Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: The combination of chocolaty Nutella, spiced cookie butter, and tangy cream cheese is a DREAM.
Texture: The rolls themselves are soft and fluffy, the filling is thick and rich, and the glaze is luscious and creamy.
Ease: Super easy but a little messy. I’ve even included two parts in the instructions where these can be made ahead of time to make your life even easier.
Appearance: I love the contrast the glaze on top creates! It’s especially pretty if you drizzle it on like I did.
Pros: Easy and incredibly twist on cinnamon rolls.
Cons: So bad but so good.
Would I make this again? Oh yeah.
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This recipe was birthed out of a really strange need.
I needed a photograph of dough for a totally unrelated project. A beautiful ball of simple dough is what I needed, but I didn’t want to spend hours creating that dough. I immediately thought of my favorite quick and easy 1 hour cinnamon roll dough and got to work whipping it up in the kitchen. A few minutes into kneading I realized I couldn’t possibly just make a dough for a photograph then toss it. That would be practically criminal. I HAD to use it.
But I wanted to make something new to share with you guys, too. So I rummaged my sweets cabinet (yes, there’s a whole section of my kitchen dedicated to sweet ingredients) and found an unopened jar of cookie butter. But I was also craving chocolate, so I had to find a way to add that to this mix. Less than an hour later these Nutella Rolls with Cookie Butter Cream Cheese Glaze were born. It was a sweet serendipity!
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Nutella Rolls with Cookie Butter Cream Cheese Glaze
Ingredients
For the rolls:
- 1 cup lukewarm milk
- 1/3 cup lukewarm water
- 1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) instant yeast
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3 1/2 cups (15.75 ounces) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
For the filling:
- 1 13- ounce jar Nutella
- 1/2 cup (3 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (if desired)
For the glaze:
- 1/4 cup cookie butter
- 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
For the dough:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, add all the dough ingredients and stir until combined. Turn the mixer on medium speed and knead for 5 minutes, or until smooth. Remove the dough to a floured work surface, cover, and let rest for 10 minutes. Make ahead: The dough can be made, covered, and stored in the fridge for up to 1 day before using. Refrigerating overnight will also result in slightly fluffier rolls!
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F.
For the filling:
- After the dough has rested, use a floured rolling pin to roll it out into about a 9 by 15-inch rectangle. Spread all over the with Nutella, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle with the chocolate chips and cinnamon if using.
- Roll the dough up, pinching with your fingers to keep it tightly rolled. Press the seam to seal before positioning the log seam side down.
- Use a very sharp knife to cut off the ends then cut the dough into 11 to 12 equal pieces. Place in 2 greased pie pans or a 9 by 13-inch baking pan. Make ahead: at this point you could cover and refrigerate the rolls overnight then let them come back to room temperature for 1 hour before baking.
- Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack for at least 5 minutes.
For the glaze:
- In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the Biscoff and cream cheese together until well combined. On low speed, gradually add the powdered sugar until combined. Add the milk until the glaze is thick yet pourable. Drizzle over the rolls before serving.
What is cookie butter? I live in South Africa. We don’t seem to have that product here. What can I use as an alternative?
You can just use more Nutella! Or you could make your own cookie butter: https://handletheheat.com/diy-cookie-butter/
hi!
can I use instant dry yeast?
thanks!
Did you see the note inside the recipe? “You can use the same amount of active dry yeast in place of the instant yeast. Simply allow the active dry yeast to proof for five minutes with the milk and water before adding in.”
Oh. My. Gosh. I don’t know if I can handle these! They look so amazingly ridiculous, I can’t stand it! Making ASAP!
You had me at Nutella. I soooo need to make this and ASAP.
What is cookie butter?
Oh my gosh it is the BEST! It is basically a spread like peanut butter or Nutella but made of ground up cookies. You can find it at most grocery stores now. Sometimes it’s labeled as cookie butter but “Biscoff” is a brand you can use as well.
Do you realize that every time you use Nutella you help bring the wildlife in Borneo and the Indonesian rain-forest closer to the brink of extinction? This oil ends up in products we use everyday — from cookies to cosmetics. It endangers wildlife from the Orangutans to Tigers and everything in between that try to live in these forests. Please do not use products with Palm Oil in them.
Hi Cheri! I appreciate your passion for this issue. If anyone is concerned I do have a recipe for homemade Nutella that would allow you to control the ingredients used! https://handletheheat.com/homemade-nutella/
These rolls look crazy good, stuffed with the nutella. The cookie glaze is so clever too!
Oh my goodness! Cookie butter AND Nutella! Divine!
After I slice the rolled dough, do I have to let them rise again before I bake?
Nope! That’s also what makes them so quick and easy. If you have extra time you can let them rise for 20 minutes to make the rolls extra fluffy.
Oh my goodness. How I wish I waking up to one of these with my coffee on this Friday morning! Delicious!
These are so baaad, but as you said yourself sooo good at the same time. I can already picture myself eating them, probably having the chocolate all over my mouth. Delicious.
These – look – dangerously – good. I am still trying to master yeast bread and getting better with instant yeast. Will have to try this and then give it away so I don’t eat it all.