Lord, forgive me, but these here Caramel Pecan Sticky Buns are sinfully dee-lish-us! My Momma used to make these for breakfast when we had family visiting. She’d place one plate of these hot buns at each end of the table and just listen to the pleasurable, “Mmmm!” “Ohhhh!” “Oh, my gosh! These are incredible!” You could just see everybody’s faces light up when they took their first bite. I’m tellin’ you! Nuthin’ says LUV like a hot, gooey Caramel Pecan Sticky Bun!
Caramel Pecan Sticky Buns
Recipe by: Bobbi Jo Lathan
Recipe type: Breakfast, Brunch
Cuisine: Southern
PREP TIME
2 hours 30 mins
COOK TIME
30 mins
TOTAL TIME
3 hours
INGREDIENTS
Dough:
2 packages active dry yeast (approximately 2 tablespoons)
½ cup warm water
1 cup milk (at room temperature)
1 tablespoon sugar
¼ cup butter (melted)
1 egg (beaten)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
Caramel Sauce:
½ cup butter
1 cup dark brown sugar (packed)
¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1⅓ cups whole pecans (can be toasted-optional)
Filling:
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup pecans (chopped)
4 tablespoons butter (melted)
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Grease two 9 inch cake pans or two 8 inch square brownie pans and set aside.
Dough:
Place yeast in a small bowl and pour over warmed water and set aside. In 5 minutes, once it’s foamy, add the milk (must not be cold) and sugar.
Next add the butter, egg, vanilla and salt. Mix ‘til it all kind of comes together and then add the flour, one cup at a time, and continue mixing until all the flour is added.
Now dump the dough onto a floured surface and knead for about 8 minutes. (If you’re using a stand dough mixer, knead for about 5 minutes) Note: If kneading by hand, you should flour your hands as this will make the kneading much easier and less sticky.
Get yourself two big bowls and oil them real well.
Divide the dough in half and place in each bowl, respectively, and cover with dish towels and set aside in a warm place to rise until doubled, for about 2 hours.
Caramel Sauce:
Combine your ½ cup butter and 1 cup dark brown sugar in a small saucepan over a medium heat, cook until sugar dissolves in the butter.
Next, stir in your cream and the Kosher salt and mix well. (Do not bring it to a boil!)
Once your sauce thickens, turn off the heat.
Cover the bottom of the cake pans with the whole pecans and then divide the caramel sauce equally between two pans, and pour sauce over the whole pecans inside the cake pans.
Filling:
Melt the butter in a saucepan.
While it’s melting, in a separate bowl, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon, and nutmeg together.
Assemble:
Divide your dough into two equal portions. One at a time, roll out each dough into rectangles on a floured surface. (approximately 14x6 inches)
Brush that melted butter evenly onto each rectangle and then sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon mix.
Then, starting with the longer side, roll up each rectangle.
Cut each roll into 9 equal portions and place on top of your already prepared caramel-pecan layers in the cake pans.
Now, let that rise until doubled, for about 30 minutes.
Once doubled, place the pans with your sticky buns into your preheated oven and bake until nicely browned for 25-30 minutes.
Once the buns are cooked, immediately (and carefully, ‘cause, honey, that sauce is gonna be hot) invert (ie-dump, upside-down) onto a platter or two separate plates. And, serve up them dee-lish-us caramel sticky buns while still warm! YUM!
Notes
The Prep Time of 2 ½ hours includes time for the dough to rise.