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+ servings
A tray of tall, soft cookie dough cinnamon rolls topped with thick cream cheese frosting, ready to eat.

Cookie Dough Cinnamon Rolls

This recipe engineers a hybrid pastry solving the structural and safety failures of viral trends by integrating the Tangzhong method for superior milk bread texture and heat-treating flour for an edible, safe cookie core.
Prep Time 3 hours
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 30 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 12 rolls

Equipment

  • Pot or pan (for Tangzhong and browning butter)
  • Whisk
  • silicone spatula
  • Kitchen scale or measuring cups/spoons
  • Stand mixer or hand mixer (for frosting)
  • Baking dish/tin
  • Sharp knife or unflavored dental floss (for cutting)

Ingredients
  

Tangzhong

  • 40 g plain flour
  • 200 ml whole milk

Dough

  • 680 g plain flour
  • 60 g granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 16 g instant yeast
  • 2 large eggs
  • 240 ml whole milk warm
  • 1 batch the tangzhong
  • 50 g unsalted butter softened

Cinnamon Filling (Cookie Dough Base)

  • 200 g unsalted butter
  • 120 g soft light brown sugar
  • 120 g granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 350 g plain flour Ensure this is heat-treated according to the safety section instructions above to create safe, edible cookie dough
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 150 g chocolate chopped (any chocolate works, I used a mix of dark and milk)

Cinnamon Layer

  • 400 g soft light brown sugar
  • 200 g unsalted butter softened
  • 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Frosting

  • 150 g unsalted butter softened
  • 150 g icing sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 300 g full fat cream cheese
  • Some whole milk

Instructions
 

Tangzhong Preparation

  • Add the flour and milk into a pot and mix these together.
  • Place this pot over medium heat and keep heating this mixture, whiles stirring, until the mixture becomes thick. This doesn't take long so don't walk away.
  • Leave this in your fridge to cool down for 5 minutes.

Dough Mixing and First Proof

  • Add all the ingredients for the dough into a bowl, EXCEPT the butter. Make sure to remember to add in the tangzhong you just made.
  • Mix all this together until a dough forms, then add in the softened butter and knead for 10 minutes. This will be a sticky dough, this is okay it's expected. If it is too sticky to handle though, you can add a little more flour.
  • Add this into a large lightly greased bowl, then cover and leave in a warm place to rise for 1-2 hours, or until doubled in size.

Cookie Dough Filling Preparation (Safety Protocol)

  • Whiles the dough is rising, make the cookie dough.
  • Start by browning the butter, so in a pot or pan add the butter. Place this onto medium heat and heat, whiles constantly stirring, until the butter turns a golden brown colour.
  • Pour this into a large bowl, then leave aside to cool down for 10 minutes.
  • After 10 minutes, add both sugars and vanilla into this. Whisk these together.
  • Add the eggs, whisk these in too.
  • In a separate bowl, add the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Mix these together.
  • Add this into the other bowl and mix everything together. Then add the chopped chocolate and mix this in.
  • Leave this aside until ready to use.

Cinnamon Filling Preparation

  • In a bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the cinnamon filling.
  • Leave this aside too.

Assembly and Second Proof

  • Once the dough has doubled in size, we can start forming the cinnamon rolls.
  • On a floured surface, roll the dough out into a large rectangle. The exact size isn't too important, you just want it to be around 1/2 an inch thick.
  • Spread the cinnamon filling over the dough. If it has become too thick to spread, heat it in your microwave for a couple of seconds first.
  • Add dollops of the cookie dough all over the rolled dough, then flatten all this down slightly.
  • Roll this up tightly. I prefer rolling the dough up from the short side, this gives you bigger thicker cinnamon rolls, but you will have less. If you want smaller ones, but more, you can roll the dough up from the long side.
  • Using a sharp knife or some floss, cut the log into even rolls.
  • Add these into a large tin or dish, rectangle or circle, whatever you want to bake them in. You might have to use 2 tins.
  • Cover and leave these aside in a warm place again. For about 1 hour, or just until they look puffier and have almost doubled in size.

Baking and Frosting

  • Around 15 minutes before you are ready to bake them, pre-heat your oven to 180c.
  • Once the cinnamon rolls are ready to bake, bake them for around 30 minutes. Or until they are golden brown all over, they may need slightly longer depending on the size of your rolls.
  • Meanwhile, make the cream cheese frosting.
  • In a large bowl, add the softened butter, icing sugar and vanilla. Mix these together, then beat for 5 minutes.
  • Add the cream cheese into this and beat.
  • This is going to be a thick frosting, we want to thin it out a little. So add 2 tablespoons of milk and mix this in. If you want a thinner frosting, keep adding more milk until you reach the consistency you want.
  • Once your cinnamon rolls have baked, spread the frosting on top of them whiles they are still warm. At this point I also added some grated chocolate on top, this is optional.
  • Leave these aside for about 15 minutes, to give a chance for the cinnamon filling and cookie dough to set up. But then you can enjoy!

Notes

Pro tip: Use a silicone spatula to stir the flour and milk over the heat to ensure you scrape every bit of the mixture from the corners of the pot, preventing localized scorching. Pro tip: After heat-treating your flour, let it cool completely and sift it to remove any small clumps that may have formed from the residual moisture during heating. Pro tip: If the dough is still too difficult to handle after eight minutes of vigorous kneading, let it rest for five minutes to allow the flour to fully absorb the liquid, then finish the final two minutes of kneading. Pro tip: When rolling the dough, use a gentle rolling motion to maintain the even half-inch thickness across the entire rectangle. Pro tip: When cutting the rolls, use unflavored dental floss. Slide the floss under the log, cross it over the top, and pull quickly. This prevents the weight of a knife from squishing the delicate layers of dough and filling. For seasonal customization: Add 1 teaspoon of ground cardamom to the cinnamon filling for winter, or add the zest of one large lemon and a teaspoon of fresh lemon juice to the frosting for summer.
Keyword edible cookie dough, milk bread, safe baking, tangzhong bread, yeast rolls
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