Pecan Stickiest Buns

I have been wanting to make these for a least a year, but the time commitment for the double rise always scared me away. I finally tried it from brunch last weekend and I will never be afraid again! These are awesome!

Pecan Stickiest Buns
modified from The Modern Baker
makes 15 buns
(but honestly it would be ok to split one bun between 2 people!)

Sweet Yeast Dough:
2/3 cup milk
5 teaspoons active dry yeast*
8 Tablespoons butter (1 stick), softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
4 cups flour

Heat milk in a small saucepan until it is just luke warm (about 110F). Pour the milk into a small bowl and whisk in the yeast. Set aside.

Combine butter, sugar, salt, spices, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer. With paddle attachment, beat until well combined, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs and yolks one at a time, beating smooth after each addition.

Decrease the speed to low and add 2 cups of flour. Stop and use a rubber spatula to scrape down the bowl and beater. Still on low, add the yeast mixture. After the liquid has been absorbed, beat in the remaining flour. Scrape down bowl and beater again, then beat the dough for 2 minutes. Stop and let the dough rest for 15 minutes.

Beat the dough on low to medium until it is smooth and fairly elastic, about 2 additional minutes. Scrape the dough into a buttered bowl and turn it over so the top is buttered too. Cover the bowl with a towel and let dough rise until doubled in bulk, 1 to 2 hours or more depending on the temperature of the room*.

Filling:
8 Tablespoons (1 stick) butter, very soft
1 cup light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup pecans or walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped*

Sticky Bun Mixture:
8 Tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup dark corn syrup
2 cups pecans or walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped*

Make the filling: With a small rubber spatula, stir together butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.

Make the sticky bun mixture: Melt the butter in a small pan. With a small rubber spatula, mix together all ingredients. Keep the mixture in the pan and leave the pan on the stove, so the mixture doesn't harden too quickly, while you are assembling the buns.

Prepare your pan: Butter the bottom and sides of a 9 x 13 x 2 inch glass baking pan. Line the pan with foil and then butter the bottom and sides of the foil.

Flour a work surface and press the dough into a rough rectangle. Even up the sides and corners with your hands and lightly flour the dough. Gently roll it into a 12 x 20 inch rectangle.

Scrape the butter filling onto the dough and gently spread evenly, with a small rubber spatula.  Scatter the chopped pecans or walnuts over the butter mixture.

Roll up the dough, jelly-roll style from on of the 12 inch ends without stretching it. Pinch the end in place to seal it. Use a sharp knife to cut the roll into 3 equal pieces. Then cut each into 5 equal pieces. You should have 15 equal pieces in the end.

Spread the sticky bun mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Arrange the buns, cut side down on top of the mixture, making 3 rows of 5 buns. Keeping them about 1/2 inch apart all around.*

Cover the pan with a towel and let the buns rise until doubled in bulk.

Bake at 375 degrees fro 25 to 30 minutes, until they are firm and golden and the sugar mixture in the bottom of the pan is bubbling gently.*

Place the pan on a rack and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Place a cutting board on the pan and invert. Lift off the pan. Carefully peel away the foil. If some of the pecans/walnuts stick to the foil, just pry them off with a fork and replace them on the buns.

***Notes:
1. The quantity of yeast in this recipe seems like overkill. I buy bulk yeast and only had about 3 teaspoons left, so I only used 3 teaspoons and everything rose just fine.

2. I made this for a Sunday brunch, so I made the dough on Saturday morning and let it rise all day (my house is really cold). Then I made the filling and sticky bun mixture on Saturday night and assembled everything and stuck the pan in the fridge overnight. In the morning, I pulled the pan out of the fridge, let  the buns rise for about an hour and then baked them.

3. The original recipe (and tradition!) calls for pecans, but I love walnuts and was out of pecans. And I always toast nuts when baking with them, so I used toasted walnuts and the sticky buns were delicious.

4. I found it impossible to fit 15 buns in a 9 x 13 pan without the buns touching, much less to give them a 1/2 inch space between them. Mine were touching, even crowing each other and they turned out just fine.

5. Place a baking sheet in the rack under the sticky buns to catch the overflowing sugar mixture.

6. And since the majority of my family is "counting points" (myself included), these sticky buns point out at about 11 points each. Yikes!