Filled with the flavours of Cookies and Cream, this soft, buttery, sweet and rich Babka/Cinnamon Bun dough has all the beauty of a regular cinnamon roll but is instead swirled with crushed Oreo biscuits and topped with soft cream cheese.
WHY YOU WILL LOVE THESE COOKIES AND CREAM ROLLS
Deliciously soft enriched dough | Through curiosity I decided to see what it would be like to blend my regular babka dough and a cinnamon bun dough. The result is a super soft yet deliciously rich dough perfect for the decadent butter and Oreo filling.
All the flavours of Cookies and Cream | The rich butter and Oreo filling paired with the cream cheese frosting make this bake sing of the flavours of Cookies and Cream and that’s a flavour you really cannot go wrong with.
It’s a crowd pleaser | Everyone loves the smell, the sight and the taste of these Cookies and Cream Rolls. People just salivate looking at photos of them!
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BABKA AND CINNAMON ROLLS?
As mentioned I curiously testing the effects of blending both Babka and Cinnamon Bun dough recipes on this Cookies and Cream bake and the results are wonderful. However to appreciate the blend a little more, you might wondering what the difference between the two doughs are.
Babka Dough | Babka is a sweet yeast bread, much like a cake that is enriched with sugars, eggs, oil and spices. The dough is beautifully rich which makes it perfect for toasting the next day or when it’s gone a little stale.
Cinnamon Roll Dough | Cinnamon dough is enriched with milk and butter which makes them deliciously fluffy. The additional flavour is usually then added from the filling and of course the infamous cream cheese topping. It is also important not to get Cinnamon Roll and Bun confused as a cinnamon bun is glazed with the sugar it’s baked in vs a cinnamon bun which MUST have a cream cheese topping.
TOOLS YOU WILL NEED TO MAKE THESE COOKIES AND CREAM ROLLS
Mini Food Processor | I find these tools invaluable in a busy kitchen. They’re great for blitzing small ingredients like nuts or biscuits but also equally useful for cooking too making them a perfect all rounder must have gadget.
Large Rectangle Baking Tin | You’ll need to spread these rolls out to allow space for them to expand when they prove so a large baking tin is required. My tin featured below is about 40 cm long and 30 cm wide and it works perfectly!
Rolling Pin | Unless you’re happy using wine bottles a rolling pin is essential for rolling our your dough and getting it to the right even thickness all around. Most rolling pins are very inexpensive so you don’t need to break the bank to get one in your kitchen drawer.
Whisk | I love whisk! I use them for everything at the moment as they get all my batter super smooth and help mix everything in much quicker. You can use an electric whisk if you want to but I prefer hand whisking for this recipe as it gives me more control and you’re only doing it for a short while at the beginning so setting up a hand mixer is a lot of work for very little use.
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LOVE OREO’S? TRY THESE
I would love it if you tagged me @mykitchendrawer on Instagram if you make these Cookie and Cream Rolls. It’s the biggest honour to see my recipes come to life in your kitchen and if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to drop me a message. Happy baking!
Cookies and Cream Rolls
Ingredients
- 500 g strong white bread flour
- 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
- 240 ml hot water not scalding hot
- 1 tbsp salt
- 50 g caster sugar
- 60 g unsalted butter
- 60 ml milk warmed
- 1 egg
For the filling
- 50 g unsalted butter softened
- 200 g Oreo cookies
For the cheesecake topping
- 200 g cream cheese
- 30 g unsalted butter
- 250 g icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
For the dough
- Begin by whisking 130 g of the strong white bread flour with the yeast and stir in the hot water until combined. Cover with cling film or a tea towel and leave for approx 45 minutes, until puffy and bubbly.
- Once the yeast starter is ready, heat the milk up until it's warm enough to hold your finger in but doesn't burn, then add the butter and mix it around until melted
- Add the salt, sugar, warm buttery milk and egg to the yeast starter then stir until well mixed.
- Add the remaining flour and fold through until a sticky dough forms. Turn dough onto lightly floured work surface and knead for just a few minutes, until it becomes smooth, then transfer to a lightly oiled bowl and cover it to prove for one to two hours (until it’s doubled in size). MY KITCHEN TIP: You can choose to prove overnight here. This process slows down the rise and enhances the flavour.
For the filling
- Put the oreo cookies into a food processor and blitz to form a crumble
- When the dough has fully proved tip it out of the bowl and punch it down then roll it into into a rectangle about 16-inches in width by 28-inches in length.
- Spoon over the softened butter and spread it out leaving a 1 inch boarder around the edge. Sprinkle the crumbled Oreo cookies over the the top then roll up the dough from the longest side into a log. Wrap it in baking paper and transfer it to a baking sheet and let it chill for 15-20 minutes in the fridge.
To assemble
- Grease a large rectangle baking tin then place the chilled log onto a large cutting board and remove baking paper. Cut the log into 12 1 inch pieces and lay them in rows of three in the baking tin a few cm apart to allow room when they prove.
- Cover and let it prove again for 1 hour at room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C, then place the rolls in oven and bake on the middle rack of your oven for 25 – 30 minutes until well risen and golden brown.
- Remove from oven and leave to cool slightly for 10 minutes whilst you prepare the cream cheese topping
Cream Cheese Topping
- Whisk together the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl until soft and smooth.
- Add the vanilla and sift in the icing sugar and whisk again until smooth
- Scoop a tbsp onto each roll and spread across until all rolls are evenly covered.
- Sprinkle over any remaining crumbled Oreo Cookie to finish and serve.
- These rolls are best served fresh on the day of baking but will keep well if kept air tight for up to 2 days.
