Sunday, January 30, 2011

Honey-Nut Sticky Buns



The sticky, nutty topping on these buns is to die for! With brown sugar, heavy cream and a touch of honey, they are rich and complex in flavor. The dough get its touch of sweetness from honey instead of sugar.

You can easily have freshly baked cinnamon buns in the morning by making these right before bed and popping them in the fridge to rise. Then all you do is bake them straight outta the fridge the next morning and voila!

According to the Rachel Ray Magazine's February 2011 issue, 29% of people shy away from recipes involving yeast. I used to be one of these people, but not anymore! Now yeast is one of my favorite things to work with. It's not difficult at all - in fact yeast breads can fit completely around YOUR schedule with the use of your fridge or freezer to slow the rising process until you're ready to shape and bake. You will be rewarded with freshly made sticky buns and the most amazing aroma throughout your house.

On the topic of houses, I'm super-excited to have the opportunity to do a review of one of CSN Stores' products. There is so much to choose from in their stores and you can also read customer reviews of their products right on their website. I know from personal experience that their shipping is quick and their products are high quality. Lots of their products also have free shipping if you spend > $69. I'm in the midst of house-hunting (condo-hunting actually) and I've fallen in love with several of their furniture pieces. One piece I am eying is this Round Chair which comes in 5 colors and would fit into any style home, from retro to modern.



Honey-Nut Sticky Buns
Makes 12 | Adapted from "A Treasury of Southern Baking"

Dough
1/4 cup honey
1 pkg (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 cup warm milk
4 tbsp (1/2 stick) butter, melted and cooled
1 egg
3 1/2 - 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup raisins or other dried fruit, chopped (optional)

Filling
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted and cooled
2/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp ground cinnamon

Glaze
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans or walnuts
1/4 teaspoons salt

DOUGH: In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the water, yeast, and 1 teaspoon of the honey. Stir to dissolve and let stand until foamy (about 5 minutes.) Add the remaining honey, salt, butter, egg, milk, and 3 cups of the flour. Mix on low speed until combined.

Switch to dough hook and continue mixing on low speed, slowly adding the remaining flour 1/4 cup at a time. Increase the speed to medium and mix until the dough looks silky smooth and a bit tacky, but not too sticky. If the dough is too wet, add another tablespoon or two of flour. Add raisins or other chopped dried fruit if using. Continue mixing for 3 to 4 minutes. Turn the mixer off, and shape the dough into a ball.

Put the dough in a greased bowl, turning it to coat. Cover and let the dough rise in a warm spot until it doubles in volume (about 1 1/2 hrs) After the dough has risen, gently deflate it and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle measuring 18 x 9 inches.

FILLING: brush the dough with the melted butter and sprinkle evenly with the sugar and cinnamon. Roll up the dough from one long end and pinch to seal. Slice into 12 equal pieces.

TOPPING: Combine all the glaze ingredients in a small saucepan and heat, stirring, just until melted. Pour the glaze into a 9 x 13 inch pan. Arrange the buns in the pan (there should be a little bit of room for them to rise.)

To bake today: Cover with a tea-towel and let them rise at room temperature until almost doubled and puffy, 45-60 mins, then bake for 35-45 mins in a 350 degree F oven.

To Bake the next morning: Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the plastic wrap from the pan and bake the sticky buns for 25 to 30 minutes, or until they are golden brown. You might need longer for a glass pan.

5. Invert immediately onto a large baking sheet. Leave the pan upside down for 5-10 minutes to let all the topping seep out and into the buns. Remove the pan and scrape out any sticky topping and nuts onto the buns. Serve warm or at room temperature. Store fully cooled buns at room temperature in an air airtight container or wrap them well and freeze.

Note: Take care to invert the buns soon after you remove the pan from the oven or you risk letting the topping cool too much and get stuck to the pan. If you use a metal pan, the baking time is shorter than if you use a glass pan. If they are browning too quickly, tent with foil. Enjoy!

9 comments:

Taylor said...

These look delicious! I didn't realize yeast could be slowed down or stalled by the freezer...thanks for the tip!

cocoa and coconut said...

Wow I can imagine how good these would be warm out of the oven! That's a great idea to make them the day before and baking them in the morning..

BARESTUDY (Janelle) said...

these look delish!!!

Janelle
http://barestudy.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

I can eat the whole platter up. You have outdone youself Tia, they looks simply superb :)

Anne said...

These look so great with the topping on the rolls, wow! Awesome job!

Anonymous said...

I used to be one of those people that were afraid of yeast too but no longer! These look fabulous Tia and I love that they can be made the day before and just popped into the oven the next morning. Thank you so much for sharing with Cookbook Sundays and happy condo hunting!

Miz Helen said...

Hi Tia,
Your sticky buns look so delicious, I really wish I had one right now. Thank you for sharing!

Melynda@Scratch Made Food! said...

Is there enough pecans in the world to enjoy this treat as often as I would like, probably not! I adore pecan sticky buns, thanks for sharing.

Couscous & Consciousness said...

Ok you had me at "Honey-Nut", by the time I got to "Sticky" I wanted to marry you. Well, ok, at least if I was a man I would want to marry you and wake up to these buns every morning. They look divine.

Sue :-)