Secret Recipe Club: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Stuffed Cinnamon Buns

Hi friends!  I have exciting news to share.  You may have noticed that I've been rather absent from my blog this year.  I've been busy, to say the least.  And so to help me get back to regularly blogging, I was accepted to and joined the Secret Recipe Club.  The idea is simple.  Each month, you are assigned a random blog and then you get to choose a recipe that you'd like to make from it.  On a prescribed day and time, everybody reveals what they've made!

I'm part of Angela's Group.  She's the hostess of Group C and the blogger behind Big Bear's Wife.  This month I was assigned Melissa's Cuisine and boy did things look tasty!  At first, I considered making Grilled Pizza since it's always something I've wanted to try but then I decided I'd use this opportunity to make something sweet instead.  Melissa's blog is FILLED with cinnamon rolls and so I knew that I'd have to try one out.  But the question was....Funfetti Cinnamon Rolls or Cookie Dough and Chocolate Stuffed Cinnamon Rolls?  I went with the latter, knowing one of my husband's absolute favorite desserts are the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles that he often begs me to make.

I think that I was not supposed to have chocolate chips in my cookie dough stuffed cinnamon rolls now that I look back at Melissa's pictures so what I ended up with was a hybrid roll.  I don't buy margarine so I used something better...BUTTER!  Yum!  Also, lately in my cooking I've been trying to swap out some of the white flour with whole wheat.  Nutritionally I don't think it makes too much of a difference but psychologically it makes me feel better haha.  I also didn't reserve any cookie dough for the frosting (I was a bit overzealous in stuffing my rolls!) so I winged my own frosting by adding a bit of butter for well...buttery flavor.

Now, I knew that these cinnamon rolls would be rich but I had no idea of the sheer decadence that would explode in my mouth.  They were ADDICTING!  Chocolate chip cookie + cinnamon roll?  This is dessert for breakfast!  What's not to love?  I'm embarrassed to say that my husband and I each ate 3 in a single sitting.  Yup, good thing I added some whole wheat flour to the mix, huh? ;).

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Stuffed Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

For the Ready to Eat Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 Tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

For the Cinnamon Rolls:

• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 packet yeast (2-1/4 teaspoons)
• 4-1/2 cups flour (I used 1-1/2 cups whole wheat and 3 cups all purpose)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 stick (4 Tablespoons) butter
• cinnamon
• sugar
• 1 batch ready to eat cookie dough
• 2 cups chocolate chips

For the Icing:

• 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 Tablespoons heavy cream or milk

Directions

1. Make the Cookie Dough:  In a small bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in milk and vanilla. Add in flour. Stir in chocolate chips.  Store in an air-tight container in the fridge.
2. Mix the milk, oil, and sugar in a large pot. Scald milk mixture (heat until not quite boiling) and then let it cool to room temperature.  The cooling step is important because if the liquid is too hot, you will kill your yeast and your rolls will not rise!
3. Sprinkle yeast over milk mixture and let it sit for a couple minutes.  Stir in 4 cups of flour to form a sticky dough. Cover pan and let the dough rise for 1 hour.
4. After dough has risen, stir in remaining 1/2 cup of flour, baking powder, and baking soda until well combined. Divide dough in half. On a flour covered workplace (I use my counter), roll the dough out until it's about 1/8" thick and in a rectangular shape about 18 inches long and 12 inches wide.
5. Melt butter in a glass measuring cup or a small bowl. Pour half of the melted butter over the dough and spread using a brush. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon (the amount is up to you). Now top with spoonfuls of prepared chocolate chip cookie dough.
6. Roll dough toward you, keeping the spiral as tight as possible. Cut into 3/4 inch slices. Place in a greased pan. 
7. Repeat this process with the other half of the dough. 
8. Let the cinnamon rolls rise for 30 minutes. Then bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes.
9. While rolls are in the oven, mix together ingredients for icing.  Add more powdered sugar if the consistency is too thin.  If the mixture is too thick, add more milk or cream.  You want it to be the consistency of a spreadable frosting.  
10. Let the rolls cool for about 5 minutes before icing.  To really put these over the top and/or for the chocoholics in your life, drizzle with melted chocolate.  Eat them warm right out of the pan...and don't say I didn't warn you!

Make Ahead Tips: Once you have cut your rolls and placed them into the greased pan, you can cover then put them in the refrigerator or freezer to bake later.  To bake straight from the fridge, bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.  If frozen, thaw in the refrigerator overnight before baking.  Fresh cinnamon rolls hot out of the oven in the morning!  You're welcome!

Source: Slightly modified from Melissa's Cuisine