Sticky Buns Recipe

This homemade sticky buns recipe makes pillowy soft sweet dough rolled up with a cinnamon sugar filling and then baked in a bed of caramel pecan glaze. Flip them out onto a plate and let that ooey-gooey sticky glaze drip. Soft, sticky, and oh-so-addictive!

Making your own sticky buns from scratch is SO much better than a can and it’s not hard at all to do. This sweet dough is so versatile for all types of desserts like cinnamon rolls and danish! Prep these sticky buns the day before and pop them in the oven for the most amazing fresh sticky buns right out of the oven to enjoy with your morning coffee.

Sticky Buns Ingredients

Instant yeast is my preference when making bread because it will rise SO much faster than active dry yeast.

All-purpose flour or bread flour will work for this sweet dough recipe. Bread flour has a higher protein content and will give a slightly better texture to your buns, but either is okay.

Corn syrup adds that gooey texture to the glaze on top of the sticky buns. You can add more if you want a more "ooze" to your sticky buns, or less for a more set caramel on top.

Pecans are the traditional topping for sticky buns, but you can use any type of nut that you prefer or just leave them out entirely!

How to Make Sticky Buns

Sticky buns have three components, the sweet dough, the cinnamon sugar filling, and the caramel pecan glaze. I find it easiest to make all three and assemble my sticky buns in one day, then refrigerate them overnight, and proof and bake them the next morning for breakfast.

Making the Sweet Dough

1. Warm the milk to 110ºF.
2. Add the flour, yeast, and sugar to the bowl of your stand mixer with the dough hook attachment and mix the dry ingredients briefly. You can make this dough without a stand mixer, you'll just have to knead by hand for 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Add the softened butter in chunks and mix on low speed until it is broken up and distributed amongst the flour.
4. Slowly drizzle in the warm milk while mixing on low and mix until the flour starts to stick together.
5. Then add your eggs one at a time and mix until combined.
6. Finally, add your salt. Salt is added last to give the yeast a chance to get a little coating in flour and butter. Salt kills yeast, so this gives the yeast an upper hand in the battle. 
7. Mix the dough on medium speed with the dough hook until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and bounces back when you touch it. Once it forms a smooth ball, turn off the mixer. This can take 5-10 minutes. 
8. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and knead it for a few minutes on the counter.
9. Roll the dough into a nice tight ball.
10. Place the dough ball in a large bowl greased with oil and cover it with plastic wrap.
11. Place the bowl in a warm place and let the dough rise until it doubles in size. This can take anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes but will vary depending on the temperature of your room. 80°F is the best temperature for proofing, so I like to put it in my turned-off oven with the light on or on top of my dishwasher while it's running.

Making the Caramel Pecan Glaze

1. Add the softened butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon to a large bowl and mix with a whisk or electric mixer until it's light and fluffy.
2. Drizzle in the corn syrup and vanilla and mix until combined. Use less corn syrup if you want a thicker consistency for your glaze.
3. Spread the glaze paste into a 9" or 10" round cake pan (or baking dish of your choice) around the sides and the bottom of the pan.
4. Sprinkle pecans over the top of the glaze and set the pan aside. We're going to flip this upside down and it will become the gooey, caramelized top of the sticky buns.

Assembling the Sticky Buns

1. Make the cinnamon sugar filling by adding the softened butter, sugar, and cinnamon to a large bowl and mixing until smooth with a whisk or hand mixer.
2. When your dough has doubled in size, remove it from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface.
3. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin into a large rectangle, ½ inch thick, about 12" wide, and 15" long.
4. Smear the cinnamon-sugar mixture on top of the rolled-out dough, leaving about ½ inch of space along the outside edges of the dough.
5. Sprinkle pecans on top of the dough, making sure to evenly space them out.
6. Tightly roll from the long side of the dough into a log shape.
7. Score 8 evenly-spaced sections in the top of the dough with a sharp knife, then carefully cut them into buns. The dental floss trick unfortunately won't work because it can't cut through the pecans, so a serrated knife works best.
8. Assemble the cinnamon buns in your prepared pan on top of the glaze mixture. It's okay if they are almost touching, just make sure that your pan is big enough to easily fit all of the buns. They will proof again before baking.
9. Cover the pan with a clean kitchen towel and place them in a warm area for 30 to 60 minutes until the buns are crowded in the pan and poofy. They don't have to be fully doubled in size, but your rise time will also be determined by the size of your pan.

Baking the Sticky Buns

1. Bake at 350°F for 45-60 mins until the tops are golden brown and the internal temperature in the center reads 190°F. Use a thermometer to check, as the baking times will vary depending on what size pan you use.
2. Make sure you place a sheet pan on the rack under the rolls to catch the drips, or it will burn on the bottom of your oven. I had to switch my sheet pans out a few times to avoid a lot of smoke from the burning sugar. This was a lot easier to clean a sheet pan than the bottom of my oven! 
3. If the top is getting too brown and the center is not done, lightly cover it with a piece of foil to slow down the browning on top. 
4. Remove the finished sticky buns from the oven and cool in the pan for 5 minutes. We want the caramel glaze to set slightly, but still be hot so that it comes out of the pan.
5. Place a large serving plate on top of your pan and carefully flip the sticky buns upside down.
6. If there is any remaining caramel in the pan, put it back in the oven for 5 minutes then drizzle the caramel on top of the sticky buns.

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