Sweet, Cinnamon Sticky Buns for YOUR Buns!

There are so many delicious temptations during the Holidays, so remembering, "all things in moderation," can be helpful...I mean, as long as you're not "Paula Dean-ing" every single meal you make or eat, you can still get away with trying a little of this & a little of that during the next few weeks!

These awesome sticky buns are truly worth the work! They were featured by Oprah a few years ago, which is right around the same time I tried making them and first got comfortable using my big KitchenAid Stand Mixer.

P.S. No offense to Paula Dean...she's actually growing on me:)

Ingredients & Recipe: (Start the day before)
Printable Recipe

For the Dough

• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1 (1/4-ounce) packet active dry yeast
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup milk
• 4 Tbls. unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 Tbls. grated orange zest (not the white part)
• 1 1/4 tsp. salt
• 4 to 4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

For the Filling

• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 Tbls. ground cinnamon
• 4 Tbls. unsalted butter

For the Topping

• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 4 Tbls. unsalted butter
• 3 Tbls. honey
• 1 Tbls. light corn syrup
• 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans

To Begin...

Make the Dough (1-2 hours)

1. Combine warm water, yeast and 1 tsp. sugar in the bowl of your KitchenAid mixer. Stir with a large fork to dissolve and let it sit until it appears foamy (about 5 minutes).
2. Add in milk, butter, the rest of the sugar, egg yolks, orange zest, salt & 3 cups of flour. Use the KitchenAid mixer attachment to mix on a low speed until blended. Now, switch the attachment to the dough-hook and begin to incorporate the rest of the flour (1 cup) while you mix on low. Turn speed up to medium until it appears that you have created a smooth yet sticky dough (if it looks too wet, you may add a little more flour)- this will take about 3-5 minutes.
3. Grab the dough from the bowl and shape it into a ball and drop it into a large, buttered bowl (I think a big glass bowl works best). Flip flop the dough to coat with the butter from the bowl and then cover the whole bowl with a big piece of plastic wrap, followed by placing a kitchen towel over that. You will now let the dough "rise" (don't place it anywhere too cold, it needs a warmer environment to "rise" well, and should actually double in size). This should take 1-2 hours.
4. Once the dough appears to have "risen", literally "punch" the dough with your fist, and place it onto a lightly floured cutting surface. Let it sit for about 15-20 minutes.

Now make the filling

1. In a small bowl, use a fork to combine the cinnamon and brown sugar.
2. In another small bowl (microwave safe), melt the butter.

Assemble

1. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a rectangle shape (12" X 18" or so). Brush the melted butter onto the dough, then sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar.
2. Starting on the long side (the 18" side), begin to roll the dough into the shape of a cylinder.
3. Arrange the dough so that the seam-side is down on the cutting surface. Cut 15-16 slices (crosswise).

Topping

1. Combine brown sugar, butter, honey and corn syrup over low heat in a small-medium saucepan. Stir until everything is dissolved and creamy.
2. Heavily butter/grease a "brownie pan" (9" X 13" pan), pour butter mixture down into the bottom of the pan, and then sprinkle the pecans over that.

Finish Assembly

1. Carefully place dough slices, flat side down, on top of the topping-prepared pan. Keep the slices crowded together so they are touching, and cover the whole pan with plastic wrap.
2. Refrigerate overnight to let the buns fully "rise".

Finally, the next day...

1. The next day, remove pan from the fridge and let the rolls come down to room temperature (should take about 20-30 minutes). Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Bake buns for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown, remove pan from oven.
3. CAREFULLY, invert the pan onto another baking dish or serving platter (the topping will be hot, so I really mean BE CAREFUL)!
4. Serve while buns are still warm!

You Could Also Try...

• Add in raisins to the pecan mixture
• Use unflavored, unwaxed CLEAN dental floss to slice the buns...this is sometimes easier than using a knife which may smudge and smoosh the buns.
• Don't have a KitchenAid Mixer? Just use a nice wooden spoon and your hands to do all the labor...it'll be a great workout!