These easy Small-batch Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls with Espresso Glaze can be prepared the night before and then baked in the morning for a hot, chocolatey breakfast in bed.
Last year around this time, I posted my Easy Overnight Cinnamon Rolls for Two . They were one of the first really popular recipes on the site, and are probably the sweet recipe I get the most positive feedback on (thank you to everyone who has tagged me on pictures of them on Instagram –I LOVE seeing them!!).
Since they’ve been so well-loved, I wanted to do another version this year, but the truth is, those cinnamon rolls are basically my perfect sweet rolls. They are (by design) exactly what I want in a breakfast treat. How do you improve on that?
Then it hit me, chocolate and coffee.
The answer is always chocolate and coffee.
Please allow me to introduce you to my Small-batch Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls with Espresso Glaze.
When I was testing these rolls, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to make them simple chocolate rolls or chocolate cinnamon rolls.
I made both versions, and while both were great, in the end, chocolate cinnamon won out because the spicy sweet of the cinnamon is so good with the richness of the chocolate. And I’m a big fan of cinnamon and coffee as a combo, so drizzling an espresso glaze over the top really brings all the flavors together for the most fabulous, decadent sweet roll breakfast you can imagine.
And just a heads up, folks. If you don’t like SWEET and CHOCOLATE and GOOEY. This is not the breakfast/dessert for you. Might I suggest some lightly sweet Crêpes for Two or savory Breakfast Fried Rice ? Or if you’re looking for a healthy option (what are you doing on this recipe!? 😉 ) a Naturally Sweet Green Smoothie might be just the thing.
Still here? Great. I think you’re going to love these rolls. And hey, if you don’t like coffee, you can omit the espresso powder in the glaze and add a dash of vanilla for a vanilla version. And if you don’t think a cinnamon roll is a cinnamon roll worth eating without cream cheese frosting, you can totally mix and match the drop-dead amazing cream cheese frosting from my original cinnamon rolls .
The base recipe for these rolls is the same as those original cinnamon rolls, so if you’ve made them before, this recipe will look very familiar. And if you haven’t, don’t worry. This is one of the easiest yeasted recipes you’ll find! As long as you have live yeast and a warm place to let your rolls rise, you’ll be just fine. And like the original rolls, these can be overnight cinnamon rolls or made all in one go. There are instructions in the recipe for both and it’s up to you.
Happy baking!
Ingredients
Special Equipment
- ▢ 6 to 7-inch baking dish
Rolls
- ▢ 1/3 cup milk any percentage
- ▢ 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- ▢ 2 tablespoons ( 1 oz) butter melted
- ▢ 1 tablespoon ( 13 g) granulated sugar
- ▢ 1 large egg yolk
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon salt
- ▢ 1 1/4 cup ( 150 g) all-purpose flour measured using the spoon and sweep method*, plus more for dusting)
Filling
- ▢ 2 tablespoons ( 1 oz) butter softened
- ▢ 1/4 cup ( 50 g) packed brown sugar
- ▢ 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- ▢ 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Espresso Glaze
- ▢ 3/4 cup ( 90 g) powdered sugar sifted
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon espresso powder
- ▢ 2 tablespoons milk
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ▢ Pinch of salt
Instructions
Rolls
- In a mug, microwave milk for about 20 seconds until it is lukewarm, NOT HOT (about 105-115°F.). Stir in yeast and allow to sit for 10-15 minutes until the top of the mixture looks foamy.*
- In a medium bowl, whisk together milk and yeast mixture, melted butter, sugar, egg yolk, and salt.
- Add the flour, a third at a time, and use a spoon to mix well, until a thick, sticky dough forms and all the flour is incorporated.
- Dump the mixture onto a well-floured work surface and knead just until the dough is no longer sticky and forms a ball (about 10 folds).
First Rise
- Place dough into a greased bowl, cover with a towel, and allow to rise in a warm place for an hour, or until doubled in size.
Shape Rolls
- Lightly grease a 6 to 7-inch baking dish.
- Stir together brown sugar and cinnamon.
- Once your dough has risen, turn out on a lightly floured surface and squish and stretch it GENTLY (we don’t want to rip it) into an oblong shape and then use a lightly floured rolling pin to roll the dough out to about 5 by 15 inches. Gently manipulate the corners and sides so you have a nice rectangle.
- Spread butter over the entire thing and top with the brown sugar mixture. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Roll from the short side and use a serrated knife to cut the roll into quarters. Place in prepared baking dish. (If making over night, skip to notes.)
Second Rise
- Allow the rolls to complete their second rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.
Bake
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Cook rolls 12-15 minutes until the tops are golden and centers cooked through (cover with foil during the last few minutes of cooking time if browning too quickly).
Espresso Glaze
- While your rolls bake, In a medium bowl, whisk together sifted powdered sugar, espresso, vanilla, and salt.
- Spoon glaze over warm rolls, serve, and enjoy.
Notes
The super simple and easy answer to the question: How to make fluffy buttermilk pancakes (for two).
So, something to know about me is that I love life hacks. I’m a sucker for an article about the perfect way to untangle ear buds, how to use a Raspberry Pi to operate everything in your house, how to never lose a sock again in the dryer (remember when I learned how to shred chicken in a stand mixer ?).
But I’m fully aware that mileage will vary, and most life hacks don’t actually end up being all that life changing. So when an article on how to make the fluffiest pancakes came through my feed reader, I didn’t think much of it. But it was a slow Saturday morning, and I had some buttermilk to use up, so it was the perfect excuse for a pancake science project!
The article posited that you could vastly improve the texture of your pancakes by changing the way and order in which you added eggs to your pancake batter (spoiler alert for that article, their recipe is quite different, so their end results actually differed from mine!).
To test this out, I made three batches of pancakes with my favorite buttermilk pancake recipe as a base. The first batch was made following the original recipe, where an entire egg is added to the liquid ingredients all at once. It’s a great recipe, very fluffy on its own and is my go-to pancake recipe.
For the second batch, I saved the white of the egg until the very end and stirred it in until smooth. I was worried it would overwork the pancake batter, but the resulting pancakes were fantastic. They weren’t visibly any noticeably fluffier, but the texture was lighter.
For the final batch, I mixed up everything but the egg white, and then in a small bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the white until stiff peaks formed (it only takes about a minute with one white) and then right before the pancakes went on the griddle, I folded that in. The result: GUYS, THIS IS THE WAY I WILL ALWAYS MAKE MY PANCAKES FROM NOW ON.
The texture of these pancakes is amazing. They are light and fluffy and perfect, like the pancake a waitress with a heart of gold serves you in some charming Midwest diner in heaven.
The extra step of beating the egg white takes hardly any extra time and is totally worth it, but if you don’t have an electric mixer, simply separating the egg and adding the white at the end still makes an amazingly fluffy pancake!
And this is a buttermilk pancake recipe, so you know the pancakes are going to be fabulous and a little tangy, but if you don’t have buttermilk, no worries. I’ve included instructions in the recipe for making you own. Buttermilk is best if you have it, but a little milk and lemon juice makes a perfectly acceptable substitute.
Please read the recipe notes on flour measurement!
Ingredients
Special Equipment
- ▢ Handheld electric mixer
Pancakes
- ▢ 1 cup ( 120g ) all-purpose flour measured by weight or using the spoon and sweep method*
- ▢ 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon salt *
- ▢ 3/4 cup buttermilk *
- ▢ 1 large egg separated
- ▢ 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ▢ Cooking spray or a little butter for pan greasing
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk, egg yolk, butter, and vanilla. Add flour mixture and stir until just combined–batter will look a little thick.
- Heat griddle to 350°F or skillet to medium heat.
- While your griddle heats, in a small bowl, with a handheld electric mixer, beat egg white on high until stiff peaks form–the egg should be bright white, and when beaters are lifted out, peaks should stand straight up.
- Fold egg white into the batter with a baking spatula, being careful not to overmix and deflate the egg.
- Once your cooking surface is hot, lightly grease, and drop on slightly heaping 1/3 cups full of batter (if making in a skillet, you will have to cook in two batches) and cook until bubbles begin to form on the surface of your pancakes. Flip and cook until done.
- Add your favorite toppings and enjoy!
Notes
Adapted from Lovin the Oven
This Hawaiian Naan Pizza makes a deliciously easy dinner that’s cheaper, faster, and healthier than delivery!
Hey, remember a couple of weeks ago in my Pasta Primavera post when I teased that a Naan Pizza recipe would be coming soon? Well, today is that day! Happy Naan Pizza Day!!! (Is that already a National Food Holiday? I would not be even a little bit surprised.)
Naan makes a perfect pizza crust. It’s not like making French bread pizza or a bagel pizza, where you are well aware of the fact that you are eating pizza on a piece of bread, naan just tastes like really good thin pizza crust, only without the work of making it (though if you want to make some go check out my Margherita Pizza post).
Plus, it’s perfectly sized to make individual pizzas, and anytime I have the excuse to get my own pizza, I am pleased as punch.
I’m partial to Hawaiian Pizza, so that’s the type of naan pizza I made for today’s post. And when making homemade pizza, I always use my favorite homemade pizza sauce because it’s the best (I keep jars of it in the freezer just for such an occasion).
But real talk, if you are reading this at 4:45 right before you leave work to go to the store and it’s been a long day, you can just pick up a jar of the pre-made stuff and your pizzas are still going to be delicious.
You’ll notice that the recipe’s approximately 3 sentences long. That’s because there’s not a lot to tell. Just slather sauce, sprinkle cheese, ham, and pineapple, and bake. In 12 to 15 minutes, you have a fabulous pizza dinner!
I made this pizza twice last week, once to photograph, and a second time two days later because I couldn’t stop thinking about it. And I’m maybe already wondering if it’s too soon to put it on next week’s menu…
What are your go-to pizza toppings? What type of naan pizza would you make?
Ingredients
- ▢ 2 Naan loaves
- ▢ 3/4 cup pizza sauce homemade or store-bought
- ▢ 3/4 cup ( 3 oz) shredded mozzarella
- ▢ 1 cup chopped pineapple*
- ▢ 1/2 cup ( 3 oz) chopped Canadian bacon or ham
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400°F.
- Assemble your pizzas, dividing the ingredients evenly between the naan.
- Bake on a cookie sheet for 12 to 14 minutes, until edges of the naan are golden and crispy and cheese melted. Slice and enjoy!
Notes
Small-batch Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls with Espresso Glaze
Ingredients
Special Equipment
- 6 to 7-inch baking dish
Rolls
- 1/3 cup milk any percentage
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 2 tablespoons ( 1 oz) butter melted
- 1 tablespoon ( 13 g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cup ( 150 g) all-purpose flour measured using the spoon and sweep method*, plus more for dusting)
Filling
- 2 tablespoons ( 1 oz) butter softened
- 1/4 cup ( 50 g) packed brown sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Espresso Glaze
- 3/4 cup ( 90 g) powdered sugar sifted
- 1/4 teaspoon espresso powder
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
Rolls
- In a mug, microwave milk for about 20 seconds until it is lukewarm, NOT HOT (about 105-115°F.). Stir in yeast and allow to sit for 10-15 minutes until the top of the mixture looks foamy.*
- In a medium bowl, whisk together milk and yeast mixture, melted butter, sugar, egg yolk, and salt.
- Add the flour, a third at a time, and use a spoon to mix well, until a thick, sticky dough forms and all the flour is incorporated.
- Dump the mixture onto a well-floured work surface and knead just until the dough is no longer sticky and forms a ball (about 10 folds).
First Rise
- Place dough into a greased bowl, cover with a towel, and allow to rise in a warm place for an hour, or until doubled in size.
Shape Rolls
- Lightly grease a 6 to 7-inch baking dish.
- Stir together brown sugar and cinnamon.
- Once your dough has risen, turn out on a lightly floured surface and squish and stretch it GENTLY (we don’t want to rip it) into an oblong shape and then use a lightly floured rolling pin to roll the dough out to about 5 by 15 inches. Gently manipulate the corners and sides so you have a nice rectangle.
- Spread butter over the entire thing and top with the brown sugar mixture. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Roll from the short side and use a serrated knife to cut the roll into quarters. Place in prepared baking dish. (If making over night, skip to notes.)
Second Rise
- Allow the rolls to complete their second rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.
Bake
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Cook rolls 12-15 minutes until the tops are golden and centers cooked through (cover with foil during the last few minutes of cooking time if browning too quickly).
Espresso Glaze
- While your rolls bake, In a medium bowl, whisk together sifted powdered sugar, espresso, vanilla, and salt.
- Spoon glaze over warm rolls, serve, and enjoy.
