Pecan Sticky Buns

Ok so don't those look yummy?! I'll tell you what! They are so yummy!

So I kinda took two recipes and mixed them to get what I wanted so hopefully this will make sense. I also only made a 8x8 pan full of sticky buns rather than a 9x13 so again you'll have to bear with me as I try to make sense of it all. I guess I'm not very good at sticking exactly to a recipe. But that's ok cause we get some yummy food out of my craziness!

For the dough:

• 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar]
• 1/2 cup warm milk
  
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
  
• 3 1/2-4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

For the filling:

• 1/3 cup light brown sugar I probably used double this
  
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon I probably used like 5 tablespoons! Jared LOVES cinnamon!
  
• 1/2 cup chopped pecan nuts
  
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

For the glaze: (for a 9x13 pan - I halved it for my recipe cause I used a 8x8 pan)

• 1 1/4 cups (packed) golden brown sugar
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup dark corn syrup
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 cups pecan halves

To make the dough, dissolve the yeast and 1 tablespoon of the sugar in 1/2 cup lukewarm water. Set aside for about 5 minutes until foamy. Meanwhile, mix warm milk, butter, remaining sugar, and salt, and stir until dissolved.

Put flour into a large bowl. Add the yeast, warm milk mixture, and the egg, and stir to make a dough. Knead for 10 minutes on a lightly floured board, incorporating more flour as necessary, until the dough is soft, silky, and pliable. Form into a ball. Place in a buttered bowl and turn to coat the dough all over. Cover and leave to rise until twice its original size. This will take about 2 hours. At this point, the dough can be left overnight in the fridge, ready to use the next morning. When well risen, punch down the dough, then leave to rest for 10 minutes. Prepare filling by mixing the sugar, cinnamon, and nuts in a small bowl.

Roll out the dough into a rectangle measuring about 12 x 9 inches. Brush with the melted butter. Sprinkle the filling mixture over the dough, pressing it in slightly. Roll up the dough like a jelly roll, starting at one long side. Using a sharp knife, or floss cause that's the easy way, cut the roll across into 12 equal slices.

Butter your pan. For glaze, beat brown sugar, butter, honey, corn syrup, and water in medium bowl to blend. Spread glaze in bottom of prepared pan. Sprinkle pecans over the glaze.

Place 12 rounds, cut side down, in pan, spacing evenly. Cover. Let buns rise in warm area until almost doubled, about 1 hour. I could only fit 9 rounds into my 8x8 pan. They were spaced evenly but very close to each other so I was a little scared they wouldn't cook where they were touching but they did. I made the extra rounds I had into just plain old pecan cinnamon rolls with frosting. Yum! We enjoyed two different types of rolls and I only had to make one recipe!

Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake buns until deep golden brown, about 30 minutes. Run small knife around pan sides to loosen sticky buns. Turn hot buns out onto platter. Cool about 30 minutes and serve. I only cooked mine for 20 minutes. So make sure you know your oven.