzle or spread the glaze over the warm cinnamon buns and serve right away.
- These are definitely best the day they're baked, but you can store them in an airtight container for a few days. They get a little dry so I warm up for a few seconds to soften before serving once they're a day old.
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