To brown the butter:

• First, brown the butter that you will use for the cinnamon roll dough & the frosting.
  • Place 226 gm (1 cup) butter in a small stainless-steel or light-colored saucepan set over medium heat, stirring until melted. Allow to come to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, stirring frequently. Butter will start to make a crackling noise.
  • Eventually the crackling will subside, and a foamy mixture will surface to the top. As you continue to stir, you’ll notice the liquid butter underneath the foam will go from golden yellow, to tan, to brown, and the foamy mixture will have brown flecks throughout. Once you’ve reached this stage, pour butter into a medium-sized heatproof bowl, being sure to get all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
• Set aside 90 gm (6 tablespoons) of the browned butter to use in the cinnamon roll dough & place the rest in the fridge to solidify (you will use this later for the frosting).

To make the dough & assemble the rolls:

• In a small bowl, combine warm milk, yeast, and 12 gm (1 tablespoon) sugar. Set aside for 10 minutes, until yeast is activated & mixture is foamy.
• In a stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment, add remaining 67 gm (1/3 cup) sugar, flour, kosher salt, eggs, vanilla, 90 gm (6 tablespoons) browned butter, & foamy yeast mixture, and mix on low speed until mixtures comes together, about 2-3 minutes. Increase to medium speed and knead for 7-9 minutes, until dough is smooth, elastic, and pulling away from the sides of the bowl.
• Place dough in a lightly greased bowl & turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap & leave to proof in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, 1-1 1/2 hours.
• Before the dough finishes the first proof, prepare the filling (see instructions below). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper & set aside.
• Punch down the dough to deflate. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface & roll into an 18″x12″ rectangle. Spread filling evenly over the dough, leaving a 1″ border along one long side. Sprinkle chopped pecans evenly over the filling.
• Starting with the long side covered with filling, roll the dough into a tight log. Place the log seam-side down on the prepared baking sheet, & place in the freezer for 10 minutes to firm up a bit.  In the meantime, lightly spray a 9×13″ baking tin with baking spray and line with parchment paper, allowing excess paper to hang over the sides.
• Using a sharp, serrated knife, trim the ends of the log & cut into 12 equal rolls. Place rolls in the prepared baking tin, leaving space in between each roll to allow room to rise. Lightly cover with plastic wrap & proof for another 30-45 minutes, until rolls are puffy. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350°F. (Tip: now is a good time to check on the chilled brown butter. If it is hard, go ahead and set it out on the counter to come to room temperature to make the frosting. If it is still liquid, leave it in the fridge.)
• Bake for 30- 35 minutes, or until golden brown and an instant read thermometer inserted into one of the rolls registers 188°F.
• Spread frosting onto warm rolls. Serve warm.

To make the filling:

• In a small bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, stir together softened butter, brown sugar, spices, and vanilla until creamy.

To make the frosting:

• Remove the remaining brown butter from the fridge if you haven’t done so already. If the brown butter is too hard, fill a bowl with warm water & place the bowl of brown butter inside for a few minutes, until the butter softens.
• Place cream cheese & 70 gm (5 tablespoons) solidified and softened browned butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and cream on medium-high speed until fully combined & creamy. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add in powdered sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, & milk, and beat on medium-high speed until combined & creamy, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Reduce mixer to low speed & continue to beat for 1 minute to remove excess air.