peanut butter banana cinnamon rolls.

Drooling yet?


I just had to make these rolls when I saw them on Baking and Boys. And since I had spotted bananas attracting flies in my kitchen, I had no reason not to make them.


The dough took ages to rise for the first proofing! So for the second proofing I placed them in a slightly warmed oven and thank goodness, the yeast was finally doing its job. The peanut butter filling got me in a fix. After mixing all the ingredients together, I had a stiff, un-spreadable paste which I eventually just flattened into pieces and smooshed them into the dough. I added sliced bananas too which turned out to be an ingenious idea because the peanut butter filling didn't become molten and gooey like regular cinnamon-sugar fillings when exposed to heat so the moisture from the sliced bananas helped to liquify it slightly. Those parts of the filling that didn't have any contact with the bananas baked up dry and crusty which is not necessarily a bad thing but, you know...

I think the all that peanut butter and sliced bananas overwhelmed the subtle hints of banana in the rolls. The taste was barely noticeable but I bet if I did a peanut butter frosting instead of a peanut butter filling, the flavours might pop more. Speaking of frosting, there is a recipe on her site for one but I chose not to because I find frostings to be tooth-achingly sweet and more often that not, overwhelm the rolls themselves. Although they do contribute to the aesthetic appeal. For the frosting recipe and another variation- a chocolate cinnamon filling, please head over to her site.


Still, kudos to Katrina for such an innovative recipe!

Peanut Butter Banana Cinnamon Rolls
recipe adapted from Baking and Boys
makes 9 rolls


For the dough:

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

1 large egg

2 tbsp lukewarm water *My dough was plenty sticky even without adding this

2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

2 cups + 2 tbsp all purpose flour, and more if needed

1 1/2 tablespoons light brown sugar

3/4 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon 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.  Beware- sticky dough!

For the peanut butter filling:

1/2 cup peanut butter

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened *I used cream cheese 

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon *I would omit this but its just my personal preference

sliced bananas (optional)

Mix all ingredients together in a medium size bowl with a spoon until smooth. I recommend that you combine the peanut butter, butter and vanilla and spread it over the dough first. After that, sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture over. Arrange banana slices on top. Roll up the dough, cut into 1 1/2 inch slices and place into an 8 inch square baking pan. Let them rise again until doubled in size.

Bake at 375F for 20-25 minutes. Devour!