There are trends for everything; fashion, colors, music, and even flavors. This past year’s dominating flavors? Cake batter, bacon, and Nutella. Just take a quick glance at Pinterest if you don’t believe me. It’s the Nutella one I’m interested in- dark chocolate-y, hazelnut gooeyness. Paired with my favorite baked breakfast of all time- cinnamon rolls- it’s sure to be a winner.
I tweaked my favorite whole wheat cinnamon roll recipe to make it dairy free, egg free, and soy free, then added the divine flavor combo of dark chocolate and toasted hazelnut. These dairy free cinnamon rolls are stuffed with not only rich brown sugar cinnamon filling, but every bite is loaded with melted dark chocolate. The toasted hazelnuts enhance the flavor of the chocolate and provide a surprise crunch with every mouthful. In case a dough filled with both chocolate and hazelnut wasn’t enough, I topped the cinnamon rolls with a chocolate ganache, hazelnut infused icing, and toasted chopped hazelnuts.
I keep hazelnut syrup on hand for my morning coffee addiction, but feel free to sub vanilla if you don’t have any. The hazelnut syrup gives the flavor an extra kick, but you won’t be missing out if you need to forego it.
Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Cinnamon Rolls {Whole Wheat, Dairy Free, Vegan}
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 c Silk Pure Almond Unsweetened Original
- 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast {or 1 packet}
- 2 1/2 c whole wheat or spelt flour {plus ¼ to ½ cup extra for kneading}
- 2 t baking powder
- 1/4 c sugar
- 1/4 t salt
- 1 t cinnamon
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ½ cup dark chocolate (vegan/dairy free) chips
- Optional: 1 Tbsp hazelnut syrup
Filling
- 3 Tbsp vegan/dairy free margarine/butter
- 1/4 c brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp cinnamon
- 1/4 cup toasted hazelnuts, chopped
Icing
- ½ c powdered sugar
- 1/2 Tbsp almond milk
- 1/4 tsp hazelnut syrup or vanilla
Chocolate
- ¼ cup dark chocolate chips
- 1 Tbsp vegan/dairy free margarine/butter
Instructions
Heat almond milk for about 40 seconds in the microwave- you want it warm, but not scalding hot. Stir in yeast and set aside.
Mix flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, cinnamon, applesauce, and hazelnut syrup, if using.
Add in almond milk and yeast mixture. Stir or mix in electric mixture until dough comes together. It’s ok if it’s still a little bit sticky at this point.
Fold in chocolate chips.
Spread a clean, flat surface with flour. Adding flour as necessary to prevent sticking, knead dough until it forms a nice smooth & slightly elastic ball.
Using a rolling pin, spread the dough into a rectangle. I usually end up with dough about 1/2 inch thick.
Melt margarine or butter and stir in brown sugar and cinnamon.
Spread the cinnamon sugar mixture liberally over the rolled out dough. Top with hazelnuts.
Starting from the skinny end of the dough rectangle, roll the dough tightly towards the other end.
Slice the roll into ~1-1 1/2 inch strips, discarding the ends if necessary.
Grease a 9×9 baking dish and line rolls in pan. Cover with plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate overnight.
When you’re ready to bake your cinnamon rolls, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and let the rolls come to room temperature.
Bake cinnamon buns for 20-25 minutes.
While cinnamon rolls cool, prepare icing and chocolate mixtures. To prepare icing, combine powdered sugar, almond milk, and hazelnut or vanilla. Stir until smooth. To prepare chocolate, melt margarine or butter, then stir in chocolate chips. Heat in microwave a few seconds at a time until chocolate melts enough to blend smoothly.
Pour icing and chocolate over cinnamon rolls.
Top with toasted hazelnuts.
These dairy free nutella cinnamon rolls may sound absolutely sinful, but they’re not as decadent as they sound. Each gigantic cinnamon roll provides 278 calories, 5.5 grams of fiber, and 7 g of protein- that’s a 10 calorie-per-bun savings over skim milk! When you eat the whole pan like I may or may not have done, that savings sure adds up.
This recipe is part of a campaign for Silk through FitFluential. All my own words, thoughts, and opinions of course!
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