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Sticky Buns

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I love it when my house smells like freshly baked pastries, but who doesn’t? That’s why, even though these Sticky Buns are intense work, they are so worth it.

This week I had a whole house that smelled like I lived in a bakery!

There are two magical things about these babies – using Bourbon in the glaze, and the Master Sweet Dough that makes these incredibly soft.

Sticky buns are a lot like cinnamon rolls, but instead of an icing on top, the buns get a sticky, nutty, caramelized glaze on both the tops and bottoms of the pastry.

I also love these because they’re great to grab and go for breakfast, and they reheat very well whether they’re frozen or refrigerated.

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sticky-buns

Sticky Buns


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Description

Yummy, sticky, warm sticky buns. 


Ingredients

Units Scale

Topping

  • 2 cups chopped pecans
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar (I used dark)
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/3 cup honey (I used clover honey)
  • 1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
  • 1 orange zested
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 ounce Bourbon

For the Buns

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter – room temp
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar (I used dark).
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
  • Master Sweet Dough (chilled and risen for at least two hours)
  • All-purpose flour for dusting
  • 1 large egg + 2 tablespoons of water
  • Coarse sea salt.
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Instructions

For the Glaze

  1. Melt butter on low heat in a sauce pan.
  2. Stir in cream, brown sugar, honey, salt, orange zest, and vanilla. Add the shot of bourbon.
  3. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the glaze mixture is shiny and golden brown. This should take 4-5 minutes.
  4. Pour half of the glaze into the baking pan until it coats the bottom of your baking pan. sprinkle half of your toasted pecans on the bottom, and set aside, letting it cool.
  5. Set aside the glaze.

For the buns

  1. With your stand mixer (an electric hand mixer will also work great), beat the butter, sugar, cinnamon, kosher salt until it’s light an fluffy and fully mixed.
  2. Grab your Master Sweet Dough, and punch it down. Move it to a floured work surface. I like to use marble because it keeps the butter in the dough much colder for longer.
  3. Roll the dough out into a rectangle about 1/4in thick. spread the cinnamon-sugar mixture over the dough.
  4. Sprinkle chopped pecans atop the mixture, and roll the dough into a log, tightening as you go.
  5. Cut the log into 9 equal pieces. Turn the buns cut side up and pat the tops to flatten them slightly.
  6. Place them into the pan with the glaze in the bottom. And brush the tops with the egg wash.
  7. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes until golden brown.
  • Prep Time: 3 hours
  • Cook Time: 50 minutes
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: Pastries

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Mila Clarke is a Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach, an author, self-taught cook, nutritionist and Integrative Nutrition Diabetes Health Coach, diabetes advocate and founder of Hangry Woman and The Glucose Guide App. Hangry Woman aims to take away the shame and stigma that comes with a diabetes diagnosis and covers topics like diabetes management, cooking, and self-care from the perspective of someone living with the chronic condition. Her book –– The Diabetes Food Journal –– Is one of the most sought after diabetes self-management tools for patients. Her online community – Glucose Guide – offers affordable health coaching, hundreds of diabetes-friendly recipes and community peer support. Mila has been featured by CNN, The New York Times, Eat This Not That, USA Today, Good Housekeeping and WebMD. She contributes to Healthline, The Washington Post, DiaTribe, and EatingWell Magazine. Mila lives in Houston, Texas with her Miniature Poodle, Noodle.
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