Sticky Brown Butter Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

Steps

1. 1Brown butter banana dough:
2. 2Start by browning the butter. Add it to a saucepan, and place on medium low heat, and gently stir. The butter will first melt, then become foamy and start to sizzle. Keep cooking until there are brown specks in the butter and it smells nutty. This process can take a few minutes. Do not cook beyond this point as the brown butter can burn easily. For reference, the weight of the butter after browning should be around 90g. Transfer the butter to a bowl, making sure to get all the brown bits, and keep in the fridge for about 10-15 minutes until reaches a spreadable consistency like room temperature butter
3. 3While the butter cools, prep the other ingredients. Mash the bananas, and microwave the milk for 20-30 seconds until it is warm to touch (~100-110F)
4. 4Add the warmed milk, mashed bananas, yeast and sugar to the bowl of your stand mixer (or a large bowl), and gently whisk. Rest for 10 minutes or until the mixture looks foamy (if using instant yeast, you don't need to rest or wait and can proceed to the next step)
5. 5Add the flour, egg, salt, and cooled brown butter from step 1 to the same bowl
6. 6Kneading by hand
7. 7Use a large wooden spoon to mix everything and bring it into a shaggy dough. Tip out onto a clean work surface, then use clean hands to knead the dough with a push-pull motion for about 15 minutes total. The dough will be sticky to begin with, but don't add more flour and keep kneading until it becomes soft, smooth and very stretchy. After the first 5 minutes, clean your hands to remove sticky dough bits from them. If the dough still feels sticky, add just 1-2 tablespoon flour and keep kneading. Eventually the dough will not be sticky, and should pass the window-pane testKneading with a stand mixer: Add the dough ingredients to the bowl of your stand mixer and knead using the dough hook attachment on medium high speed for 8-10 minutes, until the dough becomes smooth, pulls away from the edges of the bowl, and becomes stretchy enough to pass the window-pane test
8. 8Transfer the dough to a clean bowl sprayed with some oil, cover with cling wrap and rest in a warm place for 60-90 minutes until the dough has at least doubled in size, and springs back partly when gently poked with a finger. Work on the other components while the dough rises
9. 9Sticky maple sauce:
10. 10Add the maple syrup, light brown sugar, unsalted butter, milk and salt to a saucepan. Place on the stove on medium heat, and cook and stir until the butter has melted and the mixture starts to bubble. Then remove from heat
11. 11Line a 9x13" baking pan (should be at least 2.25" deep) with parchment paper on the bottom. Pour the sticky sauce into the dish and spread it evenly. Place the pan in the fridge for 20-30 minutes until the sauce firms up
12. 12Cinnamon sugar filling:
13. 13Mix the butter, light brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a bowl until combined
14. 14Assembly & baking:
15. 15Once the dough has risen, punch it down and transfer it to a clean surface dusted lightly with flour. Using your hands and a rolling pin, roll it into a 12x18" sheet, trying to keep the edges as straight as possible. The dough will be really soft so won't need much pressure
16. 16Use a spatula to spread the cinnamon sugar filling evenly across the sheet
17. 17With the 12" side towards you, divide the dough into 12 long strips (each strip will be 1" wide and 18" long). This is easiest done if you use a long acrylic ruler and a pizza cutter
18. 18Roll each strip tightly into a cinnamon roll, and transfer to the baking pan with the cooled down sticky sauce inside. You will arrange the rolls in a 4x3 formation
19. 19Once all the rolls are shaped, rest the pan in a warm spot for another ~30-45 minutes until they look puffed up and spring back partly when gently poked. In the last 20 minutes of the second rise, preheat your oven to 350F (conventional / no fan)
20. 20Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 22-25 minutes until the rolls develop a golden color and feel firm to touch. If in doubt, remove the pan from the oven and use a spatula to pull out one roll, and check it for doneness
21. 21Remove the rolls from the oven and let them rest for 10 minutes
22. 22Brown butter cream cheese icing:
23. 23Brown the 1/4 cup butter just like you did in step 1 of the dough, but don't cool it down
24. 24Add the room temperature cream cheese, heavy cream, icing sugar and hot brown butter to a bowl. Use an electric hand mixer to whisk on medium speed until the ingredients combine into a smooth icing and no lumps remain
25. 25Spread the icing generously on the warm rolls. Serve & enjoy!