Recently, I was traveling across the country and during my travel, would have to be in four different airports. Because of this, and the fact that my travel day started at the ripe ol’ time of 4am, I decided when I got to the first airport, I’d splurge on a food-court cinnamon roll. You know the ones — wafting that intoxicating cinnamon and sweet glaze smell throughout the air? Yeah, those.
It got to the point where I was salivating just imagining sinking my teeth into a giant, doughy cinnamon roll during my entire commute to the airport… only to arrive and realize the Cinnabon was no longer there.
Cursing my luck, I vowed I’d search at my second airport of the day for my beloved cinnamon roll… only to arrive in Salt Lake City and find… no cinnamon rolls. I was so bummed and craving one like crazy, but with no Cinnabon in sight, I was pretty much outta luck on the glazed pastry front. So I boarded my plane to Detroit where I searched high and low for my cinnamon roll… again, to no avail. WHY, cruel world? WHY did you have to play this terrible trick on me?
You see, usually I’ll bypass the Cinnabon on my jaunts to the mall. Usually I’m able to resist that tempting aroma and walk right on by, patting myself on the back for my strong willpower. But since vacation calories don’t count (I’m pretty sure that’s what science says), I was determined to indulge in my 5-thousand calorie gigantic cinnamon roll, only to never find one.
And in a bizarre twist of fate, as I was rushing to make my connecting flight, I happened upon a Cinnabon. The line was long and my plane was boarding my zone now. I struggled juggling the odds of missing my flight for a cinnamon roll and figured a $5 wasn’t worth the $500 or whatever I’d spend buying another flight, so I reluctantly boarded my aircraft, woefully cinnamon roll-less. It was a sad day in my tummy’s history.
But when I came home, I was inspired to indulge in my cinnamon roll craving, and thus these Chocolate Swirl Cinnamon Buns were created! Soft, buttery dough filled with gooey Nutella, chocolate chips, and a sweet cinnamon-brown sugar mixture, then topped with a swirl of chocolate CandiQuik… forget the food-court rolls, these are what dreams are made of!
And you won’t have to miss a flight to indulge in one, either! 
- 1 pkg (8-count) refrigerated crescent rolls
- ⅔ cup brown sugar
- 1-2 tsp cinnamon (to suit your tastes)
- ½ cup chocolate hazelnut spread (like Nutella)
- ¼ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 squares Chocolate CandiQuik
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Liberally grease a 9" round cake pan with cooking spray; set aside.
- Lightly flour a clean, flat work space (like a counter or cutting board). Roll out the crescent roll dough, pinching the seams together to seal it into one single plane of dough. Spread the plane of dough with the Nutella, leaving a small border around the entire perimeter of the dough. Evenly top with the brown sugar, then sprinkle with the cinnamon.
- Starting with the longest edge furthest from you, roll the dough in a log shape tightly towards you; pinch the final seam to seal. Using unflavored dental floss or a very sharp knife, cut the dough into 8 equal pieces; place the cinnamon buns into the prepared pan.
- Tuck a few chocolate chips into the cinnamon buns, then bake for approx. 10-12 minutes or until the buns are golden brown and puffy. Cool for about 10 minutes in the pan.
- While the buns cool, melt your Chocolate CandiQuik according to package directions, until smooth. Pour the CandiQuik into a small resealable plastic bag, seal out the air, and snip off a corner of the bag. Drizzle the CandiQuik in a swirl-pattern on top of the cinnamon buns. Serve immediately! These are best served immediately, or warmed up.
These cinnamon buns couldn’t be simpler to make and have such a fun and decadent twist with the Nutella center! I love the extra boost of chocolate from the chocolate chips tucked inside, and the great, gooey CandiQuik swirl on top — it takes this standard breakfast pastry to a whole new level of awesomeness!
Hope you enjoyed!!
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