Super Moist Banana Cinnamon Rolls with Rum Glaze (vegan)

Once again, I happened to find myself with overripe bananas. I always overestimate how many bananas I can eat in a week. So, after some hunting around, I found a tasty recipe from Conscious Eatery. I used her recipe for the rolls, with a few alterations, and my own recipe for the glaze.

While the almond milk and vegan butter cools, and then the yeast is proofing, it is a good time to measure out the other ingredients so they are ready to go into the bowl.

 Once everything is combined it'll look a bit ragged at first...

 ... and then will come together into a smooth dough. It will be a bit sticky still though, look how it still sticks to my finger.

While the dough rests a little, mix together the filling: brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg

 Roll out the dough onto a well floured surface and spread on some melted vegan butter. Pour on the brown sugar mixture and spread it out evenly.

 Look at that pretty sugar!

Roll the dough up and pinch it closed. 

Turn it 90 degrees, so it is easier to cut.

Cut the log into 12 equal pieces. I find a sharp bread knife works best to cut through the dough without squishing it.

Lay the pieces in a 9x13" baking dish and allow to rise before baking. They will plump up and fill in the spaces between them.

After they rise...

Super Moist Banana Cinnamon Rolls with Rum Glaze
Makes 12 rolls

 

Rolls:

• 3 medium over-ripe bananas
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 2/3 c dairy-free milk 
• 3 tbsp Earth Balance or other vegan butter, cubed
• 2 tbsp unsweetened apple sauce
• 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (or one packet)
• 1/4 c sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 flax 'egg' (1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp water)
• 3 1/2 c all-purpose flour 
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Filling: 

• 3/4 c packed light brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 2 tbsp Earth Balance or other vegan butter, melted 

 1. Puree bananas and lemon juice together until smooth (chunks are usually okay in banana bread, but we want them super smooth in this dough or the texture will be off). Set aside. In a small bowl, combine flax and water and set aside as well.

2. Combine milk and butter and heat until butter is melted, either in a small pot or in the microwave. Add apple sauce, and allow to cool until very warm to the touch, but not so hot you couldn't hold a finger in it. Then add the sugar and yeast, stir, then let proof until frothy, about 5 minutes.

3. Add salt, flax 'egg', banana, puree, and 2 cups flour. Mix until combined. Then add the other 1 1/2 cups flour, cornstarch, cinnamon and baking powder. Mix together until dough forms. Add extra flour 1 tbsp at a time if it isn't making a good dough. It will be a bit sticky, but don't add too much extra flour or it will toughen your rolls, and we want these fluffy! Cover and let rest 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, combine brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small bowl.

5. Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and kneed for 3 minutes, adding flour only to keep from sticking. Roll dough out into a 16" by 20" (more or less) rectangle. Spread the melted butter out over the dough. Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture evenly over the rectangle, coming within 1/2 inch of all edges. Starting at a short side, roll the dough up tightly to the other end. Pinch closed.

6. Cut the rolled dough into 12 equal pieces, and arrange in a buttered 9x13 inch baking dish. Scoop up any brown sugar that fell out and sprinkle it over the arranged rolls. Lightly cover with a cloth, or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes. During the last 10 minutes of rise time, preheat the oven to 350 F. Remove cover and bake for 22-25 minutes, until golden.

7. While rolls bake, make the glaze. Pour over the warm rolls and let set. Serve warm.

 Rum Glaze:

• 2 tbsp vegan butter 
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tbsp almond milk (or other non dairy milk)
• 1 tbsp white rum
• 3/4 c powdered sugar

1. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.

2. Add brown sugar, milk and rum. Stir until sugar dissolves.

3. Remove from heat and add powdered sugar. Whisk together until smooth, and pour over rolls immediately.

*Note: My oven temp isn't always consistent, so to help make sure the rolls bake all the way through in the correct amount of time I usually put 8 rolls in a 9x13 pan and 4 in an 8x8 pan so they aren't so tight together. You could also just bake them a bit longer, but I separate them instead to avoid the outside of them getting over baked and dry. So if your oven is anything like mine you may want to separate them as well. 

*Other note: If you don't have brown sugar, or you think you do and then find out it is hard as a rock, you can just make your own! Just take the same amount of white sugar and add 1/8-1/4 tsp  molasses and beat together with a mixer. Or for the glaze you can just add both to the pot without premixing them since it's just going to be heated and dissolved anyway.