Cookies & Cream Rolls
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These cookies and cream rolls take everything you love about classic cinnamon rolls— soft, pillowy dough, rich filling, and cream cheese frosting— and swap the spice for crushed Oreos and black cocoa powder. With cookie crumbs and chunks in the dough, roll centers, and sprinkled on top, these small batch rolls are packed with cookies and cream flavor. Bonus points: this recipe doubles beautifully.
MY PERFECT CINNAMON ROLL DOUGH REIMAGINED
If there’s anything I’ve learned about yeast bread over my more than a decade of perfecting my yeast rolls, sandwich bread, grandmother’s anise loaf, and cinnamon rolls, it’s that dough can take on any flavor your heart desires if you do it the right way.
These cookies and cream rolls are what happens when classic yeasted dough meets crushed Oreos, rich cocoa powder, and a cream cheese frosting that’s practically begging to be slathered on thick. Incorporating Oreo crumbs into the dough and filling brings not only flavor but also texture. Crunchy cookies soften (but not in a mushy way), fusing the dough and the cookie crumbs to bring all the soft, pillowy goodness you love about my signature cinnamon rolls.
Bonus points! Just like my small batch cinnamon rolls, this recipe produces 6 standard size rolls, which doubles easily and beautifully. This is great news considering you’ll probably want to double the recipe from the get-go (highly recommend). So now comes the real question… Is this dessert for breakfast, or breakfast for dessert? You’ll just have to make them and be the judge yourself.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED: KEY INGREDIENTS
Since this is a standard enriched yeast dough, you will need basic yeast bread ingredients such as butter, milk, eggs, and sugar. There are a few key ingredients I want you to make sure you’re selecting specifically in order to replicate the results in my carefully curated and tested recipe below.
DRY ACTIVE YEAST: be sure your yeast isn’t expired, and you’ll want to use active yeast and not instant yeast. If you have to use instant yeast, add it in with the flour.
OREOS: I use standard stuffed Oreos for all of my baking, but you can use a different “stuffed” if you would like. Just keep in mind that Oreo filling has oils in it, so Oreos with more filling means more oil which could affect the moistness of your dough. You can also use any flavor of Oreo, so feel free to change it up.
BLACK COCOA POWDER: you’ve seen black cocoa powder in my chocolate Halloween cookies as well as my chocolate Halloween cake. While black cocoa powder is not inherently spooky, it’s often utilized to replicate the deep darkness of the color black. Plus, it’s what’s actually in Oreos, so it makes these cookies & cream rolls taste just like you’d expect them to. You can find black cocoa powder in your grocery store or online.
OVERVIEW: HOW TO MAKE COOKIES AND CREAM ROLLS
Combine the crushed cookies + flour: since we’re adding cookie crumbs right to the yeasted dough, adding the cookies to the flour mixture ensures we get an even distribution of cookies throughout the flour. This will turn your dough a nice chocolatey color.
Make the dough: you’ll start by activating/blooming the yeast with warm water and granulated sugar, then add the rest of the wet ingredients (warm milk, vanilla, and an egg). To this, you’ll also add half of the flour/cookie crumb mixture, salt, and the softened butter before the remaining portion of flour/cookie crumbs. Just like biscuits and pie dough, adding the butter in pats to the flour will help create chunks of fat that melt in the oven and leave behind pockets of air (flakes!).
Allow dough to rest: traditional roll dough does not need two rises, but it does need to rest a bit before it will take to shaping. This rest period allows the gluten to relax so stretching and rolling it into a rectangle is a smooth and easy process.
Roll into a rectangle: roll the dough into a 9″ x 12″ rectangle, or 12″ x 18″ for a double batch.
Prepare and add the filling: the sugar/cocoa/cookie crumb filling is similar to the cinnamon-sugar filling you find in my traditional cinnamon rolls, but instead of cinnamon, we’re using black cocoa powder + cookie crumbs. We also swap out brown sugar for more granulated sugar.
There will appear to be a lot of filling and you may think it won’t fit into the rolls. It will! Roll the log up tightly, gather up anything that falls out, and sprinkle it on top of the rolls before rising.
Roll, slice, and allow rolls to rise: once you’ve filled your dough, roll it into a log starting with one of the long sides. Slice this into 6 evenly sized rolls, then place in a dish, cover with a towel, and allow to rise.
Bake the cookies & cream cinnamon rolls: you won’t be able to easily see the rolls turn brown since they’re already a darker color, but you will be able to see it just a bit.
Allow to cool briefly: give the baked rolls about 10-15 minutes to cool. While they’re cooling, you can prepare the cream cheese frosting.
Make cream cheese frosting: this is really easy and only takes a few minutes to bring together. You can make this at any time, but I find that waiting for the rolls to cool is borderline criminal, so it’s best to busy myself with another task.
VARIATIONS & SUBSTITUTIONS
CHANGE UP THE OREOS: as I mentioned above, you can absolutely use any kind of Oreo you like here. It would be fun to use a peanut butter or mint variety! You can then use my peanut butter buttercream or mint chocolate chip buttercream as a complement!
ADD SOME CARAMEL SAUCE: using my caramel rolls as a guide, you can add another layer of flavor to these rolls. Oreos + caramel is a lovely combo!
USE A DIFFERENT FROSTING: I have so many frostings for you to choose from, but I’d recommend vanilla buttercream, chocolate fudge frosting, or chocolate buttercream if you’re not into the cream cheese frosting you see in the recipe below.
Cookies and Cream Rolls Recipe
Ingredients
DOUGH
- ¼ cup (60mL) warm water
- 1 and ⅛ teaspoons (3.5g) dry active yeast or half of one packet
- ¼ cup (60mL) warm milk
- 2 and ½ Tablespoons (32g) granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 2 and ¼ to 2 and ½ cups (270-300g) all purpose flour be sure to measure properly
- 4 Oreos crushed
- 3 Tablespoons (57g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature and cut into 4-6 pieces
FILLING
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 8 Oreos crushed
- 1 Tablespoon (6g) black cocoa powder
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter melted
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- 2 ounces (57g) cream cheese softened to room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- ¾ cups (90g) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 2 to 3 Oreos coarsely chopped or crushed
Instructions
DOUGH
- Spray a baking dish1 with non-stick spray. Set aside.
- Place warm water in a large bowl. Sprinkle the yeast on top of the water. Whisk with a fork, wooden spoon, or spatula and allow to rest and activate for 10 minutes.¼ cup (60mL) warm water, 1 and ⅛ teaspoons (3.5g) dry active yeast
- Once the yeast mixture is active and bubbly, add the milk, sugar, salt, vanilla extract, and egg. Whisk to combine.¼ cup (60mL) warm milk, 2 and ½ Tablespoons (32g) granulated sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 large egg
- In a small bowl, combine the flour and the crushed cookies. Whisk or stir to combine.4 Oreos
- Gradually stir in the flour/cookie mixture. If using a stand mixer, use your dough hook. If mixing by hand, continue to use a wooden spoon. Add 1 cup of flour/cookie crumbs, allow dough to come together, then add the softened butter and continue to blend. When butter is mostly incorporated, add the remaining flour/cookies and blend until dough has mostly come together. It may still be shaggy, but it should pull away from the sides of the bowl fairly easily.2 and ¼ to 2 and ½ cups (270-300g) all purpose flour, 3 Tablespoons (57g) unsalted butter
- Turn out dough on a floured surface and knead for about 8-10 minutes, adding flour about 1 Tablespoon at a time if the dough is too sticky, until smooth and elastic. Your dough should resemble the surface texture of PlayDoh when it is done. You can continue to use your dough hook, if you prefer. Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes while you prepare the filling.
FILLING
- In a medium size bowl, combine the granulated sugar, crushed Oreos, and cocoa powder. Whisk or stir until well-blended. Set aside.½ cup (100g) granulated sugar, 8 Oreos, 1 Tablespoon (6g) black cocoa powder
- Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a rectangle approximately 9" x 12" in size. Dough will be very elastic, so be patient and keep rolling. There is no need to rush this step.
- When you have your rectangle, brush the melted butter evenly over the dough, leaving about ½" border around the edges. Sprinkle the sugar mixture evenly over the melted butter.2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter
ASSEMBLE AND BAKE THE DOUGH
- Starting with one of the long sides, roll the dough up into a tight 12" log. Use your fingers or palms on either end of the log to gently squeeze the log to "contain" the uneven ends. Using a sharp serrated knife and taking care to keep the seam side down, cut the log into 6 even slices. Don't worry if filling spills out.
- Place the slices cut side down in the prepared pan, gather any filling that fell out, sprinkle over the rolls, then press down gently to flatten slightly. Cover loosely with foil or a kitchen towel. Allow rolls to rise for 1 and ½ hours.
- When cinnamon roll dough has risen, preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC). Bake the rolls for 28-32 minutes or until rolls just start to brown on top. You can cover the rolls with foil to prevent browning, if desired. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes while you prepare the cream cheese frosting.
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- In a large bowl with a handheld mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese on medium-high speed until smooth.2 ounces (57g) cream cheese, 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter
- Turn the mixer speed down to low and add the powdered sugar. Add the vanilla extract and the salt and continue mixing until smooth.¾ cups (90g) powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, pinch of salt
- Spread cream cheese frosting onto slightly cooled rolls, sprinkle with Oreos, and serve rolls immediately. Leftover rolls stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days or in the refrigerator up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave for 8-10 seconds before serving. See notes section below for other storage and preparation suggestions.2 to 3 Oreos
Notes
- Baking dish: I like to use either an 8″ square baking pan or an 8″ or 9″ round cake pan or pie plate. If using a square dish, arrange them in 2 rows of 3. If using a round pan, place one in the center and the other 5 evenly spaced around it.
- Make ahead: this dough can be made the ahead of time through step 1 of the “assemble and bake dough” instructions. Cover rolls with plastic wrap and allow to rest in the refrigerator overnight or up to 18 hours. In the morning (or when you are ready to bake the rolls), remove them from the refrigerator and allow to rise in a warm environment, about 1 hour. Continue with step 2 in the “assemble and bake dough” instructions.
- To freeze baked rolls: baked rolls freeze well, up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and warm before enjoying.
- Two options to freeze unbaked rolls: parbake the rolls for 10 minutes at 350°F (177ºC). Allow to cool completely, cover tightly, then freeze. Remove the rolls from the freezer and allow to thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Finish baking for the remaining 18-22 minutes before frosting and serving OR freeze them after slicing and pull them out the night before you want to bake them and allow them to thaw and rise covered at room temperature and bake when ready.
- Working with yeast: for a comprehensive look at working with yeast in a recipe, see my post about how to bake with yeast.
Nutrition Disclosure
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.