Sweet and fluffy with a touch of chocolate, these are the perfect dinner rolls to accompany a romantic meal.
Use small heart shaped pans for individual rolls, or put the balls of dough close to each other in a baking pan for a pull-apart variety. Before baking, try dusting the tops with flour or brush with beaten egg white and top with oatmeal…or simply coat the tops with butter as they come out of the oven.
Someone is going to love you for making these! (And you can thank The Rowdy Baker for this recipe!)


- 2 1/2 cups warm water
- 2 packages active-dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons molasses
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 3 tablespoons butter, very soft
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 4 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 1/2 – 3 cups all-purpose white flour
- In a large bowl, combine the water, yeast, and sugar. Let it sit for 10 minutes.
- Add the molasses, honey, buttermilk, butter, and cocoa. Mix well.
- Add the salt and the whole wheat flour. Beat for one minute.
- Add 2 1/2 cups of the white flour. If using a stand mixer, you will want to switch to your dough hook at this time.
- Knead by mixing on low for 5 minutes. If the dough is too sticky, add additional white flour a little at a time. The dough should be soft and elastic. If you are kneading by hand, put the dough on a floured board and knead for 8 minutes.
- Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning to coat completely.
- Cover with a towel and let it rise until doubled – about 1 hour.
- Prepare pans by greasing lightly or by spraying with an oil/flour mixture (like Baker’s Joy.) A 12-inch by 16-inch jelly roll pan works well, but you can improvise with whatever size pans you have.
- Punch down the dough and cut it into 24 equal pieces.
- Form into balls. If you are using small heart-shaped pans, make a cut on one side of the ball and use your fingers to create a rough heart shape before placing in the pans. Otherwise, place the balls of dough approximately 1-inch apart in prepared baking pans. If they are closer, the rolls will just be taller.
- Let the rolls rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
- Heat oven to 375 F. Bake for about 20 minutes. Place the pans on a rack to cool slightly before turning the rolls out.
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