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Cinnamon Sticky Buns Recipe

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Cinnamon Sticky Buns

"Elise, I absolutely forbid you from making these again," exclaimed my father in exasperation after his fifth sticky bun from this batch. "That good, eh? I'm glad you like them," I answered smiling. We finally had to freeze the few remaining, lest we completely destroy our appetites for the entire day. The problem with these sticky buns, loaded with melted brown sugar and pecans, is that they are irresistible. And, once you have one, you must have another. The recipe is adapted from this month's (February, 2006) Oprah Magazine. (It does make you wonder, with Oprah's ongoing emphasis on weight-loss, the logic of publishing recipes like these. But then again, moderation is the key, and if you are going to eat something sweet, better make it good!)

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Cinnamon Sticky Buns Recipe

Ingredients

Dough:
1/4 cup warm water (105° to 115°)
1 (1/4-ounce) package active dry yeast
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup milk
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
3 large egg yolks
1 Tbsp. finely grated orange zest
1 1/4 teaspoon. salt
4 to 4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

Filling:
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter

Topping:
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
3 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. light corn syrup
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) coarsely chopped pecans

Method

1 Make the dough. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine warm water, yeast and 1 tsp. sugar. Stir to dissolve and let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes. Here's a good photo and description of what the yeast should look like after several minutes.

Add milk, butter, remaining sugar, egg yolks, orange zest, salt and 3 cups flour. Mix on low speed until blended. Switch to a dough hook and then, again on low speed, slowly incorporate the remaining 1 cup of flour. Increase speed to medium, kneading dough until smooth and slightly sticky (adding a little more flour if too wet), 3 to 5 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball and place in a large, buttered bowl. Turn dough over in bowl to coat with the butter from the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour (or 2 hours if not in an entirely warm place). After the dough has risen, punch down. Turn out onto a lightly floured cutting board and let sit 20 minutes.

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2 Make the filling. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Melt butter; keep separate.

3 Roll dough out into a 12" x 18" rectangle. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Starting with the long side, roll dough into a cylinder. Place seam side down on a flat surface and cut crosswise into 15 slices.

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4 Make the topping. In a 1-quart saucepan, combine brown sugar, butter, honey and corn syrup over low heat; stir until sugar and butter are melted. Pour mixture into a greased 9" x 13" pan and sprinkle pecans on top.

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5 Place dough slices, flat side down, on top of prepared topping. Crowd them so they touch. Cover with plastic wrap, leaving room for the buns to rise, and refrigerate overnight.

6 Remove the rolls from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature while the oven pre-heats. Preheat oven to 375°. Bake buns until golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove pan from oven and immediately (and carefully as not to spill hot topping on your toes!) invert onto a serving tray or baking dish. Let buns cool slightly and serve warm.

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Posted by Elise on Feb 1, 2006 and indexed Cinnamon, Pastry, Rolls, Sticky Buns

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Comments

You, ma'am, roll twenties.

Posted by: Bergamot on January 31, 2006 11:50 PM

Hi, Elise
I look forward to checking your recipe each day. Have tried many -- all good. I like the layout of your site -- very attractive.

Norma

Posted by: Norma Brach on February 1, 2006 5:40 AM

Do they have to be refrigerated overnight or is this just a convenience for people who want them first thing in the morning? If they aren't refigerated, how long would they need to rise at room temperature?

Thanks, they look awesome.

Posted by: Elizabeth on February 1, 2006 7:04 AM

Thanks Elise! That looks and sounds just fabulous! I love your anecdotes too. :-) The step by step pictures are wonderful (and I know it must be a pain to do.) Now I'm trying to figure out how to make it and NOT eat 5 in a row!

Posted by: Meilin on February 1, 2006 10:44 AM

I wish that you would put the nutritional informaion on these recipes

Posted by: Donna Murawski on February 1, 2006 10:44 AM

sticky buns=heaven
love the step by step photos on this one, i can just smell the yeasty dough :)

Posted by: vanessa on February 1, 2006 10:53 AM

These are also good with some raisins either in the roll or with the pecans, or both! My familiy makes these for christmas morining breakfast every year.

Posted by: Robin on February 1, 2006 10:57 AM

Oh my goodness.

My Mom used to make these and bread. I'd come home from school and the smell would be wafting out of the kitchen doorway. The decision between a hot sticky bun and a piece of warm white honey bread with butter was excrutiating! Thanks for the memories.

Posted by: Ruby Lake on February 1, 2006 11:05 AM

Hi Bergamot - thank you!

Hi Norma - thank you for coming by so often. I don't always have a new recipe posted, some days I'm less busy than others, so please don't be disappointed if you don't see a new one every day.

Hi Elizabeth - they will hold their shape better if refrigerated, and they will rise in the fridge. Just put them in for a couple of hours. It is most convenient to get them ready the night before because then you can have them ready to go in the morning.

Hi Meilin - I think the trick is to have lots of kids around or people to give them to. Here we have only 3 adults. Too much temptation!

Hi Donna - I would put the nutritional info up if 1) I knew how to do it, and 2) I had the time to do it, given all the time that goes into testing the recipes, photographing the process and results, and writing about them. There's just me here, doing everything. There are sites where you can go and figure out the nutritional info on your own, if it is important to you. (Don't know the URLs, you'll have to look for them.) For this recipe I would say - high sugar, high carb, high fat, low protein.

Hi Vanessa - heaven it is, indeed.

Hi Robin - ah yes, raisins would be a nice addition, thanks for the suggestion!

Hi Ruby - aren't moms the best? You are very welcome.

Posted by: elise [TypeKey Profile Page] on February 1, 2006 11:47 AM

Elise, these sound similar to the ones I learned to make with my grandmother and sound just as tasty. Something you might try for slicing the rolls is dental floss. It sounds odd, but I have had a lot of luck with it. You lift the roll and slide the floss under to your desired size, then pull the ends past each other to cut off a roll. Unwaxed, unflavored floss is better but it all works. Makes the cut nice and even too. Thanks for all the great recipes.

Posted by: Jane on February 1, 2006 1:22 PM

This reminds me of a very funny story of my mom's. Her mother-in-law makes AMAZING cinnamon rolls (always with pecans from the family trees!), and when my parents were first married my mom got the recipe so that she could surprise my dad. They came out great, but took a lot of time.

When my grandmother asked her how it had gone, she said, "Great -- but after I cut the dough into strips, it took forever to roll each one up. And I had a hard time lining up the raisins on each strip without them falling off!"

Luckily, my mom is good at laughing at herself -- because over 30 years later, my grandmother still tells the story of my mom's long-way-around. Thanks for the recipe, BTW -- sounds like a good use for the family pecans I have in my freezer.

Posted by: beckiwithani on February 1, 2006 2:56 PM

I don't have an electric mixer. I only have a hand-held one. Would I still be able to make it? Just reading your recipe is making my tummy growl.
Thanks

Posted by: Annie on February 1, 2006 3:01 PM

Hi Jane - dental floss, what a brilliant idea! Thanks for sharing.

Hi Becki With Ani - Great story. That's hilarious. I can just imagine it!

Hi Annie - the problem is that at some point the dough gets way too thick to deal with. Even my KitchenAid (the entry level one) struggles with it. What I would do is mix by hand with a wooden spoon, and then do what the old time bakers do and use your hands to knead the dough.

Posted by: elise [TypeKey Profile Page] on February 1, 2006 3:24 PM

Here's a free recipe analysis site:

http://www.nutritiondata.com/pantry-help.html

Posted by: Kristy on February 2, 2006 1:14 PM

I made the recipe this weekend and it was just like you said - wonderful, and difficult to not eat them all. I don't have an electric mixer so I did just like you said - with a wooden spoon and my hands and they turned out great.

The best part was that even though there were too many to eat at once, they have saved fairly well so far and have been nearly as wonderful the second time after reheating.

Posted by: Maggie on February 6, 2006 5:48 AM

We halved the recipe and baked in a round cake pan - they were wonderful! Also left out the corn syrup and honey - I just didn't want the honey taste, and my son can't digest fructose, so we can't use corn syrup. They were perfect anyway. I have a bread machine - I never bake in it - but I made it mix the dough for me.

Posted by: Patti on February 7, 2006 11:22 AM

I've been drooling over the recipes on your sites for quite awhile now, always thinking "I'm going to make that one day," but when I laid eyes on those cinnamon sticky buns I just had to make it the first recipe I tried :) My mum said it was the first thing I made that both looked AND tasted good. I didn't put the pecans in (although for two of the buns I put pistacio nuts due to the persistent nagging of my mother; she's obsessed with pistacios; the nuts weren't nice with the recipe *shock*, but the buns tasted heavenly.) The other half of the batch is still in the fridge because I was dying to try some today. Now I have to pray it doesn't all go to my thighs.

Posted by: Priya on February 18, 2006 11:31 PM

I read this recipe when you first posted it and started drooling... we finally had company this weekend (with just two of us, we didn't want to be tempted to eat the whole batch!) and made them Saturday night for Sunday morning - they were awesome! In your introductory story you mention that you froze some - do you have suggestions as to how package (and then thaw) them so that they freeze (and defrost) best? Thanks so much for this site, I love it!

Posted by: Liz on March 27, 2006 6:58 AM

These sticky buns look DELICIOUS! I can't wait to make them for the special Easter brunch at my church. I really like your site also- there are so make great recipes and the pictures are very helpful. I always like to know what a dish will look like once I'm finished!

Posted by: Tina on April 12, 2006 7:28 AM

It's me again! I had a blast making these sticky buns and they were a big hit at the Easter brunch. I have to admit though- I was a bit surprised at the amount of butter the recipe called for! But once in a while an indulgent treat like this is very special. I love to bake and cook and making this recipe was definitely one of my favorite cooking adventures. Thank you very much for this great site and keep up the great work!

Posted by: Tina on April 16, 2006 3:10 PM

As a retired English baker I am minded of the similarities with the good old Chelsea Bun. The dough is very similar and your recipe is as good as the many others used but the filling is a base of apricot mask (Jam and Boiling water) covered in mixed spice powder and dried currants for the sharper taste and the topping of sugar syrup (White sugar disolved in water) applied immediately on removal from the oven and then caster sugar sprinkled liberally on top. Allow the buns to cool and then tear apart and eat. Coating the roll with butter or margerine before cutting helps in dividing the buns into individual treats.

Posted by: Ian Engels on May 30, 2006 12:15 AM

Hi, Elise. I was just wondering where I would let the dough rise during winter. Should I turn up the heat in a room and leave the dough there?

Also, how do I know the pecan topping won't stick to the pan instead of the buns when I turn it out? Do I cross my fingers and hope for the best, or will it turn out OK every time?

Thanks for both your time and the wonderful recipes.

Posted by: Anjo on September 11, 2006 4:49 PM

I tried these out two days ago and they were the best I've ever made and eaten!!

Only one problem and that's the amount of flour the recipe calls for. My recipe used 3 cups exactly and the dough was of perfect smoothness and density. Also, it's the first time I ever got a dough-hook to work perfectly. Thanks for this one.

Posted by: Greg Hummel on January 18, 2007 10:04 PM

Oh my god! These were heaven, and so easy to bake............and so easy to eat way too many. Will power fading, I must have another one before I put them in the freezer. Thank you for such a wonderful EASY recipe! Early in the morning the smell of these delicious treats, got everyone out of bed and ready for the day. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

Posted by: Mrs. Chrissy Vas on March 7, 2007 7:42 AM

It's great to find your site :) Thanks for the greeting on my site as well! I feel I've been visited by a celebrity chef ;)
The buns were impossible not to keep going back for more. I couldn't eat anything else today because they were so darn good I ate too many and everything else paled in comparison!
I think I might be sure to have plans for company next time I make them!
Looking forward to trying many more of your recipes Elise!

Posted by: Krista on March 18, 2007 9:00 PM

hm...I'm guessing I used too much flour for the amount of egg I used...Were the buns supposed to come out chewy and dense? :)

Posted by: Vvg on May 1, 2007 7:09 PM

These buns were delicious! I'm no where near a pro-baker but I'm wondering if our Canadian flour is a lot harder? Like one of the posters above, my recipe would have been perfect with exactly 3 cups flour but I forced the 4th and it was way too dry, I ended up having to add more milk to get it back. Next time I'll stick with 3!! I'm sure any pro would have realized when to stop adding flour, lol.
Thanks for the recipe, I'm definitely going to make this again!!
p.s Is the dough supposed to be a very pliable, soft dough consistency? Mine felt very tough after my mixer was done with it.

Posted by: Lisa on May 4, 2007 11:05 AM

Greg: your problems with flour are probably due to the fact that volume is a very bad way to measure flour. There can be vast differences in the amount of flour in two different cups with equal volume. I recently received a digital kitchen scale, and I don't want to do hardly anything except by weight anymore. It's just so easy and accurate!

Posted by: Ryan on July 12, 2007 6:38 PM

I made these - followed directions except that I proofed the yeast in the measuring cup with 1 tsp sugar - followed directions from there - there was just too much flour - the dough was far too stiff by the time I added the 4th cup. Then they didn't rise - I'm going to try again but will use only 3 cups flour - taste was very good.

Posted by: Jenny on July 17, 2007 11:48 AM

Everytime I make these sticky buns people keep commenting about how wonderful they are. My dad says they are the best he's ever had. (He loved them so much he insited that I make these sticky buns for his birthday instead of a cake). Thank you soooo much for posting this recipe

Posted by: Stephanie on October 24, 2007 2:18 PM

The recipe is wonderful! I was inspired by Bobby Flay's Throwdown. He did a show on Sticky Buns. I looked at the recipes, the one he did and the one Joanne Chang did, she was his competition. I wasn't excited by either recipe. But when I found your recipe, I decided to try it. They were so...Great!!! I wonder if you could freeze them at the refrigerate stage?

Posted by: Susan on January 7, 2008 9:39 PM

I'm just wondering if it is necessary to place in the fridge or can I let them rise after cutting and bake them right away?

Posted by: Jocelyne on January 13, 2008 6:21 AM

I made those Cinnamon buns this morning... Man are they ever GOOooood!

I didn't let them sit in the fridge at all and they still turned out good. I also added raisins and substituted Walnuts for Pecans... definitely recommended!

Posted by: Jeff on January 27, 2008 4:46 PM

Elise,
These are absolutely wonderful. I had avoided any and all recipes with yeast since I making my own hockey pucks that were supposed to be rolls - almost 20 years ago. But I tried these this weekend and found the recipe to be simple and the results were excellent. Thanks for another great one!!

Posted by: Mel on March 17, 2008 12:17 PM

Awesome! I tried baking these buns for the first time two weeks ago. They were tasty.

Thanks for the recipe.

Kay
Nassau, Bahamas

Posted by: Katie on March 26, 2008 6:32 PM

I only saw this recipe through my mobile phone and couldn't resist to get started although I have never baked a yeast recipe. It's just good! My neighbor keeps asking for more. Only difference I did is I used almonds instead of pecans and margarine. The bread was ok and soft but I just have a feeling thats it's a little hard than its supposed to be. Is it because I used margarine? or because I didn't knead enough? But it's already delicious. I hope Elise can write its equivalents to grms. too. Thank you so much!

Hi Yui, So glad you liked the recipe! I never bake with margarine, so don't know what to tell you about that. Regarding the gram equivalents, there is a measurement converter on the left side of the website. ~Elise

Posted by: yui on March 28, 2008 2:19 AM

I made these and they were fantastic. Now I'd like to use this recipe as a basis for cinnamon raisin rolls with frosting, so without the nut topping. Would I have to make any changes to the temp/time for baking these without the nut topping? Thanks.

Posted by: Elizabeth on March 29, 2008 7:38 AM

Elise, thanks for the reply. I sometimes use margarine when I'm just trying out the recipe. I tried to search for kneading procedures because when I looked up this recipe I did it in a cellular phone so I did not see the pictures clearly. I laugh at myself hard when I saw some videos and other photos of how to knead and I think I kneaded it too much that's why it turned out a little hard. I thought that when you said to push the dough away from me I had to push it as far as it could go. I think I also used a lot of flour because I remember its texture to be as hard as a pie dough ^-^ I`m gonna try it again tomorrow due to insistent demand of my husband and friends and I hope it will turn out softer and more tasty than the first time( I'll use unsalted butter this time).

Posted by: Yui on March 29, 2008 9:40 AM

OK, this recipe is fantastic! I'm a big sourdough fan, so I replaced the yeast/water with 1 cup of sourdough starter, and used less of the additional flour called for (since there's probably 3/4c in the starter). I also am a health food geek, so I replaced the all-purpose flour with a soft whole wheat that I milled myself very finely (using a WonderMill), and replaced the sugar and corn syrup with Rapadura/unrefined sugar and maple syrup, respectively. And finally, I had no pecans, so used walnuts like the previous poster. Thanks so much for the recipe, it's great!!

Posted by: Barrie Cook on March 30, 2008 2:59 PM

worst sticky bun recipe ever i usually use the one off of bettycrocker.com but thought id try this one first time the dough was hard as a rock?? big waste of time and money on ingredients.

Sorry the recipe didn't work for you. ~Elise

Posted by: crystal on April 14, 2008 3:59 PM

This was great! Although I didn't want to wait for the overnight fridge time, it was certainly worth it. I'm now going to become morbidly obese!

Posted by: Jessy on May 3, 2008 1:40 AM

Can fast rising yeast be substituted in this recipe?

No idea. If you try it, let us know how it works out for you. ~Elise

Posted by: Marilou on May 7, 2008 1:40 PM

YES, you can use fast-acting yeast for this recipe....and I used candied walnuts instead...and chopped them up into really small peices! They tasted great with the sticky bottom! : ) Great Recipe!!!

Posted by: Corina on May 11, 2008 2:37 AM

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