Chocolate Chip Caramel Rolls baked in Brown Sugar and Cinnamon
I snagged the base for this recipe from a “Taste of Home Fall Baking – Fresh from the Oven” cookbook. My first real attempt at a full baking recipe, part of a new goal for myself, so I started with what looked like an easy one. But it proved a little more challenging on the kneading and need for adjustments, plus multiple steps, so I'm going to raise it to moderate. The total time adds up with waiting for things to rise and then cook, so I'd push this to a weekend activity unless you can do a few early steps well before dinner time and then just cook at the end.
Ingredients
Dough
- ¾ cup Water (warm)
- 2 ¼ tsp Active dry yeast
- ¾ cup Milk (2%)
- 3 tbsp Canola oil
- ¼ cup Sugar (more in Filling)
- 1 ½ tsp Salt
- 4 cups All-purpose flour
- ¾ cup Chocolate chips (miniature, semi-sweet; more in Filling)
Filling
- ¼ cup Butter
- ⅓ cup Sugar (more in Dough)
- 2 tbsp Cinnamon (ground)
- 1 cup Chocolate chips (miniature, semi-sweet; more in Dough)
Syrup
- 1 cup Brown sugar (packed)
- ¾ cup Whipping cream (light)
Start Cooking
Method
Dough
- Starting with a large bowl, use 3/4 cup Water (warm) to dissolve the 2 ¼ tsp Active dry yeast.
- Warm the ¾ cup Milk (2%) and add it to the large bowl with the 3 tbsp Canola oil, ¼ cup Sugar, 1 ½ tsp Salt, and 3 cups All-purpose flour (3 cups only for this part).
- Use an electric hand-mixer to beat the mixture for 3 minutes. Note: The original recipe called for medium speed, but I confess this mixture was EXTREMELY gooey and I needed high speed just to make a dent.
- Place the dough onto a lightly floured surface and start kneading, adding in the ¾ cup Chocolate chips as you go. 8 minutes should do it, making the dough smooth and elastic.
- Place it all in a greased bowl, turning the dough over and around once in the bowl so the dough is greased on the top, bottom, and sides.
- Cover and let rise, 1 hour. It should double in size, particularly if in a warm area.
- Punch the dough down in the bowl, then turn it onto a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle flour on the rolling pin, then roll out the dough to make an 18×12-inch rectangle.
You can stir in the remaining flour to make a firmer dough, which should also reduce the stickiness.
Filling
- Soften the ¼ cup Butter, either naturally or in the microwave, and spread it on the rectangle, keeping it within a border of about ½ inch around the edges.
- In a small bowl, combine the ⅓ cup Sugar and 2 tbsp Cinnamon. Sprinkle the mixture over the buttered rectangle (it should look like dusting, but a bit thicker).
- Dust the top again, this time with the remaining 1 cup Chocolate chips, gently pressing the chips into the dough.
- Roll up the dough from the long side, making it look like a jelly roll. Pinch the final seam to seal.
- Cut the “long roll” into 12 even-width slices.
If you don't press the chocolate chips into the dough, they will simply shift and bunch up when you roll up the dough in the next step.
If you don't pinch it to seal it firmly, it will unravel when you cut and put it in the baking dish.
Syrup
- Combine the 1 cup Brown sugar and ¾ cup Whipping cream in a small bowl. Pour into a 13×9-inch baking dish, which should be enough room for it to expand.
- Take the 12 slices and lay them individually on their side (a cut-side down) on top of the syrup in the baking dish. Place them evenly in the pan, leaving room for them to expand.
The original recipe called for heavy whipping cream, which the store was out of, so I used light cream instead. It worked just fine, so I left it that way in the recipe.
Baking
- Cover and let rise. They should double in size in about 50-60 minutes. Start preheating your oven at the 45-minute mark.
- Bake at 375 ℉ until golden brown, 30-35 minutes in total depending on your oven and if it was fully preheated. Remove the baking dish from the oven.
- Let the rolls cool for 10 minutes, and then remove them from the container onto a platter/plate.
- Serve warm.
We made 12, but these are extremely rich for a regular dessert. We cut them in half for serving.
