Sticky Buns with Pecans

When I was a very young girl, my mother taught me the joys and pleasures of sticky buns! Mmm!  I loved her sticky buns with pecans so much that I’d eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!  I watched patiently while she stirred the dough, let it rise, rolled it out, and let it rise again. It seemed like it took forever before I could eat one of these scrumptious rolls hot out of the oven! I don’t have her recipe, unfortunately, but I found one that’s pretty darn close!

I don’t know how anyone eats just one of these delectable morning rolls. They smell so good when they’re baking, tempting your taste buds long before they’re ready to eat.

 

I enjoy a cup of tea with my sticky buns with pecans.

 

Lucky for me, I had my new Breadmaker’s Companion Wood Spoon from Polder’s Old World Market on hand. It’s such a sturdy spoon, perfect for stirring stiff dough. The spoon is flat, so dough doesn’t get stuck inside the curve of the spoon. I love it!

 

After stirring all the dough ingredients together, you knead the dough. For me, this is the fun part! You can relieve a little stress while kneading dough and sprinkling a little flour in from time to time to keep it from sticking to the bread board. After kneading, you’ll put the dough back in a bowl and let it rise until doubled in size.

 

See my rolling pin?  It’s the first kitchen utensil I ever bought. I was in high school and I purchased it for 75 cents at a garage sale. I’ve had it ever since. I won’t tell you how long it’s been because I don’t like to reveal my age … but I have grown children so you can kinda figure it out.

 

Rolling out dough is therapeutic. In fact, any baking from scratch is therapy for me. How can you not feel good about making something as fabulous as sticky buns with pecans from just a few simple ingredients?

 

After rolling out your dough rectangle, you cover it with a sugar and cinnamon mixture, and sprinkle it with pecans. Starting with the long edge, carefully roll up the dough and pinch the other seam to keep the dough together. Then cut into 1-inch slices.

 

In the bottom of your baking pan, you’ll spread a layer of more sugar, corn syrup, and pecans. Then place the sliced rolls on top of this mixture. This is what makes them sticky!

 

Place the sliced rolls in a warm spot to let them rise. Be patient!  They’ll almost double in size. I usually pre-heat my oven to “warm” and then turn it off when I put the dough in the oven to rise.

 

Bake them in the oven until golden. You’ll immediately invert the pan so the sticky mixture stays on the rolls and doesn’t cool and stick to the pan.

 

Let the sticky buns with pecans cool slightly and enjoy!  They are so so good!!

 

Sticky Buns with Pecans

1 packet active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 cup warm milk
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 to 4 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons melted butter

For the Sticky Coating:
6 tablespoons softened butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons corn syrup

In a small bowl, stir 1/4 cup of the water and yeast together, then add the sugar and set aside. The mixture will become foamy; it takes about 10 minutes. In a large bowl, combine milk, remaining water, the honey, oil, salt, and then stir in the yeast mixture. Add the flour to the mixture, one cup at a time. The dough will be heavy and leave the sides of the bowl.

Lightly flour a bread board or similar surface and knead in the reamining flour for about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth. Place dough in deep oiled bowl, turning it over so all sides are oiled. Cover with a damp cloth and rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about an hour.

While dough is rising, prepare the pans. Beat butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup together. Spread it in two 9-inch round cake pans. Sprinkle remaining pecans on top. Set aside.

Punch the dough down and let rest for 10 minutes. While dough is resting, mix cinnamon, brown sugar and half the nuts in a small bowl.

Roll the dough into a 12×16″ rectangle. Brush it with the melted butter, sprinkle the sugar mixture of the surface and tightly roll up lengthwise. Slice into 1-inch wide rounds and set them in prepared pans, cut side facing up. Let rise in warm place for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and bake the rolls in center of the oven until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately invert onto a plate. Let cool and serve.

Recipe adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.