These incredibly indulgent Pecan Sticky Buns are soft and fluffy rolls loaded with brown sugary cinnamon filling and drenched in the most divine caramel pecan sauce!
When it comes to breakfast, I’m ALL about the sweets (surprise, surprise). Bring on the pancakes, waffles, danishes, cinnamon rolls, doughnuts, etc.–I love them all! So with “brunch season” in full swing, I decided now would be the perfect time to bring you a classic recipe for rich and deliciously decadent pecan sticky buns!
Although sweet breads like cinnamon rolls and sticky buns require a bit of time and effort, they’re SO totally worth it. For one thing, your house is filled with that intoxicatingly fresh, yeasty, cinnamon sugary aroma as the dough bakes in the oven. And another thing, no matter what bakery you go to, there’s really no replicating the freshness that you get from a sticky bun straight from the oven.
So how does one make pecan sticky buns? Well, it all starts with the dough. Since sticky buns and cinnamon rolls require the same kind of dough, I decided to keep things simple by going with the same tried-and-true dough I used in my Worlds Best Cinnamon Roll recipe. This dough is soft, slightly chewy, and EXTRA pillowy. Aside from the typical ingredients like yeast, sugar, butter, eggs, and flour, there are a few key ingredients that make this dough as heavenly as it is:
- Sweet potatoes – I had come across several cinnamon roll recipes that incorporated mashed potatoes into their dough to create that soft, super moist, and perfectly fluffy roll. Apparently, potato starches hold and attract more water than wheat starches, which helps to increase the moisture content in baked goods. Adding mashed potatoes also makes the dough much easier to shape and handle. I was very intrigued by the mashed potato idea so I decided to try sweet potatoes since they would add more natural sweetness and flavor to the dough.
- Greek yogurt – Buttermilk seemed to be a pretty common ingredient in most sweet dough recipes, so I figured I’d change it up slightly by using greek yogurt and adding milk. I read that equal parts greek yogurt and milk are a great substitute for buttermilk, so I decided to give it a try. However, if you’re using regular (non-greek) yogurt which tends to be thinner than greek, you’ll need to use 3/4 yogurt to 1/4 milk.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice – Because why add plain ol’ cinnamon, when you can amp up the flavor with Pumpkin Pie Spice? Along with cinnamon, it contains nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and allspice, which are all wonderfully warm spices to incorporate into your sticky bun OR cinnamon roll recipes.
It’s also absolutely CRUCIAL to treat your dough with love. Be gentle. Don’t manhandle it by over-kneading it or adding too much flour. In fact, you only need to add just enough flour until the dough just cleans the bowl and is still tacky to the touch. Over-flouring only makes for drier, tougher, and chewier rolls. I recommend rolling the dough out on a silpat if you have one. NOTHING sticks to it, which makes the process of rolling out and rolling up super simple!
Similar to cinnamon rolls, sticky buns also have that buttery brown sugary filling spiraled throughout. Of course, since these buns would be baking in a rich caramel sauce, I didn’t fill them with quite as much brown sugar as I normally do with my cinnamon rolls. And instead of saving all of the toasted pecans for the top, I sprinkled half of them onto the dough before rolling them up. This ensures that every bite is full of crunchy pecans!
The caramel sauce/topping is incredibly simple. Just melt some butter and brown sugar together over medium heat. Then stir in some heavy cream, water, salt, and maple syrup. Typically, corn syrup is added, but I thought the add flavor from the maple couldn’t hurt, right?
After you pour this incredibly indulgent caramel sauce into the baking dish, be sure to tilt the pan so that the sauce coats the sides–it basically greases the pan, ensuring that the sticky buns come out more easily once they’ve baked. Once you’ve evenly sprinkled the rest of the toasted pecans over the caramel sauce, the rolls go right on top!
At this point you can either place your rolls in a warm place, allowing them to rise for about an hour before baking them in the oven. OR, if you want to bake them up the next day, cover the rolls with plastic wrap (sprayed with nonstick cooking spray so that it doesn’t stick to the rolls), and refrigerate for up to 16 hours. Before you bake them, allow the rolls to sit out at room temperature until they’ve nearly doubled in size, about 1-2 hours.
To prevent the rolls from getting too dark/brown as they bake in the oven, place a sheet of aluminum foil over them after about 15 minutes, and allow them to continue baking for 10-15 more minutes.
Once the rolls are out of the oven, wait about 15-20 minutes before placing a large serving platter on top of the baking dish, and carefully inverting them onto the platter. Make sure to use oven mitts when doing this step since the dish might still be a little hot. With the amount of delicious caramel sauce in the baking dish, you shouldn’t have any problem with the rolls sticking to the bottom. In fact, you’ll definitely want to use a spatula or spoon to scrape out all of that wonderfully ooey gooey caramel left in the baking dish.
Honestly, do I really need to describe how incredibly euphoric each and every bite of this delectable sticky bun was? I kinda think the photos speak for themselves. I can pretty much guarantee that you won’t find anything more comforting than this warm, super soft and phenomenally fluffy bun that’s loaded with toasty pecans and drenched in the most divine caramel sauce…
Pecan Sticky Buns
Ingredients
Dough:
- 2 ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast (one 1/4-ounce packet)
- ¼ cup warm water*
- ⅓ cup + 1 teaspoon granulated sugar divided
- ⅔ cup mashed sweet potato
- ¼ cup greek yogurt
- ¼ cup milk
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3-3¼ cups all-purpose flour
Caramel Sauce:
- ¾ cup butter
- 1 ½ cup brown sugar firmly packed
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- ⅓ cup water
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup toasted pecans chopped
Filling:
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 cup toasted pecans chopped
Instructions
Make the Dough:
- In a glass measuring cup, combine the yeast, water, and 1 teaspoon of sugar; set aside to foam for about 5 minutes. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the mashed sweet potato, 1/3 cup of sugar, greek yogurt, milk, melted butter, egg, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.
- Switch to the dough hook, and add the yeast mixture and 3 cups of the flour. Mix the dough on low and allow it to knead for about 6-7 minutes. If dough is still too soft, add more flour, 1 Tablespoon at a time, until dough just cleans the bowl, but is very soft. It should still stick to the bottom of the bowl.
- Coat a large bowl with cooking spray and place dough in bowl. Seal tightly with plastic wrap. Place bowl in a warm place and allow dough to rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
- In the meantime, make the caramel sauce. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the brown sugar and stir until incorporated.
- Turn off the heat. Add the maple syrup, heavy cream, water, and salt. Whisk it all together until smooth. Pour the caramel sauce into a 9x13-inch baking dish, tilting the dish so that the sauce coats the sides. (The sauce is basically greasing the pan, so make sure you coat it well.) Sprinkle the chopped pecans evenly over the sauce; set aside.
- After dough has doubled in size, punch it down. Turn dough out onto a floured Silpat or floured countertop. With a rolling pin, roll it out to an 18x15-inch rectangle.
- With a butterknife (or your fingers), spread butter evenly over the entire surface of the dough. Sprinkle the brown sugar over it, followed by the cinnamon and chopped pecans. Lightly pat it down with your fingertips to help sugar and pecans adhere to dough. Roll dough tightly into a log (from long side to long side), ending with the seam side down. Pinch the ends to seal.
- Using plain, unwaxed dental floss (or a bench scraper), slice the rolls into 12 evenly-sized rolls. Arrange the rolls cut-side down in the baking dish on top of the caramel sauce. Cover tightly with plastic wrap--make sure to coat plastic wrap with cooking spray so that it doesn't stick to the rolls as they rise.
*If baking immediately
- Allow the rolls to rise again in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
*Or...If You Want to Bake the Rolls the Next Day
- Place covered rolls in the refrigerator for up to 16 hours. Before baking, let the rolls sit at room temperature until they have nearly doubled in size, about 1-2 hours.
Baking:
- For either version, bake at 375ºF for 15 minutes, or until golden. Tent sticky buns with aluminum foil, and continue to bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until baked through.
- Allow the sticky buns to cool in the baking dish for 20 minutes. Place a serving dish on top of the pan, and carefully invert pan. Be careful as the caramel sauce will be hot. Remove baking dish, and scoop any run-off sauce back over the buns with a spoon or spatula. Serve immediately.
- The sticky buns are best eaten the day of baking but can be stored, covered, at room temperature for up to 2 days.