Hot Chocolate Pull Apart Bread

Ok..I made a pretty darn good Cardamom and Orange Pull-Apart Bread the other day. In my usual fashion, I've become obsessed. What other flavors can I pull apart? Peaches and Cream? Bacon and Egg? Let me see...this is a Christmas post...how about a Hot Chocolate Pull-Apart Bread?!! Methinks Santa will approve.

Don't let the fact that this is a yeast bread scare you away...truly, it's not that hard, especially if you use a stand mixer. Come on. Give it a try. Your family will love you....

Hot Chocolate Pull-Apart Bread

1 cup milk

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup sugar

3-3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/3 cup dark cocoa

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 (2.5 oz) package instant yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)

1 egg, room temperature, slightly beaten

Filling:

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 cup walnuts or pecans

1 cup chocolate chips

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and divided

Glaze:

1 cup marshmallow crème

4-6 tablespoons half/half, divided

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Heat the milk 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup sugar in a small saucepan until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat. Let cool until temperature is about 110 degrees F (like bathwater warm).

In a medium bowl, whisk together 3 cups of the flour, salt, and cocoa.

In a large mixing bowl, combine milk mixture with yeast, egg, and 2 cups of the flour mixture; beat well. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has just pulled together, turn it onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes. (Alternately, just use the dough hook on your mixer and let the mixer knead the dough for about five minutes)

Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with a clean damp towel. Allow dough to rise until double, about 1 hour. In the mean time, process the brown sugar, nuts, cinnamon, and chocolate chips in a food processor until the mixture is well blended , the nuts are ground, and the chocolate is coarsely chopped; set aside.

Use a pastry brush to butter two 8-inch loaf pans; preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Roll out one of the dough halves into a large (about 12X9 inch) rectangle.  Brush the dough with half of the melted butter. Sprinkle half of the nut mixture evenly over the dough, leaving a 1/2 inch edge.  Use a sharp knife or a pizza cutter to cut the dough vertically into 4 strips, then horizontally into 6 strips.  Carefully, stack the strips 4 high. Place each stack of strips, cut side up, in a loaf pan. Sprinkle the top of the loaf with stray filling. Repeat with the other half of dough.

Cover the loaf pans loosely with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for about 30 minutes, and then bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until browned. Cool for 10 minutes before carefully removing from pan. Glaze while warm.

For the glaze, warm 3-4 tablespoons of half/half and whisk into 1 cup marshmallow crème.  Drizzle over the warm loaves. If desired, whisk 1-2 tablespoons warm half/half into ½ cup chocolate chips and blend until smooth. Drizzle the chocolate over the marshmallow glaze.

I used foil pans...after glazing the bread, you can place it back in the pan to transport.

Don't have marshmallow creme? Go ahead and melt some mini-marshmallows with the half/half over low heat, whisking until smooth.

I can't stop thinking about more pull-apart flavors...what sounds good to you? Eggnog? Sweet Potato? Bratwurst with Sauerkraut?

Visit all the other Christmas Week Peeps for more Holiday Baking Goodness:

■     Mini Sugar Cookie Houses aka Hot Chocolate Mug Perches by Cravings of a Lunatic

■     Eggnog Cookie Truffles by The Weekend Gourmet

■     Spiked Candy Cane Hot Chocolate by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks:

■     Gingerbread Texas Sheet Cake with Lemon Frosting by Chocolate Moosey

■     Swirl Cookies by Noshing With The Nolands

■     Caramel Apples by My Catholic Kitchen

■     Homemade Caramels by Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts

■     Puff Pastry Ravioli Mince Pies by Food Lust People Love

■     Mounds Brownie Cupcakes by That Skinny Chick Can Bake

■     Hot Chocolate Pull Apart Bread by The Dutch Baker’s Daughter

■     Sugared Grape and Phyllo Tart by See Aimee Cook

■     Taffy Tan Fudge by Mom’s Test Kitchen

■     Double Chocolate Pecan Cookies by Cooking In Stilettos

■     Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal Bread by Liv Life

■     White Chocolate Candy Cane Fudge by Rants From My Crazy Kitchen

■     Devil’s Food Cake Cookies by Try Anything Once Culinary

■     Cinnamon Whiskey Balls by Home Cooking Memories

■     Pumpkin Chiffon Pie by Jen’s Favorite Cookies

■     Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Dough Truffles by Cupcakes and Kale Chips

■     Candy Cane Blossoms by Like Mother Like Daughter

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The Le Cordon Bleu ceramic ovenware from Swissmar are all freezer safe, oven safe, dishwasher and microwave safe. The French-inspired Charmant Collection 5 qt. Rectangular Roaster has scalloped edges and is beautiful enough to go straight from oven to table! To enter to win a Swissmar Roaster, read the details and use the Rafflecopter below!

***This giveaway is for one Swissmar Charmant Collection 5 qt. Rectangular Roaster (winner's choice of color: blue, yellow, red, or white)! This giveaway is open to Continental US residents only . When the contest concludes, the winner will be chosen by random draw. The winner will be notified through e-mail and they will have 3 days to respond or another winner will be chosen.***

a Rafflecopter giveaway

***Disclaimer: This giveaway is being provided by Swissmar. #ChristmasWeek bloggers have not received product or been compensated as a part of this giveaway.***

Hot Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls with Marshmallow Glaze

"Everything in moderation...including moderation. "---Julia Child

Welcome to the December edition of the Monthly Improv Challenge, hosted by Kristen of Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker. This month our theme is Chocolate and Marshmallows. Yes. You heard right. Chocolate and Marshmallows. Now, for those of you who think (like I did) that Chocolate and Marshmallows was a thing all by itself, well you've got another think coming. As I write this, I can only begin to imagine all of the different ways Chocolate and Marshmallows are going to be transformed into deliciousness. Let's start with the deliciousness I made.

Hot Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls with Marshmallow Glaze

Ingredients:

Printable Recipe

1 cup milk

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup sugar

3-3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/3 cup dark cocoa

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 (2.5 oz) package instant yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)

1 egg, room temperature, slightly beaten

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 cup walnuts

1/4 cup cold butter, cut into 4-5 pieces

1 cup mini-chocolate chips

1/2 cup marshmallow creme

2-3 tablespoons half/half, divided

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Heat the milk,1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup sugar in a small saucepan until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat. Let cool until temperature is about 110 degrees F (like bathwater warm).

In a medium bowl, whisk together 3 cups of the flour, salt, and cocoa.

In a large mixing bowl, combine milk mixture with yeast, egg, and 2 cups of the flour mixture; beat well. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has just pulled together, turn it onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes. (Alternately, just use the dough hook on your mixer and let the mixer knead the dough for about five minutes)

I always let the dough hook do the work for me.

Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with a clean damp towel. Allow dough to rise until double, about 1 hour. In the mean time, process the brown sugar, walnuts, and cinnamon in a food processor until the mixture is well blended and the walnuts are chopped. Add the cold butter and pulse until incorporated.

Roll out the dough into a 12X9 inch rectangle (I like to do this on my Silpat). Sprinkle the walnut mixture evenly over the dough, leaving a 1/2 inch edge. Roll up the dough from the long side and pinch seam to seal. Cut into 12 equal sized pieces and place into a greased 9X13 inch pan. Cover and let rise until doubled (or refrigerate overnight).

Bake at 375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until browned. Remove from oven and glaze while warm.

For the glaze, warm 1-2 tablespoons half/half and whisk into ½ cup marshmallow crème.  Drizzle over the warm rolls. If desired, whisk some heated half/half into ½ cup chocolate chips and drizzle the chocolate over the marshmallow topping.

Wow...this marshmallow creme is tasty...I imagine it would be a good sauce for pancakes. :)

I knew these were successful when my husband wouldn't let me take them to work with me.....

Now check out what everyone else is making: