Do you have breakfast plans this weekend? Or are you looking for something sweet to add to your Easter brunch next weekend? If so, you’re in luck, because I have the recipe for the best-ever sticky buns.
These are one of my favorite breakfast treats. My mom made them on occasion when I was a kid, and I was always excited when they made an appearance on the breakfast menu. I’ve tried a number of other sticky buns since then, and I have yet to find any that are as good as these. They are full of caramel and pecans, with a hint of cinnamon. And they are perfectly gooey and sticky.
Sticky buns may seem intimidating, but they are really pretty simple to make. If you can make a cinnamon roll, you can definitely make these. It starts with a rich yeast dough which is filled with chopped pecans, butter, brown sugar, and a little cinnamon. The topping is just brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, a little more cinnamon, and a ton of pecans.
As always, you can leave the pecans out of both the topping and the filling, or substitute another nut of your choice. Most of the sticky bun recipes I see do not include cinnamon, especially in the topping. I really like it in there, but you can definitely leave it out as well. And you could put whatever you like in the filling – add a handful of raisins or other dried fruit if you’re so inclined, or even some mini chocolate chips if you want to really take it over the top.
These are so good, and you probably have everything you need already in your pantry. Make these this weekend or for Easter brunch (or both!). I promise you will love them!
Print Recipe
Pecan Sticky Buns
Instructions
Dough
Dissolve the yeast in the warm water.
Scald the milk (bring it just to a simmer) and add the butter. Let cool to warm room temperature while the butter softens and partially melts.
Transfer milk mixture and yeast to stand mixer. Add sugar and eggs and mix well with the paddle attachment. (You can also do this by hand with a large spoon).
Add salt and 4 cups flour and mix well with the dough hook attachment (or a spoon).
Continue to knead dough, adding up to 1/2 cup additional flour, until dough is only slightly sticky, about 5 minutes with the mixer.
Place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
Topping
Combine all ingredients except pecans in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.
-
Pour into a greased 9"x13" baking pan and sprinkle with pecan halves. Set aside.
Filling and Assembly
Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and pecans in a small bowl.
Roll dough, once doubled, into a 12"x 22" rectangle.
Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with filling.
Roll up, jelly-roll style, starting on the short end. (You should end up with a roll 12" long.)
Cut into 1" slices and place, cut side up, onto topping in prepared pan.
Cover and let rise again until doubled. See note to prepare the night before and bake in the morning.
Bake at 350-degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes (no longer!) for the topping to harden slightly.
Invert onto serving platter, scraping any pecans and topping left in the pan onto the top of the rolls.
Enjoy warm! Rolls will keep up to 3 days covered at room temperature, but do yourself a favor and microwave them for a few seconds to rewarm before eating. 🙂
Recipe Notes
Note: To make these the night before, follow instructions until the second rise (in the pan). When rolls are not quite doubled in size, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. The next morning, remove from refrigerator and preheat oven. Once oven is preheated, bake rolls for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Substitute pecans for your favorite nut, or leave out completely.
- Leave out cinnamon in the topping and/or filling if you prefer. If leaving the cinnamon out of the topping, consider adding a pinch to 1/4 teaspoon of salt for that salted caramel flavor.
- Add fillings of your choice - raisins, dried fruit, mini chocolate chips, etc.
Hi guys! Are you over the pumpkin spice craze yet, or do you have room for more? I hope you’re still into it, but if not, it’s super easy to leave it out of this recipe. In fact, this is super customizable. You can really make it for any holiday or special occasion. But more on that in a minute.
Do you all know what Moose Munch is? It’s a caramel corn by Harry and David that is typically coated in chocolate. It is delicious. This is my take on it, all dressed up for Halloween. And it’s super easy, even with homemade caramel corn. Yes, I said homemade. I promise it’s not hard to make, and you probably have all of the ingredients you need in your pantry right now. Yes, you need a candy thermometer, but they aren’t expensive and it is sooooo worth it.
I love this caramel corn. My mom has been making it for as long as I can remember. She always adds salted peanuts, which I think add the perfect salty component. You can, of course, use whatever nuts you like. But make sure they are salted and roasted. If you don’t use salted nuts, give the caramel corn a heavy sprinkle of sea salt before baking. You’ll thank me later. You can certainly stop once the caramel corn is made, and you would have an absolutely delicous snack. But if you want something special for a holiday or party, or just because, go ahead and add some chocolate. I used chocolate almond bark and pumpkin spice chips, but you can use any chocolate that sounds good to you. Chocolate chips, white chocolate, almond bark, peanut butter chips. Like I said, anything you want.
Candy melts also work well, so it’s super simple to customize the colors. Go for red and green at Christmas. Or red, white, and blue for the Fourth of July. How about some pretty pastels for Easter? Or use your teams colors for a fun tailgating snack. And the sprinkles are optional, but there are so many fun varieties out there, you are sure to find some that will work for whatever event you’re making this for. Put out a big bowl for everyone to much on and it will be gone in no time. Or divide it into individual bags with matching ribbons or tags for a fun party favor. However you decide to customize this, you should definitely give it a try!
Print Recipe
Pumpkin Spice Ghost Munch Caramel Corn
Homemade caramel corn coated in chocolate.
Instructions
Pop popcorn. You can do this in an air popper, a stir popper, in a pan on the stove, or even in the microwave. You can use a small amount of butter or oil, but you don't wanted seasoned or salted popcorn. You will need 10 cups of popped popcorn.
Combine butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup in a medium to large saucepan and cook over medium to medium-high heat.
Cook and stir until butter is melted and mixture begins to boil. Insert candy thermometer and continue to cook for about 5 minutes, without stirring, until mixture reaches 248 degrees, or firm ball stage.
Remove from heat and carefully stir in the baking soda. The mixture will foam up, which is why you want a larger saucepan than you think you need.
While caramel is cooking, combine popcorn and nuts (if using) in a large greased baking pan. I'm talking about a sheet pan, preferably with 2-inch sides. If you don't have a pan this big, the bottom part of a large broiler pan may work. Or divide evenly between two 13x9-inch cake pans.
Pour caramel mixture (after baking soda has been added) over the popcorn and nuts. Stir well to coat all pieces. If you do not want to use nuts, sprinkle the coated popcorn with 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon sea salt.
Move to a 250-degree F oven and cook for 45-60 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. The caramel corn is done when no "loose" caramel is pooling in the bottom of the pan. Everything should be coated onto the popcorn and it shouldn't be too sticky. It will firm up the rest of the way once cooled.
Once caramel corn is cool, melt the chocolate in a large bowl. Toss with 6 cups of the caramel corn until completely coated. Spread onto parchment- or waxed paper-lined baking sheet and let harden. I placed mine in the fridge for a few minutes to help it set.
If using more than one type of chocolate, like I did, melt each type separately. I used 1/2 cup each of pumpkin spice chips and chopped chocolate almond bark. I mixed each type with 3 cups of the caramel corn.
If you want to add sprinkles, add them to the chocolate-coated popcorn before it sets,
Combine coated caramel corn with uncoated and mix well to distribute. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.
Recipe Notes
- You can use any type of chocolate or chips that you want. Dark, milk, white, peanut butter. Colored candy melts also work great and make it easy to customize for any holiday or event.
- Try red and green for Christmas; red, white, and blue for Fourth of July; team colors for tailgating; school colors for graduation.
