When I was little my grandmother would come to stay with us every Christmas. When she arrived in her enormous mint-green boat of a car, we would spill out of the house and race out onto the driveway to unload the trunk. It wasn’t full of presents (she mostly left those up to Santa, aka my parents) - we just wanted to make sure she’d brought the sticky buns.
There has never been a Christmas without these rich, gooey sticky buns. They’re one of those things, embedded in family history, that seems especially important at Christmas when we find special comfort in repeating the rituals of our own past and our family’s past.
These sticky buns didn’t originate with my grandmother; they’re older than that but I don’t really know how far back they go, or how many bakers came before me. I took over as official sticky bun baker when Mamie was 95 years old and had moved out of her house and into an independent living community. I made them just like she did at first, but eventually tinkered with the recipe (as I’m sure previous generations of bakers did, too), until I arrived at what I think is perfection — even softer, stickier, more cinnamon-y and buttery than the original.
Start by making the sweet dough. While it rises, make the topping and the smear. Dollop the sticky topping into the baking cups and sprinkle in the pecans.
I use hamburger bun pans from King Arthur Flour, which are the perfect size and easier to deal with than individual cups, but before I found these I used to use 4-inch Pyrex custard cups and they worked fine. If you’re going to use individual cups, make it easy on yourself and arrange the cups on large baking sheets for sliding in and out of the oven. (You could also bake the buns all together in one big, rectangular pan. The buns will form a solid block, and when you pull them apart each bun will be square rather than round. I don’t think the buns look nearly as pretty when made this way, and they also go stale faster because of the exposed raw edges when you pull them apart. Baking each bun in its own cup is a little bit more trouble, but I think it’s worth it.)
Roll the dough out to a large rectangle and spread it with the smear, then roll it up and slice it into spirals.
This detail is very important: when the hot buns come out of the oven, leave them in the baking cups or pans for EXACTLY 10 minutes. Take them out sooner and the topping will be too runny and it will all run off the buns; leave them in longer and the topping will solidify and stick to the pan.
This recipe makes 12 large buns. If you don’t need that many, do what I do and make 6 sticky buns and use the other half of the dough for something else. See some ideas in the post for Mamie’s Rolls.
An ingredient note: Mamie always used corn syrup in the topping for these buns. I now substitute Lyle’s Golden Syrup for the corn syrup because I like to avoid high fructose corn syrup. If you can’t find Lyle’s, or don’t want to bother with procuring it, use Karo light corn syrup instead.
Making this ahead and what to do with leftovers:
- Definitely make these a day ahead if you’re going to serve them for breakfast. When you’re ready to serve them, reheat them in the microwave or a 300-degree oven until they’re warm all the way through.
- They’ll keep for 3 days at room temperature (individually wrapped in plastic wrap). They also freeze well, if well wrapped, and will keep in the freezer for a couple of months.
Sticky Buns
Ingredients
- 1 recipe of dough for Mamie’s Rolls
- All-purpose flour for the board
- ¾ cup (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter (preferably European-style), at room temperature, divided, plus additional for the pans
- 1¼ cup lightly packed light brown sugar, divided
- 4 teaspoons cinnamon, divided
- ½ cup Lyle’s golden syrup, or light corn syrup
- 1½ cups pecan halves and pieces
Directions
- Step 1 Prepare the dough for Mamie’s Rolls, through to the end of the first rise.
- Step 2 Meanwhile, make the smear. Mash together ½ cup (8 tablespoons) of the butter with ¾ cup of the brown sugar and 3 teaspoons (1 tablespoon) of the cinnamon in a small bowl until they’re very smooth. The butter needs to be quite soft for this – you want the smear to be the consistency of peanut butter. If your butter is too cool and firm, soften it in the microwave on power level 2 for 15 seconds at a time until it’s soft.
- Step 3 Make the topping. Heat the remaining ¼ cup (4 tablespoons) of butter, ½ cup of brown sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon with the golden syrup or corn syrup in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter is melted, the sugar is dissolved, and the mixture is thick and smooth.
- Step 4 Generously butter twelve 4-inch custard cups or ramekins, or two 6-cup hamburger bun pans. If you’re using individual cups or ramekins, arrange them on two large baking sheets. Spoon the topping into the cups, dividing it evenly, about 2 tablespoons of topping per cup. Sprinkle in the pecan halves and pieces, dividing them evenly among the cups.
- Step 5 When the dough has finished rising, roll it out with a rolling pin on a floured board to a large rectangle, approximately 12 x 18 inches, but it doesn’t have to be precise. Shape the rectangle so that an 18-inch side is facing you, with 12 inches extending away from you. When you roll up the dough, rolling away from you, the resulting roll will be 18 inches long. (If you’re making half a recipe, the rectangle will be 12 x 9 inches, with a 9-inch side facing you, and the roll will be 9 inches long.) Spread the smear over the dough, extending all the way out to the left and right sides, but leaving a 1-inch border at the near and far edges. Starting with the edge closest to you, roll the dough up into a log. When you get to the far edge, pinch the 1 inch of bare dough into the side of the roll to seal it. Turn the roll seam side down on the board.
- Step 6 Using a serrated bread knife, carefully cut the log into 12 slices. Saw gently across the roll, not pushing down but letting the teeth of the knife do the work. Lay the slices on their sides in the topping- and pecan-filled cups. Cover the buns with kitchen towels, and let the dough rise for 40 minutes, until the buns are puffy and approximately doubled in size. About 15 minutes before the time is up, heat the oven to 325 degrees, with racks in the upper and lower thirds.
- Step 7 Bake the sticky buns for 25 minutes or until the tops are light golden brown. Halfway through the baking time, switch the pans from the upper and lower racks, and rotate them back to front so they’ll brown evenly.
- Step 8 When the buns are done, remove the pans or the individual baking cups to a cooling rack that’s placed over a sheet of waxed paper to catch drips. Cool the buns in the cups or pans for exactly 10 minutes. Turn each cup or pan over and tip the buns out onto the racks, helping them out gently with the tip of a knife, and using the knife to pull out any stuck-on pecans and arrange them back onto the tops of the buns. Cool the buns for 10 to 15 minutes before serving, or completely before wrapping and storing. To store, tightly wrap each bun individually in plastic wrap, then pack them carefully in an airtight container or zip-lock bag.
