Honey Pecan Sticky Buns
Topped with a delicious gooey honey pecan mixture, these Honey Pecan Sticky Buns will magically disappear from your kitchen!
Can we talk food trends? I’m not talking trends like “eat your veggies” or the “cookie monster diet”. I’m talking those crazy trends that become borderline obsessions. I’m looking at you, cronut. Or (if it’s even remotely close to Autumn), I’m also looking at you, Pumpkin Spice Latte. Even years after the cronut took New York by storm, people still wait in ridiculously long lines to get one of these treats. In full disclosure, I’ve never eaten a cronut. I’m not opposed to them. But I am opposed to waiting for hours to get a pastry.
Speaking of long lines, my wife’s hometown in central Pennsylvania has a bakery with the most amazing cinnamon rolls ever. They make cinnamon rolls, sticky buns and quiches. That’s it. Oh, and there are a few cookies on the menu, too. And these aren’t just regular cinnamon rolls and sticky buns. These treats are bigger than your face. And I request them every.single.time we go down to visit.
But here’s the thing about this bakery. It’s only open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings. And they’re usually sold out of cinnamon rolls and sticky buns long before they ‘officially’ close at 11am. You’ve got to head out early to nab a sticky bun from this place…but it’s so totally worth it! (And unlike the cronut craze, you don’t have to wait in line for hours once you get there…you just have to go early.)
We haven’t made it back to my wife’s hometown recently, so I decided to whip up a batch of homemade Honey Pecan Sticky Buns here at home. These buns are a fun recipe to make if you like to bake. They’re essentially homemade cinnamon rolls, but you put a bit of honey pecan topping in the bottom of each muffin cup before baking. As the rolls bake, this topping heats up and bakes into the rolls. Once baked, just flip these bad boys out onto a plate.
This recipes makes 2 dozen Honey Pecan Sticky Buns, so make sure you have some hungry folks in the house! (These freeze really well, too.) These rolls might not be as big as your face, but they are still delicious and fun to serve to company. And you don’t have to stand in line for hours to get them either. Enjoy!
Have you ever waited in line for over an hour at a bakery?
Have you eaten an authentic cronut? Do they live up to their reputation?
Honey Pecan Sticky Buns
Ingredients
For the Honey Glaze
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 4 Tbsp honey
- 2 Tbsp water
- 1½ cups pecans chopped
For the Rolls
- 1 cup milk
- 1 Tbsp active dry yeast
- 3¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
For the Filling
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
For the Honey Glaze
- Using a medium bowl, cream together the brown sugar, butter and honey until well blended.
- Add water and stir until mixture reaches spreadable consistency.
- Spray or grease the sides of 24 muffin cups and divide the Honey Glaze evenly into the cups. Sprinkle 1 Tbsp of chopped pecans into each cup. Set pans aside.
For the Rolls
- Using either a microwave or small saucepan, heat milk until warm. (Note: The milk should only be lukewarm, not hot.)
- Stir yeast into warm milk; let stand for 5 minutes.
- In separate bowl or a countertop mixer, add the flour, sugar and salt. Stir until well combined.
- Add eggs and milk/yeast mixture; stir until well combined.
- Add diced butter to the bowl. (If using a countertop mixer, gradually increase speed to medium.) Mix for 4-5 minutes, or until smooth. (Note: Dough will be very soft at this stage.)
- Grease a large bowl with butter or oil. Place dough in bowl and cover with towel. Let sit in warm spot until doubled in size (~1 hour).
- Turn dough out onto a well-floured countertop. Fold dough several times and then let sit for 15 more minutes (covered). (Tip: This dough is soft and sticky. Don’t be afraid to use plenty of flour to help fold and roll it.)
- Meanwhile, using a small bowl, make the filling by whisking together sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon. Set aside. (Note: The butter will be used later.)
- On a well-floured countertop, roll the dough into a large square ~ 16”x16”.
- Brush the dough with the melted butter. Sprinkle the surface with Filling mixture, but leave a ½” border on all sides.
- Roll dough into a cylinder taking care to keep edges even. Press edges to seal.
- Gently roll/stretch dough into a 24” long cylinder.
- Slice the dough into 24 (1”) pieces.
- Place one piece of dough cut side down into each muffin cup. Cover lightly and let sit in a warm spot until dough fills each muffin cup (~20-30 minutes).
- Preheat oven to 360°F.
- Bake for 20-24 minutes, or until golden brown and center of rolls is completely baked.
- Let rolls cool slightly and then invert onto a plate for serving. (Tip: If the honey pecan topping stays in the pan after removing the bun, just use a spoon to collect the topping and drop it on top of the bun. If the topping hardens too much in the pan, just place the pan back in a warm oven for a minute or two.)
Ok – so these are just plain genius! I’ve never tried making sticky buns in muffin trays for one and that bit of honey pecan topping in the bottom is ridiculously genius! I’d stand in line for a ridiculous amount of time for these – I haven’t stood in line for a cronut yet – but Lil Shashi and I just might when we visit NYC this summer. BTW – have y’all had those rainbow donuts? I’m so intrigued by that bakery that’s only open Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings – that sounds like it could be a great marketing concept!
Oh, that honey pecan topping is dangerous, Shashi! As I was spooning it into the muffin tin, I wanted to just spoon one into my mouth every other scoop. Haha! Rainbow donuts? I don’t think I’ve had those? Are they similar to the rainbow bagel thing I heard about recently? Either way, I’m not sure I’m down for spending hours in line to get anything! I’m too impatient…haha! 🙂
These look phenomenal! I haven’t had sticky buns in the longest time, but perhaps I’ll have to try these for Easter this year. I really like the idea of baking them in a muffin tray, too! As for cronuts, I’ve had them in restaurants a couple times and they were pretty tasty, but I’m not sure they’re necessarily better than a good croissant or a good doughnut.
Oh, these would be great for an Easter brunch. I didn’t even think about that! And they are so darn easy when you just bake them in a muffin tin. At the end of the day, I think a breakfast brunch is the best bet. That way you can have croissants, doughnuts AND sticky buns! All of which have to be eaten fresh though…otherwise they are just sad.
Oh yes!! These are definitely calling my name! I’m almost drooling over here. LOL!
Haha! Don’t drool, Tamara! I know these involve yeast, but you can do it! 🙂
Hi David! I love pecan sticky buns! I was going to make cinnamon rolls this weekend, but you’ve changed my mind! There is no way I would stand in line for an hour for anything…I would rather stand in my kitchen making these delicious buns! The only problem is I will be eating more than I know I should (but that won’t stop me)! 🙂
I’m with ya, Dorothy…no way I would stand in a long line for food. I mean I love my food and all…but I’m too impatient for lines. Plus, like you said, I enjoy making stuff at home, too…so why not just make it instead? We may or may not have had to give half of these sticky buns to our friends to keep us from eating them all. Haha! Hope you guys had an awesome weekend! (We had a curling tournament at the end of last week, so I’m just getting back to work…)
David I love love good hearty breakfast and it’s a plus if it’s a sweet breakfast!! These buns look so good and that sticky honey glaze on top – pass me few please!
I’m with ya, Ami! Breakfast/Brunch is my favorite meal of the day for sure. I would save you a few of these, but they’re all gone…oops. Next batch though! 🙂
These sticky buns look amazing! I love pecans soooo much, especially in breakfast/brunch foods 🙂
I’m with ya on the pecans, Medha! We have to buy pecans in large bags just for breakfast baking. 🙂
Interesting topic, David! I wish one day we have a lavender trend, and you won’t consider me a lavender weirdo anymore but a trendy guy:) Could you imagine: Lavender cronuts (I’ve never tried them indeed), Lavender Pumpkin Spiced Latte, and finally Lavender sticky buns. What a beautiful world that would be haha! But if seriously, I’d love a couple of these bad guys right now. Could you close your eyes for a second – I’d love to demonstrate your an amazing trick – their disappearing:)
One day, I’ll consider you a trendy guy, Ben. And I’ll give you full credit for being on the lavender wagon before everyone else in the world. haha! 🙂 Also, I had no idea you were such a talented magician. I hope you guys had an awesome weekend up there!
Oh my gosh these are heaven!! I have waited probably close to an hour at a bakery before: Levain bakery in NYC for the giant chocolate chip cookies. Totally worth it! Never had a cronut before though!
Yup, I totally understand the Levain phenomenon. I mean, that’s when you know you have it made, right? You can’t bake/make the food fast enough to keep everyone happy. Score! Maybe I can start one of those trends I heard about from Montreal where bakeries pop up in neighborhoods and people just have to know about where to go and when to get there. It’s like Mission Impossible meets bakery. 🙂
David, those look really good. Would be OK I ate the entire batch myself? A local bakery started making cronuts once the recipe was published. Have you ever seen the recipe? It takes three days to make a cronut. Anyway, at first, the ones from the local bakery were fantastic. I could see why people craved them. And, by some miracle, I never had to wait in line for one. But then things changed, and the local cronut took a nose-dive. I suspect that they could continue to justify the amount of work, and started looking for shortcuts, thinking, apparenly, that Chicagoans would be too dull to notice the difference. Instead of filling them, they started slicing them and making them sandwich-style with some god-awful cream that tasted like pure, whipped sugar. They’re dead to me now.
Yeah, I did come across the real cronut recipe. I even printed it out thnking that I might try it sometime. But 3 days?!?! I mean I love baking and doing kitchen projects…but that pushes even my limits. Too bad to hear that your local bakery took the plunge. I see a business opportunity here, though. You should start making cronuts in your place. I’d stand in line at your front door for a cronut!
Oh my David, I am really drooling now! I can never resist warm rolls, now would you please send me some?!!!
I’m totally with ya, Manali! A warm cinnamon roll or sticky bun is pretty much heaven as far as I’m concerned! 🙂
I love these honey pecan sticky buns! Who needs to go to the bakery when you can make gorgeous sticky buns like these at home. Yum!!
Heck yeah! And the best part of making these at home, Dawn? You don’t have to stand in line. Haha! Hope you had an awesome weekend!
OMG….these look so amazing! I am instantly obsessed! Must get some soon!
Make up a batch of these bad boys at home, Kathy…actually, you have a bunch of boys, so you might need a double batch. Haha! 🙂
In my honest opinion, I still pick sticky buns over cronuts. The ooey gooey melty sticky buns, oh so yum! And speaking of lining up…I did line up when I went to Tartine in SF and Huckleberry in LA. However, the worst line up has always been Brenda’s. They open from 8am-10pm on the weekend; however the line is between 1.5-2hrs when you come around 10am. So yeah…not fun but worth every minute.
So I’ve never had a cronut which means that I can’t give a fair cronut vs. sticky bun comparison. But I do know these sticky buns rank up there as bakery quality breakfast fare! Hmmm…I’d definitely stand in line at Tartine. Even though I hate lines, I might just have to break down for that one. Hope you guys had an awesome weekend! 🙂
Honey and pecan are 2 things that go SO well together and these look incredible. I do feel like I have gained 4lbs just by looking at them haha, but nice for a Sunday afternoon treat.
I totally agree with you, Dannii! Honey + pecans = win. And you can’t gain weight just by looking at pictures. That’s a good thing for us, right? 🙂 (Also, we had to make sure to give away half of these so that we wouldn’t gain 4 lbs…haha!)
Drooling.. Wish I could grab one right now. Super delicious 🙂
Thanks so much, Kushi! 🙂
I have never actually had a cronut either and I don’t think I’d be inclined to wait in line for over an hour to get one. Your sticky buns look like they would be worth the wait though! I love the honey in here!
Yeah, waiting in line is so overrated, Rachelle! I’ll tell you what…if you want sticky buns, I’ll always keep some on hand. No waiting for you! 🙂
These are just off the hook, crazy delicious! WOW! Love this and no, I have never had a cronut. Ever.
I don’t stand in lines to advertise a restaurant or to get a trendy food item either. Have a great weekend and I know you have my address, so feel free to ship some of these bad boys West! #WolfpackBakers
I don’t mind trying famous or trendy restaurants, but I’m usually underwhelmed by the time I finally get there. Maybe it’s because the food has been played up so long that I just don’t find it lives up to the hype. But these sticky buns? Oh yeah, they live up to the hype! I’ll drop some in the mail soon…if I don’t eat them all first! 🙂