Perfectly flaky dough with a caramel and nut topping that’s not overly sweet, but just sweet enough to give your sweet tooth a fix. Ina Garten knows her homemade pecan sticky buns, and after you make this sticky buns recipe, you’ll know and love them, too.
There are a billion things on my plate to get done but I’ll be darned if I actually want to sit down and start crossing things off my list. We all feel this way once in a while, but one thing that always helps me feel like I can conquer the day (and ever-growing to-do list) is baking.
And since breakfast kicks off the day, it's a great place to start. Sticky buns are kind of my thing. Not only am I known for making this Ina Garten Sticky Buns recipe, I've tried so many amazing flavor combinations that I need some sort of crown or pin for my achievements.
What Are Sticky Buns?
Sticky buns are warm, gooey and delicious. They’re a yeast bread that is filled with delicious ingredients like nuts and caramel before baking. The water in the dough creates steam, which causes bubbles to form within the dough while it rises. Placing butter on top of the caramel helps create an ultra flaky crust.
What You Need For This Homemade Sticky Bun Recipe
- Pecans
- Puff pastry
- Butter
- Sugar
For The Filling
- Cinnamon
- Sugar
- Butter
- Raisins (not everyone likes them, so feel free to leave them out if you prefer them that way)
How to Make Sticky Buns
This Ina Garten recipe for sticky buns are super easy to make. They use a muffin tin to hold their shape, so that takes some of the work out for you. And keeps the sticky topping contained and right where it belongs-on top of the buns, not pooling in the pan.
Start by preheating the oven and lining a muffin tin with parchment paper rounds or even cupcake liners.
Then cream the butter and sugar together with a hand mixer or stand mixer Add a pat of the butter mixture to each muffin cup and sprinkle the pecans evenly over top.
Next, unfold the puff pastry onto a clean work surface sprinkled with flour. Brush the entire surface of the puff pastry with melted butter.
Add the filling by sprinkling the brown sugar, cinnamon, and raisins over the surfaceof the pastry, being sure to leave a 1-inch border along the long edge to pinch closed with rolled.
Starting from long the side that has the cinnamon sugar mixture on it, roll the puff pastry up into a log, finishing with the pinched seamed down. Slice into 6 buns and repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry to make enough buns to fill the muffin tin.
Place each, spiral side up into the muffin tins, and then bake in the preheated oven.
Finally, allow the sticky buns to cool at least 5 minutes before flipping the tin over. The filling is super hot! If needed, use a spoon to help wiggle each bun out of the tin.
Serve as soon as they are cool enough to eat!
Seriously, is there anything you can think of that smells more like a big cozy hug? Sticky buns are the epitome of comfort food, especially on a cold morning.
Once you bite into that soft gooey perfection, you can’t help but smile. So make some sticky buns, have a cup of coffee, and get down to business.
Pecan Sticky Buns Variations
I know I mentioned I love dabbling in new flavors for my favorite sticky buns recipe, so I wanted to share a few of my favorites.
- Caramel Sticky Buns- Use a drizzle of caramel sauce when you do the brown sugar and butter, then add some to the top for good measure
- Orange Pecan Sticky Buns- Add some orange extract to the sticky buns recipe then add a bit to the glaze.
- Apple Cinnamon Sticky Buns-add ½ teaspoon apple pie spice to the brown sugar before mixing it with the butter.
Breakfast? Check! You’ve got this.
Frequently Asked Questions
When they are golden brown on top, Insert a knife or toothpick and when it comes out clean your dough is done through to the center.
I don’t usually find this to be a problem but if it is your experience, and you’ve followed all the steps, you can give your muffin tin a coat of non-stick spray before you fill it. You can also buy a non-stick tin like this one here.
Oven temperature can vary so check your buns early. You can also get an in-oven thermometer to check for the true temperature and find out if you have any hot spots.
If your buns are a bit stale you can place a glass of water in the microwave with your pastry and they’ll revive perfectly!
You can easily rewarm any leftover sticky buns in the microwave, oven, or air fryer. Use an appropriate baking dish and warm on a low heat setting.
You can store your pastries in an airtight container in the refrigerator for several days.
More delicious breakfast recipes
Banana Bread with Nutella Swirls
Quick Maple Cinnamon Rolls
Toasted Coconut Blueberry Banana Bread Scones
If you’ve tried my Sticky Buns recipe or any other recipe on passthesushi.com please don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know where you found it in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also follow along for more good eats and travel tips on Instagram @passthesushi & @girlcarnivore, Twitter & Facebook.
Easy Homemade Sticky Buns
AmericanEquipment
Ingredients
For the buns:
- 12 tablespoon 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter - at room temperature
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar - lightly packed
- ½ cup pecans - chopped in very large pieces
- 1 package - 17.3-ounces/ 2-sheets frozen puff pastry, defrosted
For the filling:
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter - melted and cooled
- ⅔ cup light brown sugar - lightly packed
- 3 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup raisins
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Place a 12-cup standard muffin tin on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the 12 tablespoons butter and ⅓ cup brown sugar.
- Place 1 rounded tablespoon of the butter mixture in each of the 12 muffin cups.
- Distribute the pecans evenly among the 12 muffin cups on top of the butter and sugar mixture.
- Lightly flour a wooden board or stone surface.
- Unfold 1 sheet of puff pastry with the folds going left to right. Brush the whole sheet with the melted butter.
- Leaving a 1-inch border on the puff pastry, sprinkle each sheet with ⅓ cup of the brown sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons of the cinnamon, and ½ cup of the raisins.
- Starting with the end nearest you, roll the pastry up snugly like a jelly roll around the filling, finishing the roll with the seam side down.
- Trim the ends of the roll about ½-inch and discard. Slice the roll in 6 equal pieces, each about 1 ½ inches wide.
- Place each piece, spiral side up, in 6 of the muffin cups. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry to make 12 sticky buns.
- Bake for 30 minutes, until the sticky buns are golden to dark brown on top and firm to the touch. Be careful – they’re hot!
- Allow to cool for 5 minutes only, invert the buns onto the parchment paper (ease the filling and pecans out onto the buns with a spoon) and cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional informations provided as a courtesy and is only an approximatation. Values will changes based on ingredients used.
⭐ Tried this recipe? Rate it ⭐
Help out the next person and give it a star rating below!
Lamb says
I need to pay closer attention. I was scrolling through your tasty sticky bun photos, reached the end, and said "She put green onions on her sticky buns?!?"
Next time, I want to see your to do list. No deleting! 🙂
Joy says
I have had those sticky buns on my "to bake" list for about a year. Delicious?
And, dude, I am in a rut, too. I think it's the "summertime blues". Ugh.
You can do it!
Kita says
I can't say they were delicious - though they were good. I think there are better recipes out there and I plan on trying a few. Alton Brown has an over night one that I may try next. These seemed to almost be too done on the bottom (which are the tops in the tin) with the butter sugar mixture sticking a little too much to the tins and not soaking down into the buns. They were a great quick fix Sunday breakfast though.
Charmaine says
I really liked Alton's when I tried his recipe. ^_^ Sadly though, they dried out a little the next day....
Kita says
I saw him make some from scratch and I really wanted to try them. I was in a pinch for time though and went with these. Its good to know that his version is good! Thank you!
Sue B says
Could these be baked ahead and frozen? Or, alternatively, prepared and frozen before baking?
Kita says
Sure thing. Just make sure to reheat them at a low 325 to not over back or burn the topping
Kelly says
These turned out great! Super simple and yummy. I used a silicone muffin mold, so topping sticking was not an issue. I will definitely make again.
Kita says
Crisp high fives!