White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Sweet Rolls

My favorite cookie of all time is a white chocolate macadamia nut. The macadamia nuts are such a treat on their own that they have their own little thing going on, and then there is the gentle flavor from the white chocolate. I mean, is there a better cookie than this? (No way!) I don’t think so! When creating my latest sweet roll recipe last week I wanted to capture that perfect taste in a dessert.

A sweet roll would help my favorite flavor linger a little longer than a cookie. The result of my delicious recipe project is a sweet roll that is so soft and flavorful that it tastes like a doughnut! Just like the cookie version, it too is my personal favorite! Another one of my favorites is these Pineapple Upside Down Cake Sweet Rolls.

I like to make my sweet rolls after dinner and allow them to rise in my fridge. To do this, all you need to do is set your ingredients out before you start cooking dinner. Cook, eat, and cleanup, and then start your sweet rolls! The basic dough only takes about ten-fifteen minutes of active time if you have a stand mixture with the appropriate attachments (paddle, dough hook).

Before you pull your mixer out, warm your milk. Be careful not to heat it too much or you may scorch your yeast! Gently stir 1 tablespoon of sugar and your packet of yeast into the milk. Set aside to allow yeast to activate. If you don’t see frothy bubbles, toss it and start over!

Time to grab that mixer!

Toss your butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and eggs into your mixer. Cream together with your paddle or whisk attachments for 1-3 minutes; until mixture is smooth. Slowly incorporate 2 cups of flour. Once this is combined you should have something that resembles cookie dough! As tempting as this is, don’t be eat it just yet, let’s keep going!

Change your mixer attachment to the dough hook.

Pour the milk mixture into your starter dough and top it with the remaining 2 cups of flour. Yes, all at once is fine, so long as you start with the milk first and then add the flour. The flour will keep the liquid from flying out of your mixer — it’s magic! Allow the dough to knead for 2-4 minutes while you prepare a large bowl for the transfer.

Lightly oil a large bowl, transfer the dough into your bowl, flip once, and cover. Allow dough to rise in a warm place for 1 hour.

The great thing about sweet rolls and cinnamon rolls is they are so versatile. Once you have perfected your dough recipe, the filling can be whatever you want! All you need is a moist ingredient and something sweet. Other than that, the traditional butter and cinnamon filling is just a suggestion. One we are going to ignore for this recipe!

Once the hour is up, prep your workspace with a large amount of flour. Since my workspace is wood, I add a little extra flour to keep things from sticking. The extra flour isn’t noticeable so don’t feel like you are going to ruin anything by using too much. There’s no such thing. You just don’t want this beautiful dough to stick to the table, use however much flour you need to in order for that not to happen!

Roll your dough into a large rectangle. Thickness doesn’t matter. That’s more of a personal thing. I like mine thin so the bread layer doesn’t take away from the flavor of the filling. Whatever works best for you, or whatever technique you need is fine.

After your dough is rolled out, then you need to prep your white chocolate. Work quickly with this portion of the recipe because the chocolate will harden if the dough/room is cool. Melt your white chocolate and immediately pour it onto the dough. Smooth it and sprinkle the macadamia nuts onto the top. Add additional white chocolate chips if you so desire. Immediately roll up your dough!

Slice the dough into 1/2-1 inch thick rolls using unflavored floss or a pastry scraper.

Lightly oil two 8-9 inch round pans. Divide your rolls into two groups. Set them into the pans leaving space between to allow for the rolls to rise again before baking.

If you’re like me, and making these yummy sweet rolls before bed so you can enjoy them in the morning, cover your rolls and place them in the fridge. The next morning your rolls should already have risen and filled the space between each roll. If not, that’s okay. Place a pan of water in the bottom of your oven and turn it on to 150-200 degrees. Place your rolls above the water pan and allow them to rise for 25-30 minutes. Once they have risen, remove rolls and the water pan from the oven so you can preheat it to the appropriate temperature without burning your rolls. Preheat to 350 degrees.

Bake your rolls for 25-30 minutes. You will know they are done by pressing gently on the middle roll. If the roll is firm or bounces back, they are done. If the dough sinks a little, bake them for a few more minutes.

Before serving, toss your frosting ingredients into your mixture or NutriBullet and blend until smooth and creamy! Top your warm rolls with icing and macadamia nuts before serving! — YUMMIES!

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Sweet Rolls

Click Here for the Printable Recipe

(This recipe uses a stand mixer with paddle and dough hook attachments)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Warm Milk
• 1 tbsp Sugar
• 1 packet Yeast
• 1/2 cup Butter
• 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
• 1/4 cup Brown Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 4 cups All Purpose Flour

Filling Ingredients:

• 3 cups White Chocolate Chips
• 2 tbsp shortening
• 1 cup chopped macadamia nuts

Frosting Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup Butter
• 1/2 cup Cream Cheese
• 1-2 cups Powdered Sugar
• 1/4 cup macadamia nuts

Directions:

Combine warm milk, 1 tbsp granulated sugar, and yeast in a small bowl. Set aside.

Cream butter, sugar, brown sugar, and eggs with your mixer using the paddle attachment. Slowly mix in 2 cups of flour.

Switch to your dough hook attachment. Pour in the yeast mixture all at once. Add remaining 2 cups of flour. Knead dough on a 1-2 speed setting until the flour is fully incorporated (about 3 minutes).

Transfer dough into a lightly oiled large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place for 1 hour.

{DON’T PREPARE FILLING YET! Roll dough before melting the white chocolate!}

After dough has risen for 1 hour, roll dough on a floured surface into a large rectangle.

In a microwave safe bowl, melt 2 cups of white chocolate chips and 2 tbsp shortening for 30 seconds. Stir and repeat. Stir well until smooth. If lumps remain, return to the microwave for 10 seconds, stir well.

Smooth melted chocolate across your sweet roll dough. Scatter remaining 1 cup white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts on top of the melted chocolate.

From the long side, roll your dough tightly.

Starting at the middle, cut dough log into 1 inch thick rolls with a dough scraper or floss.

Lightly grease two round pans. Divide your rolls in half, place half in each dish. Allow to rest in a warm place for 30 minutes before baking.

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Bake rolls for 25-30 minutes.

Prepare your cream cheese frosting by combining butter, cream cheese, and powered sugar. Mix until smooth. Set aside.

Once the rolls are baked, top each with frosting and garnish with remaining macadamia nuts. Serve warm.