Samoa cookies are by far my favorite Girl Scout cookie. Do you think it makes a good cinnamon roll too? OHHH yeah! A light chocolate brioche dough stuffed with a toasted coconut, chocolate chips, and extra Samoa cookies; then topped while hot with a creamy caramel glaze. Top these off with extra coconut and crushed up cookies for an indulgent dessert you can’t deny.
The most important ingredient to get in this recipe is the cookies. I LOVE Girl Scout cookies. Is it Girl Scout season in your area yet?
Transmitting the flavors of this cookie into a cinnamon roll is the easy part, the dough is the true test of a good cinnamon roll. This part takes time. Have you made cinnamon rolls before? You know. My top tips when starting this recipe is to just make the dough right now, put it in the fridge, and forget about it until tomorrow. Have a popsicle or some hot cocoa and enjoy the rest of your day. This stretches out the time for you to prepare the other ingredients and it’s actually very beneficial for the dough to get that time to slowly proof and develop. You probably have all the ingredients on hand right now. What are you waiting for?
It’s day two, the time is nigh! Get your filling done and get your glaze done first. I feel like it gets you more excited about the end result when you can see these tasty components. This is all about getting your mise en place ready. The dough needs the all the love, if that isn’t obvious yet.
This is the FUN part. Dust your surface with flour and roll your cold dough out. TIP-when you remove the dough from the fridge, be sure to not de-gas the proofed dough. This could make it a bit harder to roll the dough and you want this process to be easy. Once your dough is rolled, spread the filling, roll it up, slice it up, and let it proof again until ready to bake.
Cinnamon rolls can be a true task without the right preparation. I personally made this in one day and it was stressful. Give yourself time, get your mise en place together, and enjoy these damn cinnamon rolls. They are SO good!
Samoa Cinnamon Rolls
For dough:
- 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup whole milk, warmed
- 1/2 cup water
- 3 eggs
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
For filling:
- 4 oz. Girl Scout Samoas cookies
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup demerara sugar
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup toasted unsweetened coconut
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
For glaze:
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preparation
- In a stand mixer equipped with a dough hook, combine together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, sugar, and yeast on low speed until well combined.
- Add in the cold water, warmed milk, and eggs to the batter on the second lowest speed until the flour is incorporated.
- Increase the speed on the mixer and let the dough mix on medium speed while you add in the cubes of butter gradually.
- Once all butter has been added, increase the speed of the mixer to medium-high speed and let the dough mix for 6 - 7 minutes or until the dough starts to pull away from the sides.
- Remove dough from mixer and place in a greased bowl, then cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, then let dough chill completely in the fridge. Overnight or at least two hours.
- Make the filling by combining the cookies, coconut, coarse sugar, and salt in a food processor. Pulse until cookies are fully crumbs. Remove crumbs to a bowl and fold in softened butter until incorporated. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350° F and grease two 9x13 baking trays.
- Once dough has been cooled remove it to a work surface dusted lightly with flour and sprinkle with more flour. Gently roll the dough into a rectangle shape using a rolling pin measuring 18x24. Do your best to keep it as even rectangle as possible and use extra flour when needed.
- Dust off excess flour with a pastry brush and spread the cookie filling inside from edge to edge. If your filling seizes up, put in the microwave for 5-second increments.
- Sprinkle evenly with chocolate chips
- Once the filling is spread, roll up your dough from the side closest to you slowly and evenly. Cut off the excess dough on either end after it's rolled then measure out 16 even pieces. Use a serrated knife or flavorless floss to cut each and place into prepared baking pan then cover with foil.
- Let rolls rest until doubled in size (around 1 hour) then immediately place in the oven covered to bake for 15 minutes covered, then another 15 minutes uncovered.
- Make the glaze while the rolls are baking whisking together all the ingredients in a pan over medium heat until smooth.
- Glaze your hot cinnamon rolls with the glaze and crushed cookies, then let them cool for 10 minutes.