Celebrate the most delicious Christmas flavor combo with these Chocolate Orange Cinnamon Rolls! Chocolate, orange, and cinnamon, it’s as good as it gets! These rolls are festive, soft, pillowy, deliciously sweet, and so delightful. For sure, a crowd-pleaser during the holidays! I like to serve them right out of the oven while the chocolate is still gooey and the rolls are warm.
What’s great about these chocolate cinnamon rolls is that there’s no need to let the dough rise a second time. Just place the rolls in a cold oven, shut the door, and turn the oven on to 350 °F. The dough will complete its final rise while the oven preheats. Plus, this will cut down the overall cooking time. Win-win! Serve these chocolatey melt-in-your-mouth rolls fresh out of the oven garnished with sweet orange glaze and fresh orange zest, and enjoy!
To make the Chocolate Orange Cinnamon Rolls, you will need the following ingredients:
Warm 1 cup whole milk to 110 °F.
In a large bowl, stir together 2 ¼ teaspoons yeast and ¼ cup granulated sugar. Gently pour the warm milk over and leave to proof for about 10 minutes.
Whisk in 1 beaten egg and 2 tablespoons melted and cooled butter.
Stir in 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour and ½ teaspoon kosher salt with a wooden spoon until a smooth and wet dough has formed.
Cover the bowl tightly with a plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place for about 1 hour until doubled in size.
Once the dough has doubled, use a well-floured rolling pin to roll the dough to a 15×20-inch rectangle.
Stir together ½ cup melted butter, 1 cup brown sugar, and 2 tablespoons cinnamon until well combined.
With a spatula, spread the filling mixture evenly over the dough leaving out about ½-inch from the edge. Sprinkle evenly with 2 tablespoons orange zest and 1 cup chocolate chips.
Beginning at the longest side, roll the dough up tightly and pinch the edge against the side of the roll. Using a serrated knife, cut the roll into 12 slices, discarding the very ends that have less filling.
Arrange 12 roll slices, cut side down, slightly apart in a well-buttered 13×9-inch baking pan.
Place the pan in the oven and turn the oven to 350 °F. The rolls will rise as the oven preheats. Bake for about 25 minutes total until the rolls are lightly browned on top. Check after 15 minutes of baking and if the rolls are already lightly browned on top, cover them with a piece of foil and continue baking until baked all the way through. Leave the rolls to rest in the pan while you prepare the glaze.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together 1 ½ cups powdered sugar and ¼ cup orange juice until smooth but still pourable.If the glaze is too thick, add additional orange juice. If the glaze is too thin, add additional powdered sugar.
Drizzle glaze over still warm rolls and garnish with 1 tablespoon fresh orange zest.
Serve warm and enjoy!
These Chocolate Orange Cinnamon Rolls are pillowy, gooey, and dripping with orange juice glaze. There is nothing like a freshly baked cinnamon roll, so give this recipe a go soon, and please come back to tell us what you think!
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