Peanut Butter Banana Cinnamon Rolls and Chocolate Banana Cinnamon Rolls Recipe (The Great PBE #10 Contest Reminder)

I found out a little too late today that it’s National Banana Bread Day.  However, I was already in the middle of making these Peanut Butter Banana Cinnamon Rolls and really that counts—the banana is in the dough, so I’m counting it!

You can’t see the banana, but trust me, it’s there.  The smell in the house as the dough was rising and as they were baking shouted banana!  The peanut butter was just a nice kick to the rolls.  That and it was my small attempt to remind you about The Great Peanut Butter Exhibition #10-Things Are Heating Up recipe contest over at Nick’s Peanut Butter Boy blog.  I’m one of the judges and I’m seeing some great recipes coming in.  You still have time to enter.  The contest deadline isn’t until February 28 (this coming Monday).  Check out the simple rules of the contest on the link above!  Three winners will be chosen to win a six pack of Peanut Butter & Co. yummy peanut butter flavors.  Don’t forget to “heat things up” with your peanut butter recipes—as a rule, you should try to heat up your peanut butter concoctions—temperature wise and with a little spice!

Back to my cinnamon rolls.  For these my simple spice was just cinnamon, but I’ve been playing around for a good week now with some other things involving peanut butter and “real” spices.  Wait and see.  These cinnamon rolls are ooey and gooey as a cinnamon roll should be and they have a nice banana flavor as well as being slathered with a peanut butter spread full of aromatic cinnamon and a lick-your-fingers peanut butter icing on top.

Peanut Butter Banana Cinnamon Rolls, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!, adapted from a number of bloggers, which was ultimately adapted from King Arthur Flour (just the dough, the rest of the recipe is my own)

For the dough-- 

1  1/4 cup banana puree (about 3 1/2 sm.-med. bananas)

2 large eggs

1/4 cup lukewarm water

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened (next time I will just melt it)

4  1/4 cups all purpose flour

3 tablespoons light brown sugar

1  1/2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons yeast

Combine all the ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer, adding the flour last a cup at a time.  Knead in the mixer for a few minutes until the dough is smooth—it will still be sticky though.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for about 1  1/2 hours.  Divide the dough in half and using a generous amount of flour, knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic—only about 1 minute.  (You might use a bench scraper because the dough IS sticky, but it comes together nicely.)

For the peanut butter filling—I used half the dough for peanut butter rolls and half for regular banana flavored cinnamon rolls-with chocolate added—below I will list both recipes.

1/2 cup peanut butter

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Mix all ingredients together in a medium size bowl with a spoon until smooth.  (This was the amount for half the dough, so if you’re making all peanut butter rolls, double this.)  Spread over half the rolled dough

For the chocolate cinnamon filling--

Spread 2-3 tablespoons softened butter evenly over half the rolled out dough.  Sprinkle with brown sugar—between 1/3 and 1/2 cup.  Shake cinnamon over the sugar (about 1 teaspoon).  Then sprinkle about 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips over the top and roll up the dough using the longer side.

Cut the rolled up dough into about 1  1/2 inch slices and place them in a pan sprayed with cooking spray.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Once the rolls are all in a pan (I used a 9x9 for the peanut butter rolls and an 8x8 for the chocolate rolls), cover them loosely with plastic wrap and let rise for about 30 minutes. 

Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes.  Let cool in pan on cooling rack.

For the peanut butter glaze--

1  1/2 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons peanut butter

pinch salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 shakes of ground cinnamon

3 tablespoons milk (or to desired consistency)

Combine all ingredients together and stir until smooth.

For the powdered sugar glaze--

1  1/2 cups powdered sugar

pinch salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3 tablespoons milk (or to desired consistency)

Combine all ingredients together and stir until smooth.

Each half of the dough made about 9 rolls, not counting the smaller cut off ends that are still good for baking. ;)

Here’s the Chocolate Banana Cinnamon Rolls in all their glory.  Truth be told, though I like the peanut butter ones, I prefer the ones with chocolate—they are like having a slice of my favorite cake--the Banana Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Coffee Cake but as a cinnamon roll.  Yum!

You just might have to give these a try the next time you have some overripe bananas and don’t want to make muffins or bread again.