Soft Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls That Melt in Your Mouth
If you have ever had a batch of overripe bananas sitting on the counter and thought about making banana bread, make these instead. Just once. You will not go back.
These banana bread cinnamon rolls take everything you love about a classic cinnamon roll and fold in the warmth and sweetness of ripe banana bread. The dough is softer than anything you have pulled out of the oven before. The filling is buttery and cinnamony and just the right amount of sweet. And the cream cheese glaze on top melts into the warm rolls the moment it hits them and makes the whole thing taste like it came from a proper bakery.
I made these for the first time on a slow Sunday morning and by the time they came out of the oven the whole house smelled so good my kids were already sitting at the table waiting without being asked. That has never happened before or since with anything I have cooked.
What You Need
For the dough you need 2 and a half teaspoons of active dry yeast, half a cup of warm whole milk, 2 very ripe bananas mashed until completely smooth, a quarter cup of granulated sugar, a third cup of unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled, 2 large eggs at room temperature, a teaspoon of vanilla extract, a teaspoon of salt, and 4 cups of all purpose flour plus a little extra for dusting.
For the filling you need 4 tablespoons of softened unsalted butter, three quarters of a cup of brown sugar packed, 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon, and a quarter teaspoon of nutmeg.
For the cream cheese glaze you need 4 ounces of cream cheese softened to room temperature, a cup of powdered sugar sifted, 3 tablespoons of whole milk, half a teaspoon of vanilla extract, and a small pinch of salt.
The bananas need to be truly ripe. Black spotted, very soft, almost too far gone. Those are the ones with the most sugar and the most flavor. An underripe banana will give you very little of either and the dough will taste flat.
How to Make Them
Start by activating the yeast. Pour the warm milk into a large bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the top, and add a small pinch of the sugar. Stir gently and leave it for about ten minutes. It should go foamy and smell yeasty. If nothing happens after ten minutes your milk was too hot or the yeast is old. Start again with fresh yeast before you go any further because nothing else will work without this step going right.
Once the yeast is active add the mashed bananas, the rest of the sugar, the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla to the bowl and stir everything together until combined. Add the salt and then start adding the flour one cup at a time, mixing as you go. When the dough comes together into a shaggy mass turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it for about eight minutes. You are looking for a dough that is smooth and soft and slightly tacky but does not stick aggressively to your hands. If it is too sticky add flour a tablespoon at a time. If it feels tight and stiff you have added too much.
Shape the dough into a ball, place it in a lightly oiled bowl, cover it with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap, and leave it somewhere warm to rise for about an hour and a half until it has doubled in size. A turned off oven with just the light on works perfectly for this.
While the dough rises mix the filling together. Stir the brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a small bowl and set it aside. Make sure the butter is genuinely soft, not melted, so it spreads easily without tearing the dough.
When the dough has doubled, punch it down gently and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll it into a large rectangle about 18 inches long and 12 inches wide. Spread the softened butter evenly over the entire surface all the way to the edges. Scatter the cinnamon sugar mixture over the butter and press it down lightly so it sticks.
Starting from the long edge closest to you, roll the dough tightly into a log. The tighter you roll it the more defined the swirl will be inside each roll. Use a sharp knife or unflavored dental floss to cut the log into 12 even pieces. Dental floss cuts without compressing the dough and gives you cleaner rolls.
Arrange the rolls in a greased 9 by 13 inch baking dish with a little space between each one. Cover loosely and leave them to rise again for 45 minutes until they are puffy and touching each other. While they rise preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Bake for 22 to 25 minutes until the tops are golden and the centers feel set when you press them gently. Do not overbake. These rolls should be pale golden, not deep brown. The moment they look done they are done.
While the rolls are still warm make the glaze. Beat the softened cream cheese until smooth then mix in the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, and salt until you have a pourable glaze. Pour it straight over the warm rolls and let it melt down into all the gaps.
Tips From Making These Too Many Times
Do not rush the rises. The first rise builds flavor in the dough and the second rise makes the rolls light and fluffy rather than dense. Cutting either short gives you rolls that are heavier and less tender than they should be.
Roll the dough as evenly as you can. Thicker in the middle and thinner at the edges means uneven rolls that bake at different rates.
The glaze goes on warm, not hot and not cold. Too hot and it runs straight off. Too cold and it sits on top rather than soaking in. Warm is perfect.
If your cream cheese is even slightly cold it will leave lumps in the glaze. Take it out of the fridge at least an hour before you need it.
Ways to Change It Up
Add a handful of finely chopped walnuts or pecans to the filling before you roll it up. They toast slightly in the oven and add a crunch against the soft dough that is really good.
Swap the cream cheese glaze for a simple vanilla icing made with powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla if you want something lighter and less rich.
Add a tablespoon of peanut butter to the cream cheese glaze. Banana and peanut butter in a cinnamon roll is as good as it sounds.
A sprinkle of flaky sea salt over the finished glaze cuts through the sweetness in a way that makes every bite more interesting.
Storing and Reheating
These rolls are best on the day they are made, ideally within a few hours of baking. Once they cool completely they start to firm up, though they are still very good the next day.
Store leftover rolls covered at room temperature for up to two days. For longer storage keep them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days.
To reheat, place a roll on a microwave safe plate and heat for 20 to 25 seconds. It comes back almost exactly to how it was fresh. If you are reheating several at a time, cover the dish loosely with foil and warm in a 300 degree oven for about ten minutes.
You can also freeze the baked rolls before glazing. Wrap them individually in plastic wrap and freeze for up to a month. Thaw at room temperature, warm gently in the oven, then glaze just before serving.
A Few Questions People Ask
Can I make these the night before? Yes and it is actually a great way to do it. After cutting the rolls and placing them in the baking dish, cover tightly and refrigerate overnight instead of doing the second rise. In the morning take them out and let them sit at room temperature for about an hour before baking. They rise slowly in the fridge overnight and the flavor develops even more.
My dough is not rising. What went wrong? Almost always the yeast. Either the milk was too hot and killed it, the yeast was past its expiration date, or the room is too cold for the dough to rise properly. Check the yeast first by proofing it in warm milk before adding anything else.
Can I use frozen bananas? Absolutely. Thaw them completely and drain off the liquid that collects before mashing. Frozen bananas are often even sweeter and more flavorful than fresh overripe ones.
Do I have to use a stand mixer? Not at all. Everything in this recipe can be done by hand. Kneading by hand takes a little more time and effort but it works just as well.
One Last Thing
These banana bread cinnamon rolls are the kind of thing people remember. Not just because they taste extraordinary but because of the way the house smells when they are baking, and the way everyone shows up in the kitchen without being called, and the silence at the table when the first bite happens.
Make them on a slow morning when you have time to enjoy the process. They are worth every single minute.
