Chocolate Superbowl Cinnamon Rolls

Three-Peat!

Yes, I have added these to the list of Superbowl eats, I will make them mini size for my Superbowl party.

Before we talk about how these beautiful cinnamon rolls came to be, let's spend one minute, or five talking about sports and the three-peat.

As you may already know, I love sports, to call myself a fanatic may not do me justice. To say I had to ban myself a couple of years ago from watching the NBA playoffs because I was becoming for a better word "un-lady-like" would be the best description of my antics.

And I mention the NBA because of one of the best coaches in the world of sports, Mr. Pat Riley. The handsome man behind the original three-peat and yes people, he was smart enough to trademark it! Bravo, coach Riley.

I bring up my favorite coach Pat Riley, love you Phil Jackson but I did not always like you, especially when you were coaching the Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls. Oh the days of agony caused to us Lakers fans by Michael Jordan, and oh how I wish I could forget, there was Phil Jackson, Mr. Zen,  sitting on the sidelines, barely any emotion on his face, almost a blank piercing stare, be it but for one thing, THE SMIRK, which spoke volumes. That smirk said, BOOM, Showtime is UP!

It took me years to get over the Chicago Bulls and Phil Jackson. Yes, I was still angry and disturbed some might say, dazed and confused, even when Phil Jackson coached the Lakers. I eventually got over it, but not until after Phil Jackson won his second championship ring as the Lakers head coach. But prior to ring 2 and Phil Jackson's own three-peat, I was the Lakers fan wondering who was the Lakers turncoat, who allowed Phil Jackson, Mr. Chicago Bulls on the Lakers parade float.

I repeat, if you didn't know it, I can be a tad bit fanatical about sports. Next to food, sports is my passion and like food, sometimes I have to cut back and go light.  And to quote Mr. Pat Riley, in one of my favorite books, Showtime, "shouda, coulda, and woulda, want get it done." I have lived by these words since youth. Time to Bake!

Oh and for those of you who might be wondering about the current status of the Lakers season, and the new generation of Lakers, i.e., Kobe and Dwight. I say to myself, I say self, what the heck is going on! And then I think of the late great Chick Hearn "This game's in the refrigerator! The door's closed, the lights are out, the eggs are cooling, the butter's getting hard, and the Jell-O is jiggling...." 
so says every team in the NBA who plays against the current Lakers. I joke, I joke, I kid, I kid...

OK. I got this idea for cinnamon rolls from three sources, hence the three-peat. Source one was Chef-in-training who lead me to source two,  No.2 Pencil, who finally lead me to source number three Duncan Hines.

After rolling the dough flat, spread the cinnamon-sugar butter mixture all over it.

 

Roll up the dough like a jelly roll.

Cut the jelly roll into 24 pieces and place into two 13 x 9 greased baking sheets. Allow dough to rise, covered until double in size.

Make the Milk Chocolate Cream Cheese Glaze while the cinnamon rolls are baking.

As soon as I removed the cinnamon rolls from the oven, I glazed them immediately.

  It's Showtime, so let's eat. Bring on the MILK!

Chocolate Superbowl Cinnamon Rolls

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours for dough rising
Servings: 24 cinnamon rolls

Ingredients:

1 box Duncan Hines Devils Food Chocolate Cake Mix

5 tsp. active dry yeast

2 1/2 cups warm whole milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. salt

5 cups all-purpose flour

Cinnamon sugar mixture (recipe below)

Milk Chocolate Cream Cheese-Glaze (recipe below)

Directions:

Mix yeast and milk until dissolved. Add cake mix, vanilla, salt and flour. Mix well. Cover tightly. Let rise for 1 hour. Punch down and then let rise again. On lightly floured surface, roll dough into rectangle about 1/4 inches thick. 

Spread cinnamon-sugar mixture all over dough. Roll up as if you were making a jelly roll. Slice into 24 equal pieces. Place in two greased 9x13-inch pans. Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled in bulk. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until golden-brown. Frost with chocolate cream cheese icing while hot. Allow to cool 5 minutes, and then serve.

Milk Chocolate Cream Cheese-Glaze

1 pack of cream cheese, room temperature

1 stick of butter, room temperature

1 c. milk chocolate chips, melted

3 c. powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy, add powdered sugar, vanilla and melted chocolate, blend well.

Cinnamon sugar mixture:

2 cups brown sugar

1 ½ tbsp. Saigon cinnamon

2 ½ sticks butter, room temperature

Mix well.