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These sticky buns are super soft, gooey, and perfectly sticky, but not overly sweet! They’re made with homemade dough, rich caramel, and crunchy pecans that make them extra special.
You can enjoy them any time of year, but I especially love making them around the holidays, they’re perfect for Christmas morning. The centers are soft and fluffy (definitely the best part!), but honestly, the whole thing is just pure deliciousness. Enjoy them warm with a cold glass of milk!
If you love sweet rolls, check out these delicious cinnamon rolls.
Table of Contents
Ingredient Notes
See the recipe card below for ingredient quantities and complete instructions.
- Flour – I used all-purpose flour for this recipe.
- Butter – Make sure to use salted butter for this recipe, otherwise the rolls will be way too sweet!
- Pecans – If you’re not a fan of pecans, use walnuts or simply omit them,
- Brown Sugar – Make sure to use light brown sugar that is soft and fresh. If the sugar is hard, don’t use it.
Top Tips
- Many people use knives or dough cutters, but I find dental floss works best, it cuts cleanly without flattening the rolls.
- Make sure the yeast isn’t expired, always check the date before using it. Expired yeast can ruin the entire recipe!
- Use a ruler to measure for best results.
- Don’t over bake the rolls, otherwise they’ll turn out dry and hard. Bake the rolls until they’re golden brown or until the center of the rolls reach an internal temperature of 185 degrees F.
- Serve the rolls warm for best results!
- If your dough is too sticky, feel free to mix in a tablespoon of flour. The dough shouldn’t be too dry, it should be slightly sticky.
Storage
Place any leftover rolls in an air-tight container and keep them at room temperature for up to 3 days. Microwave for a few seconds before serving.
These buns can also be frozen. I usually separate them into individual buns then freeze on a sheet pan. Once all the buns are frozen, they can be placed into a zipper top bag and put back in the freezer and they won’t freeze together. Or you could individually wrap them.
Tried This Sticky Buns Recipe?
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Sticky Buns
These sticky buns are super soft, gooey, and perfectly sticky, but not overly sweet! They’re made with homemade dough, rich caramel, and crunchy pecans that make them extra special.
Equipment
- 9×13 baking dish
Ingredients
- 4 ½ – 5 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons INSTANT dry yeast, see notes
- 1 cup warm whole milk, not over 110F (see notes)
- 6 tbsp salted butter, melted
- 2 large eggs
Sticky Caramel Topping
- 1/2 cup salted butter
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Sticky Bun Filling
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup salted butter, softened
Instructions
Making the Dough
- In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer stir together 4 ½ cups of the flour, ½ cup sugar, and 2 teaspoons of instant yeast.
- Pour in the warm milk, melted butter, and 2 eggs.
- Using the dough hook attachment, turn the stand mixer on low to combine all the ingredients. Once the ingredients come together you can increase the speed to medium (level 4 on a KitchenAid Stand Mixer).
- Continue to let the dough hook knead the dough for 5-6 minutes. If the dough is sticking to the sides or bottom of the bowl, you can add a tablespoon at a time of more flour just until it stops sticking. The dough shouldn't be too dry, it should be slightly sticky.
- If you don’t have a stand mixer with a dough hook you can knead by hand. Kneading by hand will take about 10-15 minutes until you get a smooth elastic ball of dough with no lumps.
- Place the dough ball in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place in a warm spot away from drafts to allow it to double in size, about 1 ½ – 2 hours. While waiting, make the Sticky Caramel Topping and the Sticky Bun Filling.
Making the Topping
- Grease the sides of a 9×13 baking pan (I used a metal baking pan for best heat transfer).
- In a small saucepan add the butter, brown sugar, whole milk, and honey. Turn the heat up to medium and cook with some stirring until the mixture begins to boil, about 4 minutes (it will seem like it is really boiling, this is normal).
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and pour the caramel sauce evenly into the prepared 9×13 pan.
- Sprinkle the chopped roasted nuts on top of the caramel mixture, then set the pan aside.
Making the Filling
- Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon and set aside. (The butter will be used later in assembly)
Assembling the Sticky Buns
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Once the dough has doubled in size gently release the air by pressing down on the dough. Bring the dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll it out into a rectangular shape approximately 12”x18”. You can adjust the edges with your hands if necessary to get it as rectangular as possible.
- Evenly spread out the soft butter over the rolled-out dough leaving a small border around the edge approximately 1” wide. (I now realize you only need the 1” border on the long sides, not the short sides, but that’s what I did – you get less cinnamon sugar on the end rolls if you leave a 1” wide border on the short ends – not the end of the world)
- Sprinkle the sticky bun filling (sugar/cinnamon/nutmeg mixture) evenly over the butter
- Tightly roll up the dough starting at one of the long ends. Pinch the seam together.
- Cut the 18” log into 12 even pieces using a sharp serrated knife. (I see some people use dental floss but this did not work for me). See notes for getting even slices.
- Place the 12 cut rolls into the prepared pan and on top of the nuts and caramel.
- Cover the pan with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise again (about 15-30 minutes). The rolls should puff up a bit, and once they are touching each other remove the plastic wrap and place the pan in the 350F oven. Bake for 28-30 minutes. The tops should be browned a bit and an instant read thermometer placed into the middle roll should read 180F or more. If the buns are browning too fast you can tent some aluminum foil over them.
- Remove the pan from the oven and let the buns cool for about 5 minutes, but not completely.
- Place a suitable serving platter or baking sheet over the buns, and in one quick motion flip the pan so that the rolls are now sitting on the serving platter (the tops of the buns are now the bottoms of the buns). Let the 9×13 pan sit on top for a minute or two to allow as much of the caramel to drip down on top of the buns.
- Remove the 9×13 pan.
- Sticky buns are best served warm. Enjoy!
Notes
- Many people use knives or dough cutters, but I find dental floss works best, it cuts cleanly without flattening the rolls.
- Make sure the yeast isn’t expired, always check the date before using it. Expired yeast can ruin the entire recipe!
- Use a ruler to measure for best results.
- Don’t over bake the rolls, otherwise they’ll turn out dry and hard. Bake the rolls until they’re golden brown or until the center of the rolls reach an internal temperature of 185 degrees F.
- Serve the rolls warm for best results!
- If your dough is too sticky, feel free to mix in a tablespoon of flour. The dough shouldn’t be too dry, it should be slightly sticky.
Nutrition
Calories: 369kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 76mg | Sodium: 164mg | Potassium: 106mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 41g | Vitamin A: 612IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 71mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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