Fluffiest Chocolate Hazelnut Cinnamon Buns
Excerpted from Anna Cooks: 125+ Delicious & Achievable Recipes for Every Meal of the Day, by Anna Olson. Copyright © 2025 Olson Food Concepts Inc. Photography by Janis Nicolay. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited.
NOTES: The buns are best served the day they are baked. Unbaked buns will keep, well wrapped, in the freezer for up to 3 months; thaw in the fridge overnight and then proof for an hour before baking.
You can still tear into a batch of beautifully made fluffy cinnamon buns even if you don’t have a stand mixer to make the dough. To mix by hand, make the tangzhong as above and then combine everything in a large mixing bowl with a wooden spoon until it becomes too difficult to stir. Turn the dough out onto your counter and knead by hand until the dough comes together. You may need to dip your hands in flour to keep them from sticking to the dough at first, but resist adding extra flour to the dough as you knead—the dough will become springy and less sticky after you knead for about 5 minutes. Return the kneaded dough to your bowl, cover the bowl and proceed with the rest of the recipe.
Ingredients
Tangzhong:
- 6 Tbsp (90 mL) water
- 6 Tbsp (90 mL) 2% milk
- 3 Tbsp (24 g) all-purpose flour
Dough:
- ¾ cup (175 mL) cold 2% milk
- 3¾ cups (562 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp (10 g) instant dry yeast
- ¼ cup (32 g) instant skim milk powder
- 1 tsp fine salt
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- ¼ cup (60 g) unsalted butter, melted
- 2 Tbsp (30 mL) sunflower oil
Filling:
- ¾ cup (210 g) Nutella or other chocolate hazelnut spread
- ½ cup (115 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup (100 g) packed light brown sugar
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
Glaze:
- 1 cup (130 g) icing sugar
- 2 Tbsp (30 mL) 1% or 2% milk
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1
For the tangzhong, in a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk the water, milk and flour until thickened and just beginning to bubble, about 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.
Step 2
For the dough, whisk the cold milk into the tangzhong to cool it to lukewarm. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment, stir the flour, yeast, skim milk powder and salt. Add the tangzhong, eggs, melted butter and oil and mix on low speed until no more flour is visible. Increase the speed by one level and knead the dough for 5 minutes, until it feels elastic and pulls away from the sides of the mixing bowl. Transfer to an ungreased bowl, cover and let rise on the counter for 90 minutes, until doubled in size.
Step 3
For the filling, in a bowl, cream the chocolate hazelnut spread, butter, brown sugar and cinnamon together until smooth.
Step 4
Turn the risen dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll it out into a 16-inch (41 cm) square. Spread the filling to cover the surface of the dough. Roll up the dough, then cut the roll into twelve pieces. Place these, evenly spaced, into a greased 9 × 13-inch (23 × 33 cm) pan, cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel and let rise for 45 minutes.
Step 5
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Uncover the risen sticky buns and bake them for about 35 minutes, until they are a rich golden brown. Cool for 30 minutes before frosting.
Step 6
For the glaze, in a bowl, whisk the icing sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth. Use the whisk to drizzle the glaze over the buns. Serve immediately or cool to room temperature.
