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Sticky Buns are the ultimate weekend baking project, soft and fluffy cinnamon swirled yeast rolls baked over a gooey caramel pecan topping and flipped so every single bun is drenched in buttery, toasted pecan goodness. Yes, there is a little rising time, but the steps are simple and the payoff is a pan of bakery worthy buns that fill the whole house with cinnamon on a lazy Sunday morning. If you love a cinnamon swirl but want something quicker, our crescent roll cinnamon rolls are a great shortcut.
Make the dough, layer that pecan caramel in the pan, and flip your way to the gooiest sticky buns ever.
Sticky Buns Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 30 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 32 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 3 hours (with rising)
- 🍽️ Serving: 12 buns
- ⚡ Calories: 895kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Soft, fluffy cinnamon swirled buns under a gooey caramel pecan topping
- ✋ Difficulty: Worth the effort, simple steps with two easy rises, like our cinnamon rolls
Quick Answer
Bloom yeast in warm milk, then knead it into a soft dough with flour, sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla and let it rise until doubled. Whip butter with brown sugar, honey, and cornstarch for the topping, spread it in a baking dish, and cover with pecans. Roll the dough out, spread with butter and cinnamon sugar, roll into a log, slice, and arrange over the topping. Rise again, bake at 350 degrees for 27 to 32 minutes, then invert onto a platter.
Jump to:
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- A soft, enriched yeast dough. Butter, eggs, and milk make a tender, fluffy dough that bakes up light and pillowy under the sticky topping.
- The caramel topping goes on the bottom. Baking the brown sugar, honey, and pecan mixture under the buns means it bubbles up and coats every roll when you flip the pan.
- Cornstarch sets the caramel. A little cornstarch in the topping helps it thicken into a glossy, clingy caramel instead of running off the buns.
- Two rises build the texture. Letting the dough rise once in the bowl and again in the pan gives you that signature soft, airy crumb.
- Inverting is the magic moment. Flipping the pan onto a platter while warm drapes every bun in gooey caramel and toasted pecans.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Every bun is drenched in gooey caramel and toasted pecans from the flip.
- The enriched yeast dough bakes up soft, fluffy, and bakery worthy.
- They scratch the same cinnamon craving as our quick and easy cinnamon rolls, just extra decadent.
Key Ingredients
Simple pantry staples come together for these gooey from scratch pecan sticky buns.
- Active dry yeast: The lift behind the soft, fluffy dough, bloomed in warm milk to get it bubbling.
- Pecans: Three cups of chopped pecans make the rich, toasty topping that defines a sticky bun.
- Brown sugar and honey: The base of the gooey caramel topping that coats every bun when flipped.
- Butter: Used in the dough, the topping, and the cinnamon filling for richness throughout.
- Cinnamon: Swirled with sugar through the dough for that classic warm, cozy flavor.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
These sticky buns are easy to adapt.
- Swap the pecans for walnuts, or leave the nuts out entirely for classic caramel sticky buns.
- Add a half cup of raisins or dried cranberries to the cinnamon filling.
- Make the dough the night before and do the second rise in the fridge overnight, then bake in the morning.
- For a faster cinnamon fix, try our crescent roll cinnamon rolls instead.
How to Make Sticky Buns
- Warm the milk to about 100 to 110 degrees, then whisk in the yeast and a teaspoon of sugar. Let it sit about 5 minutes until bubbly and bloomed.
- In a stand mixer, combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the bloomed yeast, cooled melted butter, eggs, and vanilla, then knead 6 minutes until smooth. Cover and rise until doubled, about 1 to 1.5 hours.
- Make the topping by whipping the softened butter smooth, then beating in the brown sugar, honey, cornstarch, and salt. Spread it in a greased 9×13 dish and top evenly with the chopped pecans.
- Punch down the risen dough and roll it into an 18×12 inch rectangle. Spread with soft butter, leaving a small rim, then sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture all over.
- Roll the dough tightly from the long side into an 18 inch log and slice it into 12 even pieces about 1.5 inches thick.
- Arrange the slices cut side up over the pecan topping. Cover and rise again until doubled, about an hour, then bake at 350 degrees for 27 to 32 minutes until golden. Cool 10 minutes and invert onto a platter.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Check your milk temperature with a thermometer, since milk over 110 degrees can kill the yeast and milk too cool will not activate it.
- Knead until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, adding flour a tablespoon at a time only if needed.
- Roll the dough tightly so the swirls hold together and the buns bake up with defined layers.
- Let it fully double on both rises for the softest, fluffiest buns, giving it extra time in a cool kitchen.
- Invert while still warm, about 10 minutes out of the oven, so the caramel releases instead of hardening in the pan.
- Toast the pecans first if you want an even deeper, nuttier flavor in the topping.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
These pecan sticky buns are best served warm, right after you flip them onto a platter while the caramel is still gooey and the pecans are glistening. Pull them apart and serve with strong coffee for the ultimate weekend or holiday breakfast.
They make a showstopping addition to a brunch spread alongside our sour cream coffee cake and a tray of strawberry cream cheese danish.
Sticky buns are also a wonderful Christmas morning tradition. Make the dough ahead, do the second rise overnight in the fridge, and bake fresh next to a cranberry orange braid.
Sticky Buns FAQs
Yes. Assemble the buns through arranging them over the topping, then cover and refrigerate overnight instead of the second rise. In the morning, let them sit at room temperature for 30 to 45 minutes while the oven preheats, then bake as directed.
The most common reason is milk that was too hot and killed the yeast, or yeast that was past its date. Make sure the milk is between 100 and 110 degrees and that you see the yeast get bubbly during blooming before mixing the dough.
Both start with a cinnamon swirled yeast dough, but sticky buns are baked over a caramel and nut topping and then flipped so the gooey topping coats the buns. Cinnamon rolls are baked right side up and finished with icing or glaze on top.
Yes. Freeze fully baked and cooled buns in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Reheat covered in a 300 degree oven until warm and gooey, or microwave individual buns for about 30 seconds.
Store them covered at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days. Warm them in the microwave or a low oven before serving to bring back that soft, gooey texture.
You can shortcut this recipe with refrigerated cinnamon roll or biscuit dough placed over the homemade pecan caramel topping, though the texture will be different. For true bakery style sticky buns, the from scratch yeast dough is worth it.
Tried these from scratch pecan sticky buns? I would love to hear how they turned out, leave a comment and a star rating below and tell me how high your buns rose!
From Scratch Pecan Sticky Buns
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- ¾ cup whole milk
- 1 package active dry yeast
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 4 – 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- Pinch of salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 3 large eggs lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
For the pecan topping:
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 2 cups light brown sugar packed
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3 cups chopped pecans
For the Filling:
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- ½ cup unsalted butter very soft
Instructions
- Place the milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stirring occasionally, bring the milk to around 100°F, but no more than 110°F. Take off the heat, whisk in the yeast and 1 teaspoon of the granulated sugar. Let sit for about 5 minutes, until bubbly.¾ cup whole milk, 1 package active dry yeast, ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- In the body of a stand mixer, add 4 cups of the flour, the rest of the sugar, and the salt. Using the dough attachment, stir it together until combined. Once the yeast has bloomed, add it to the mixing bowl along with the cooled butter, eggs, and vanilla.4 – 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour, Pinch of salt, ½ cup unsalted butter, 3 large eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Start mixing everything together at low speed. Once combined, turn the mixer on to medium-high speed and knead the dough for 6 minutes. If your dough is sticking to the sides, add a tablespoon of flour at a time until the dough pulls away. If it is sticking to the bottom of the bowl, that is okay.
- Spray a separate large bowl with neutral flavored cooking spray. Place the dough in the bowl, and spray the top with cooking spray. Cover the whole thing with plastic wrap and set in a warm place in your house. Allow the dough to rise to double the size, about an hour to an hour and a half.
- Spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray, set aside. While the dough is rising, make the topping by placing the butter in a large bowl and whipping it until smooth with an electric hand mixer.1 cup unsalted butter
- Add the brown sugar and mix until smooth. Add the honey, cornstarch, and sea salt, mix until smooth.2 cups light brown sugar, ¼ cup honey, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Spread this mixture into the bottom of the baking dish.
- Top with the pecans, set aside.3 cups chopped pecans
- Make the filling by placing the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a medium-sized bowl, stir to combine. Set aside.½ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup light brown sugar, 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- Generously flour a clean work surface. Punch down the dough and lay it out on the work surface. Knead it a few times to form it into a ball. Using a rolling pin, roll it out into an 18×12 inch rectangle.
- Top the dough with the soft butter all over, leaving about a ½ inch rim all around the edges. Sprinkle the sugar/cinnamon mixture over the butter.½ cup unsalted butter
- Tightly roll the long side over into a roll so you have an 18-inch long log. Cut it into 12 even pieces, about 1 & ½ inches thick.
- Lay the slices cut side up on top of the topping mixture in the prepared baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise again until doubled, about one hour to 1 and a half hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Once the rolls have doubled, bake for 27-32 minutes until lightly golden brown.
- Let the dish cool on the counter for about 10 minutes. Very carefully invert the pan onto a serving platter. Serve immediately.
Notes
- This recipe can be halved for a smaller crowd.
- You can use walnuts in place of pecans or no nuts at all.
- These can be made ahead of time, see my tips above.
- The ideal liquid temperature to proof the yeast is between 100 degrees F and 110 degrees F.
- Make sure that these cool for about 10 minutes before flipping over so the topping can set up.
- These can be frozen, see my tips above.
Nutrition
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