First, let’s have a moment of silence while we all wipe the drool off of our chins. Done yet? Okay, me too.
Next, let’s consider how the original creator of this recipe gave something so divine looking such a completely un-divine name: “chocolate things.” No joke. That’s the official name. If I didn’t love chocolate more than almost anything, I may have skipped over the recipe altogether. I’m so glad I didn’t. This is a new favorite, and given that it is relatively easy to make, I would rate it 5 stars. All hail the chocolate things. Hip hip, hooray! Hip hip, hooray!
If you’re a bread maker, you should know that this dough is going to be very, very soft. At first, I figured I must have forgotten to add a cup of flour. I actually remeasured all the ingredients in separate bowls on a scale and compared that to my dough weight. Nope. The dough was right. It’s just a very, very buttery dough. Go with it. 
All that moistness translates into divine goodness after it’s baked!
Source: Cheeseboard Collective Cookbook
Chocolate things? More like heaven in food form.
Ingredients
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, heat the cream and buttermilk over low heat until small bubbles form around the edges of the pan. Pour into the bowl of a stand mixer. Let cool until just warm, then whisk in the yeast until dissolved. If using active (non-instant) yeast, let sit for 5 minutes. If not, you may skip this 5 minute waiting period.
- Add the flour, butter, sugar, one egg, and salt to the bowl. Using the dough hook, the dough should form a ball around the hook. If the dough is too soupy, add extra flour one tablespoon at a time (I had to add 2 extra tablespoons... I would not add much more than that!). Once the dough forms a loose ball, knead for 7 minutes or until the dough is smooth, silky, and elastic. Add the chocolate and knead just long enough to incorporate it. Do this step as quickly as possible as over mixing will result in broken pieces of chocolate and a discolored dough.
- Form the dough into a ball and place it in a large oiled bowl (I left mine in my mixing bowl). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and let it rise in a warm draft free place for 90 minutes, or until doubled in size. You may also refrigerate the dough and let it rise slowly overnight. If you do, let it rest at room temperature for 1 hour before working with the dough in the morning.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and roll it out into a 10 by 12-inch rectangle. In a small bowl, beat the remaining egg with a whisk. Using a pastry brush, brush a stripe down one of the long edges. Working from the other long edge, roll the dough up like a jelly roll. The egg wash will glue it together (reserve remaining egg wash). Using a sharp knife, cut the roll into twelve 1-inch slices and place on the prepared pan, cut side up, about 2 inches apart. Cover them with a floured kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place for one hour, or until the rolls are increased in size by one-third.
- Fifteen minutes prior to baking, preheat the oven to 350. Using a pastry brush, brush the tops and sides of the rolls with the remaining egg wash. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- You may eat these warm from the oven when the chocolate is gooey or you can let them set up a bit. I prefer the latter, but I realize it's impossible to resist the temptation to bite into the right-out-of-the-oven melted chocolate filled buns!
15 responses so far ↓
1 Carmel // Sep 15, 2011 at 1:57 pm
Okay, these look sooooo yummy! Must try them!
2 LeAnn // Sep 15, 2011 at 2:10 pm
WOW those look good. Like they’d be perfect for breakfast.
3 Rachel // Sep 15, 2011 at 4:44 pm
YES PLEASE! I only cook out of necesssity so can I request these for our future hang out time?
he he
4 Baking Serendipity // Sep 15, 2011 at 8:10 pm
Crazy name, but delicious looking chocolate
Definitely worth the attention!
5 Topper // Sep 16, 2011 at 3:03 am
I’m going to make these, except I’m going to call them “Buntastics!”
6 Reem | Simply Reem // Sep 16, 2011 at 8:07 am
DELICIOUSNESS!!!!!
wow what a perfect start od the day, if I can only have one of these plzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Yummmm…
7 Nicole@HeatOvenTo350 // Sep 16, 2011 at 8:38 am
I think I’d call them dinner.
They look amazing. I have a feeling I need to find time to bake this weekend.
8 Carolyn Jung // Sep 16, 2011 at 9:15 am
Wow, tender bread filled with ooey-gooey chocolate. I don’t know what you call these, but I’d call them pure fabulous.
9 Shumaila // Sep 16, 2011 at 9:50 am
I wiped the drool, but it keeps coming back again and again! That picture is seriously food porn at its best!! Thanks for sharing. Bookmarking it!
10 brighteyedbaker // Sep 16, 2011 at 9:51 am
WOW! I am definitley going to be making things. For someone who loves chocolate as much as I do
(particularly dark chocolate), the question is not if, but when…
11 Beth Michelle // Sep 16, 2011 at 11:12 am
Yeah I would say that this is certainly heaven in food form. Looks delicious.
12 Sasha @ The Procrastobaker // Sep 16, 2011 at 11:50 am
oh good grief. That photo speaks a thouussssanndddd words, and your write up just convinces me even further i simply MUST make these a part of my life sometime soon
13 Kel@The Kel Show // Sep 18, 2011 at 1:40 pm
God help me. I have all the ingredients!
14 Alexandria // Oct 22, 2011 at 1:20 pm
Can anyone say AHH! Heaven in Food Form is the perfect name for these! Let me just say, the prep time needed is about accurate so make sure you have the time to make these – believe me, they are worth the effort in the end.
15 Peggy // Sep 1, 2012 at 10:26 am
I’ve made these and the dough never turns out the way it’s supposed to. I still bake it and they are yummy! But the dough is so soupy that I need to add 1/2 cup more flour. And even then, it doesn’t really tighten up. I’ll keep playing with it (reducing some of the liquid might help, too) but the flavor is awesome!