Cookie Dough Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

Aerial photo of cookie dough cinnamon rolls in a baking dish.

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Cookie Dough Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

These small batch cookie dough cinnamon rolls start with my trusted cinnamon roll recipe and get a sweet upgrade with edible cookie dough in the filling and on top of the velvety smooth cream cheese frosting. The ultimate mashup of two beloved treats!

Prep Time20

Bake Time32

Resting Time1 30

Total Time2 22

Recipe Author Lynn April

Servings: 6 rolls

Ingredients

COOKIE DOUGH FILLING

▢ 1 and ⅛ cup (135g) heat-treated flour¹
▢ 1 teaspoon (3g) cornstarch
▢ ½ teaspoon salt
▢ 6 Tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
▢ ½ cup (100g) firmly packed brown sugar light or dark
▢ 2 Tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar
▢ 2 and ½ Tablespoons (38mL) milk
▢ 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
▢ ½ cup (112g) mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

ROLL 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
▢ 3 Tablespoons (57g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature and cut into 4-6 pieces

CINNAMON SUGAR FILLING

▢ ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
▢ ¼ cup (50g) firmly packed light brown sugar
▢ 1 and ½ Tablespoons ground cinnamon
▢ 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

Need to keep track of your ingredients?Check out my Printable Ingredient List!

Instructions

HEAT-TREAT THE FLOUR

Before you begin: since the recipe calls for 1 and ⅛ cup of heat-treated flour, I recommend treating more flour than you need to account for losing some to clumping due to moisture. I usually heat-treat an additional 2 Tablespoons per cup needed.
In the oven: preheat the oven to 300ºF (149ºC). Place flour on a baking sheet or in a baking pan and bake at 300ºF (149ºC), checking the internal temperature² at 2 minute intervals, and looking for a uniform 165ºF (74ºC).
In the microwave: heat the flour in a microwave safe container on HIGH in 30 second increments, then stir before checking the internal temperature² and looking for a uniform 165ºF (74ºC).
Allow heat-treated flour to cool, then sift into a small bowl to remove any large chunks. Discard chunks and return any excess heat-treated flour to your flour container (remember, you only need 1 and ⅛ cup/135g).

COOKIE DOUGH FILLING

In a small bowl, sift together the heat-treated flour, cornstarch, and salt. Set aside.
In a medium size bowl with a handheld mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar and continue to beat until smooth.
Add the milk and the vanilla and beat again on medium-high speed until smooth.
Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix until everything is combined, then add the mini chocolate chips and mix again until evenly dispersed.
Refrigerate the cookie dough while you make the yeasted roll dough. If you will be chilling the cookie dough longer than 1 hour¹, cover or wrap it tightly.

ROLL DOUGH

Spray a baking dish² 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
Gradually stir in the flour 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, allow dough to come together, then add the softened butter and continue to blend. When butter is mostly incorporated, add the remaining flour 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 cinnamon-sugar filling.

CINNAMON SUGAR FILLING

In a medium size bowl, combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Whisk or stir until well-blended. Set aside.
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar, 1 and ½ Tablespoons ground cinnamon
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 cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over the melted butter.
2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter
Remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator and break off about ⅔ of the dough. Set the remaining ⅓ of the dough aside.
Working with the larger portion of dough, break off small chunks of the dough and use your hands to flatten chunks into discs about ¼" thick. Place flattened chunks of dough right on top of the cinnamon-sugar filling. Keep flattening pieces until you have covered all of the filling. It's ok if there are some spots peeking out (use the pictures in the post as a visual).
Roll the remaining cookie dough into small balls to use as garnish. Mine were about 1 to 2 teaspoons in size (I made different sizes to mix it up). Keep them in the refrigerator until you are ready to use them.

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 30-32 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 and the cookie dough balls.

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, place rolled dough ball pieces randomly over the rolls, and serve 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.

Video

Notes

Chill the cookie dough: I like to make the cookie dough well ahead of time so that I can just pick up with making the roll dough. You can make and chill the cookie dough up to 3 days in advance.
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.