Cookie Monster Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

These Cookie Monster cinnamon rolls are soft yeast rolls with bright blue dough, a brown sugar cinnamon filling packed with crushed Oreos and mini chocolate chips, and a cream cheese icing finished with more cookie crumbs. The recipe makes 12 rolls in a 9×13 inch pan and bakes at 350°F for 20 to 25 minutes.

Plan on about 2¼ to 3 hours from start to finish, most of it hands off while the dough rises. The one trick that matters most is using blue gel food coloring instead of liquid, so the dough turns vivid without getting sticky. Kids at the table always point at the bright color first, and that is half the fun of making them.

Pan Size, Rise Times and Oven Temp for the Blue Rolls

• Yield: 12 rolls, baked together in one greased 9×13 inch dish
• Time: 20 minutes prep, 20 to 25 minutes baking, plus a first rise of 1 to 1½ hours and a second rise of 30 to 45 minutes
• Oven: 350°F (175°C)
• Dough: 3 cups all-purpose flour, ¾ cup warm milk at about 110°F, one packet of active dry yeast, 1 egg plus 1 yolk
• Filling: ½ cup softened butter, ¾ cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons cinnamon, ½ cup crushed chocolate sandwich cookies, ¼ cup mini chocolate chips
• Keeps: 2 days at room temperature, 5 days in the fridge, 2 months frozen (unglazed)

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What You Need for Blue Oreo Cinnamon Rolls

The dough is a classic enriched dough: warm milk, active dry yeast, granulated sugar, one whole egg plus an extra yolk, melted butter, vanilla, salt and flour. The extra yolk makes the crumb tender and rich, which is what you want under all that icing. Blue gel food coloring is the only unusual item.

For the swirl you need softened butter, brown sugar, ground cinnamon, crushed chocolate sandwich cookies such as Oreos, and mini chocolate chips. The icing is cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and a splash of milk. If you like the Oreo idea but want a milder look, my cookies and cream cinnamon rolls use the same kind of cookie without the blue dough.

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How to Get Bright Blue Dough Without Streaks

Use gel coloring. Liquid food coloring adds water, so you need extra flour to rescue a sticky dough, and the color still comes out paler. Gel gives a strong blue with just a few drops. Start small and add more as you knead, because the color deepens a little as the dough rests.

Add the color once the dough is mostly mixed, not at the very start. It blends faster into a dough that already holds together, and you get fewer streaks. To check, pinch off a small piece and pull it apart. If the inside is the same blue as the outside, you are done. Wear kitchen gloves if you are worried about blue fingers; it usually washes off if you clean up right away.

After kneading, the dough should look like the ball above: smooth, evenly blue, soft and just slightly tacky. Put it in a greased bowl, cover it, and let it rise for 1 to 1½ hours until doubled. If your kitchen is cool, set the bowl inside the oven with only the light on.

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Proofing the Yeast and Kneading the Blue Dough

Warm the milk to about 110°F, which feels warm on your wrist but not hot. Stir in the yeast and wait 5 minutes. It should look foamy on top. If it does not, the yeast is old or the milk was too hot, and it is better to start over now than to wait an hour for dough that never rises.

Stir in the sugar, egg, egg yolk, melted butter and vanilla, then 2 cups of the flour and the salt. Add the last cup of flour gradually while kneading. Stop adding flour when the dough is soft and slightly sticky. Too much flour is the most common reason these rolls turn out dry. If the dough feels stiff, work in warm milk a teaspoon at a time.

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Spreading the Oreo and Chocolate Chip Swirl

Mix the softened butter, brown sugar and cinnamon until smooth, then stir in the crushed cookies and mini chocolate chips. Crush the cookies to small crumbs with a few pea sized bits. Big chunks tear the dough when you roll it up and leave gaps in the spiral.

Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 14 by 9 inch rectangle. Spread the filling all the way to the edges, leaving about ½ inch bare along the top long edge so the roll seals. Press the filling down gently with the back of a spatula so the cookie bits stick.

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Rolling, Cutting and Baking the 12 Blue Swirls

Roll the dough up tightly from the long side and pinch the seam. Cut it into 12 even rolls with a sharp knife or unflavored dental floss. Floss is my favorite here because it cuts clean without squashing the blue spiral. Set the rolls in a greased 9×13 inch dish, cover, and let them rise again for 30 to 45 minutes until puffy and touching.

Bake at 350°F for 20 to 25 minutes. Start checking at 20 minutes. The blue dough makes it harder to judge browning, so look at the tops and the gaps between rolls: they should be lightly golden and feel slightly firm when pressed. Overbaked rolls dry out fast, so take them out as soon as they are set.

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Cream Cheese Icing and the Cookie Crumb Topping

Beat 4 ounces of softened cream cheese with ¼ cup softened butter until smooth, then add 1 cup powdered sugar, ½ teaspoon vanilla and 2 to 3 tablespoons milk. It should be smooth and pourable. Add milk a teaspoon at a time if it is too thick, or a little more powdered sugar if it runs. For a bigger batch to spread thickly, my cream cheese frosting for cinnamon rolls works on these too.

Drizzle the icing over the rolls while they are still warm so it melts into every swirl, then scatter ½ cup crushed chocolate cookies and a few extra mini chips on top. For even more cookie flavor, stir some crushed cookies into the icing, or swap in my Oreo frosting. A simple cinnamon roll icing is lighter if you skip the cream cheese.

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When the Blue Dough Will Not Rise (and Other Fixes)

• Dough did not double: the yeast was not foamy or the room is cold. Move the bowl to the oven with the light on and give it more time before you shape.
• Dough is sticky and pale: liquid coloring was used. Knead in flour a spoonful at a time and switch to gel next batch.
• Streaky color: keep kneading. Streaks disappear after a few more minutes of folding and pressing.
• Filling leaked out: the roll was loose or the seam was not pinched. Roll tighter and leave the ½ inch border bare.
• Rolls are dry: too much flour went in, or they baked too long. Stop at soft and slightly sticky, and check at 20 minutes.
• Icing slid off: it was too thin or the rolls were piping hot. Thicken with powdered sugar and ice them warm, not straight from the oven.

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Overnight Cookie Rolls, Storage and Reheating

For a birthday breakfast or a weekend sleepover, assemble the rolls the night before, cover the pan tightly and refrigerate. In the morning, let them come to room temperature and finish the second rise, then bake. You get warm rolls with almost no morning work.

Leftovers keep in an airtight container for up to 2 days at room temperature or up to 5 days in the fridge. Warm a roll in the microwave for 10 to 15 seconds to bring back the soft crumb. To freeze, wrap unglazed rolls airtight for up to 2 months, thaw overnight in the fridge, warm them, then ice.

Want more fun cinnamon rolls? Try homemade chocolate cinnamon rolls, Nutella cinnamon rolls, or for fall, apple pie cinnamon rolls. For a Halloween party table, the blue rolls sit nicely next to monster eye cupcakes and chocolate Oreo cupcakes.

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Blue Roll Questions From Readers

Are these the same as monster cookie cinnamon rolls?

No. Monster cookies are oatmeal peanut butter cookies with candy pieces. These rolls are named after Cookie Monster: blue dough, chocolate sandwich cookies and chocolate chips, with no oats or peanut butter.

Can I use liquid food coloring?

You can, but the blue is paler and the dough gets sticky, so you will need extra flour. Gel coloring gives a brighter color with a softer dough.

How do I know blue rolls are done baking?

Check at 20 minutes. The tops and the gaps between the rolls should look lightly golden, and the rolls should feel slightly firm when pressed.

What cookies work best?

Classic chocolate sandwich cookies like Oreos. Crush them with the cream filling included; it melts into the brown sugar swirl.

Can I make Cookie Monster cinnamon rolls ahead?

Yes. Shape them the night before, refrigerate covered, then let them warm up and finish rising in the morning before baking.

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Pin the Blue Rolls for Your Next Party

Save this recipe to your Pinterest board so it is ready for the next birthday, sleepover or lazy weekend morning. If you bake a pan, tell me in the comments how your blue turned out. I love seeing them.