Even though we decided to do brunch for our Friendsgiving this year, that didn’t mean we skipped dessert. Far from it! Originally, I had been thinking I’d try to create some kind of cinnamon roll recipe, but then I thought, “You know what’s even better than cinnamon rolls? Sticky buns.” It was a light bulb moment. (Yes, I have my light bulb moments around food ideas sometimes.) And that’s when I decided to work on pecan pie sticky buns for our dessert.
Really, sticky buns are not all that different from cinnamon rolls. The big difference is you bake these with the topping already on the bottom of the pan. Then you flip them out once done. Whereas cinnamon rolls you bake and then add a frosting to them afterward. Both are delicious but I must say, these pecan pie sticky buns really are very pretty in addition to being totally delicious. So they get a few bonus points for that.
Another great thing about this sticky bun recipe is you can make everything the day before—even assemble the dough in the pan.
Then, just bake the next morning and you’ve got sticky buns! I love make-ahead hacks so you don’t have to wake up super early in the morning to bake something. I want all the rewards of waking up early to bake sticky buns, without actually having to wake up early. 🙂 So this is another great recipe for the holidays, including Christmas morning.
Here is what the rolls look like just out of the oven. When you flip them out onto a cutting board, you do want to be careful to not touch the hot pan to your skin (obviously) but also make sure the sticky topping doesn’t ooze onto your hands or arms because it will be VERY hot just out of the oven.
It’s best to let this cool for about 5 minutes before flipping … but I know how hard it can be to wait, so just putting a little warning out there. 🙂
I love that the topping of these sticky buns really does remind me of pecan pie—perfectly appropriate for a Friendsgiving! That being said, if you want to swap the pecans for another nut, you absolutely can if needed. Enjoy! xo. Emma
P.S. I adapted this recipe from these sticky buns I made years ago, which was originally adapted from The Dahlia Bakery Cookbook.
Get our FREE recipe guide with our most popular recipes of all time!
Free Popular Recipe Guide
Our top 25 recipes of all time!
Get the Recipe
Ingredients
For the dough:
- ½ cup butter
- 1 cup milk
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
For the filling:
- 2 tablespoons butter (melted)
- ¼ teaspoon granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
For the topping:
- ½ cup butter
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup light corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 6 ounces chopped pecans
Instructions
- In a small pot, melt the butter. Over low heat, stir in the milk and sugar until just warmed and the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat. Stir in the yeast and allow this to sit and bubble for 8-10 minutes. In a large bowl, stir together the flour and salt. When the yeast is ready, stir it in along with the egg and yolk until a dough begins to form. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 4-5 minutes. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and allow to rise for 2 hours.
- In a pot, melt together the butter, sugar and corn syrup until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and pecans. Pour the batter into a baking dish.
- Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a large square. For the inside, brush the melted butter and sprinkle in 1/4 cup sugar mixed with 2 teaspoons cinnamon. Roll up and slice into cinnamon rolls. Place the rolls in the prepared pan (with the topping in the bottom). Cover well and refrigerate immediately (overnight).
- Bake at 350°F for 35-40 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and CAREFULLY flip the rolls out of the pan, revealing the pecan glaze on top. The best is if you can lay a cutting board or serving dish over the pan and flip it all together.
Despite lack of direction, the buns came out tender and fluffy and delicious! The overnight fridge proof didn’t work for some reason, but I left them on top of the oven while the turkey cooked for 2 hours and they finally proofed enough. I would definitely make these again, but do it all in one day and do the second proof at room temp.
I feel like this is a technical challenge on British Bake-Off. I am made these buns last night and found that a lot was missing from the recipe. What is the dough supposed to feel/look like when you’re done kneading, what temp should the caramel be when its done, how large or thin should I be rolling my dough, what size pan should I use, how many rolls does this make? They puffed a bit the first 20 minutes in the fridge and then stopped and now I have some sad looking tiny rolls in a 9×13 pan. I’m taking them out now and hoping they proof more at room temp.
I just found this looks really yummy.
Just need to know if the sugar amount in the filling is correct? Quantity of 1/4 teaspoon. Thanks
It supposed to say 1/4 cup
That looks like a gooey bunch of deliciousness. I love the generous portion of pecans on top. You got me on this one. Thanks for sharing.
Do you bake these covered or uncovered once you pull them from the fridge?
Thanks!
Hi! I want to make these, but don’t do dairy. Do you think margarine will sub well?
Thanks!
I haven’t tried it yet so I can’t say with total confidence BUT I do think a non-dairy / vegan butter and using a non-diary milk would still work well in this recipe. Let us know if you try it!
These look so delicious! Interesting distinction between sticky buns and cinnamon rolls too 🙂
Yummmmmm!!
This looks delicious! On the toppin did you mean to write a 1/4 CUP or is it really only a 1/4 tsp of sugar?
I’m also confused by the filling ingredients. That doesn’t seem like much for the amount of rolls you’re making. And it’s white sugar instead of brown sugar in the filling?
looks so delicious! recipes are very much on my mind:
https://tps-steph.blogspot.com/2018/11/0015-to-try-recipes.html
YUM! Oh my heavens that looks divine. I’m going to try this.
These look wonderful!
I’m just wondering, how sticky or tacky is this sauce? Is it something that is so sticky it could pull out a filling? Or something a bit more like a medium bodied caramel?
Thanks!
It’s more like a thin caramel.
They look so gorgeous, I could really eat one right now!
https://www.makeandmess.com/
These look delicious! I’m bringing some breakfast goodies as hostess gifts for the Friendsgiving we’re attending this year, and this would be a PERFECT option!!
This is a great alternative for dessert if you’re not into pumpkin! I love bread (c’mon, who doesn’t?) and I’d be totally willing to try this!! 🙂
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com