Buttery Banana Bun Bonanza

It's very rare that I make, eat, photograph and blog about a recipe all in the same day. In fact I've only done it about 3 times since I've been blogging. But this morning I made Banana Buns that I saw on No Onions a couple months back. All I can say is YUM!

I didn't follow her recipe exactly, since it's more of a concept and you don't have to be so exact. 4 B's- Biscuits. Butter. Brown Sugar. Banana. I added a little cinnamon and chopped pecans then brushed the biscuits with a little more butter and a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar. I also used Grands Buttermilk biscuits rather than the smaller ones, but use what you like or have on hand. Oh and I sprayed the pan with non stick spray so they didn't stick.

The result was an upside down nutty, caramelly, banana bun perfect for lazy weekends and for company. The butter, brown sugar and cinnamon melted down and made a lovely syrup on the buns once turned out of the pan. The bananas got soft and the pecans were crunchy while the biscuit rose beautifully and was fluffy but sturdy enough to hold up all the goodies on top. They were like individual gooey banana breads. I loved these and look forward to making them again. Next time I might try them with blueberries or diced peaches.

Banana Pecan Butter Buns

makes 8 buns

• 8 (1 tube) Grands Buttermilk Biscuits
• 4 Tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, cut into 8 equal pats
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans or 16 pecan halves (2 per bun)
• 1-2 bananas cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 4 teaspoons packed brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 Tablespoon butter, melted (optional)
• cinnamon sugar (optional)
• nonstick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray your muffin tins and get ready to layer ingredients.

Place 1/2 Tablespoon or two of the 8 butter pats into each muffin cup. Sprinkle chopped pecans over the butter, then place 3-4 banana slices over the pecans. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar and a pinch of cinnamon over bananas. Top with biscuit and press into muffin tin. Brush each biscuit with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Bake for 18 minutes or until golden and puffed. Allow to cool for a couple minutes before turning out onto a plate.

NOTE: The Grands biscuits are a little large but if you compress them with your hands around the edges of the biscuit as if you're shaping a patty it will fill the muffin tin perfectly. I like these as oppose to the smaller ones because they bake up taller and more muffin like.

One medium banana is enough for about 5 buns.