Start your morning off on the right foot with these decadent Brown Sugar Pecan Sticky Buns, covered in gooey caramel and toasted nuts.
Happy pre-Friday! I have {almost} survived yet another week on rotations, and to be honest it has been SO MUCH FUN. Of course the fear of the unknown is definitely a thing, but I have to say I expected rotations to be a lot more scary and a lot less fun than I've experienced so far. Then again, I've only been doing this for literally two weeks so here's to hoping it keeps on being this great! Today, I have got the perfect weekend breakfast for you. Brown Sugar Pecan Sticky Buns. OH MAH GAH. These are seriously too amazing for words!
As the self-proclaimed queen of cinnamon rolls, I'm kind of surprised I had never gotten around to making sticky buns before. These start as all of mine do, with my easy foolproof dough, which is then filled with butter, cinnamon, and sugar. The game changer here is this amazing brown sugary caramel stuff on the bottom that's mixed with pecans! It soaks into the sticky buns and makes them soft, gooey, and absolutely irresistible. These can almost be too sweet, so the secret is adding a hefty pinch of salt to the caramel sauce and not skimping on the cinnamon. That little spicy bite is what really takes it over the top!
This whole thing started with these infamous caramel rolls in Montana. There is a breakfast place there that my in-laws LOVE that serves these massive caramel rolls the size of your face! As luck would have it, they are closed on Sunday and guess who flew into town to go camping on a Sunday... and also got back into town after driving on a Sunday. That would be me. I had to fly back home ASAP for my rotations, but since they had a few extra days there, I made my sister in law promise to bring me one back. And she did! So this is my take on the infamous Montana "caramel" sticky buns... though I have to say, I think mine are better! 😉
Quick sidenote, but you may have noticed there is a new addition at the top of the posts! To solve the age-long debate of "food bloggers need to stop writing their life story on every blog post and should just shut up" and us food bloggers going "literally, I do what I want," I have come up with a compromise. I'm gonna be adding a "jump to" link at the top of each post so those who want "just the recipe" can do that! And quit complaining! God forbid I make you scroll or something. 😉
Hope y'all enjoy these sticky buns! They're such a delicious take on the traditional cinnamon rolls, and you're sure to love them!
Looking for more sweet buns? Check out my Classic Cinnamon Rolls, Chocolate Peanut Butter Rolls, Peach Cinnamon Rolls, and Cherry Dark Chocolate Rolls!
brown sugar pecan sticky buns
Ingredients
- *for the rolls*
- 1 cup milk {dairy or non-dairy}
- 2 cups white flour {+ ½ cup separated}
- ¼ cup vegetable oil or melted coconut oil
- ¼ cup white sugar
- ½ tablespoon instant active dry yeast {about ½ a package}
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- *for the filling*
- 4 tablespoon unsalted butter softened
- ¼ white sugar
- ¼ brown sugar
- 2-3 tablespoon cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- *for the caramel topping*
- 4 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 tablespoon honey
- pinch of salt
- 1 cup pecan pieces
- *Note: for a vegan version simply substitute butter for vegan butter, and honey for more maple or agave syrup instead*
Instructions
- In a large nonstick pot, combine the milk, oil, and ¼ cup of sugar. Heat up to about 120F {warmer than body temperature but NOT burning hot} over medium heat, then remove from burner and sprinkle the yeast on top. Let the mixture sit for a few minutes to allow the yeast to activate.
- Afterwards, mix in the 2 cups of flour, cover the pot with a clean tea towel, and let the dough rise for about 1 hour.
- After the first rise, add in the salt, baking powder, baking soda, and additional flour. Knead until all the flour has been absorbed, and add more if needed. You want the dough to be soft and smooth but not too sticky! Using a sharp knife, cut an X on top of your dough {this helps it rise }, cover with a tea towel again, and let rise for an additional 3+ hours. You can let it rise overnight at this point, or you can also wait until the next step!
- While the dough rises, prepare the caramel. In a small nonstick pot over medium-high, combine the butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, and salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until butter has melted and everything is smooth and homogeneous.
- Grab a 9x9 baking pan, and line with parchment. Spread the pecan pieces in one even layer, and pour the caramel on top. Set aside to cool slightly until the dough is ready.
- After the second rise, lightly flour a clean surface, and dump the dough on top. Knead it for 2-3 minutes, adding more flour as needed. The dough should be smooth and easy to work with, so add flour if it's too sticky!
- Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a rough rectangle, making sure you don't roll it out too thin (somewhere between ½-¼ inch). Spread the melted butter/coconut oil all over the surface, and top with the sugar and cinnamon. Starting on the long side closest to you, roll up the dough.
- Cut the log into 9 even rolls, and place in your prepared pan filled with caramel. Cover with a tea towel, and allow to rise for 15 more minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375F. Bake rolls for 23-26 minutes, until golden brown and puffy.
- Let rolls cool for about 5 minutes, then flip pan onto a serving platter so that the caramel sits on top of the rolls. Enjoy!
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