These sticky buns are the perfect breakfast or brunch recipe and can even be made ahead! This from-scratch, step-by-step recipe features brown sugar, pistachios, walnuts, honey, lemon juice, and other pantry ingredients you likely already have in your home. They are irresistible. And, once you have one, you must have another. They’re sticky, sweet, nutty, buttery and the most perfect hybrid between cinnamon rolls and traditional baklava. And what makes them taste even better, is they’re a hundred times easier to whip up than regular baklava. Traditional baklava, is typically made of phyllo dough, finely crushed pistachios, butter, and a simple syrup made of sugar, water, and lemon juice. These sticky buns incorporate all those delicious baklava flavours in soft sticky buttery bun form. Sticky buns meet baklava – a match made in sweet syrupy heaven! That doesn’t even make sense but you get the idea!
Why you will love these sticky buns
- Rich and decadent
- Nutty fragrant and sticky from that honey nut topping
- Packed with warm spices and a hint of citrus, and nuts for the ultimate baklava flavoured sticky buns
- Piled high with a sticky, brown sugared, caramel-y, buttery, honey walnut pistachio topping
- A make-ahead or overnight breakfast recipe– perfect for entertaining
- Simple to prepare
What are sticky buns?
Sticky buns are type of dessert or breakfast sweet roll that generally consist of rolled pieces of leavened dough. They are baked on top of a butter, sugar, and honey combination (with nuts) that turns into an absolute dream caramel situation in the oven. Once they are finished baking, they are flipped upside-down so that all of the caramel they had been sitting in while baking is now drenching the top of them.
What’s the Difference Between Sticky Buns and Cinnamon Rolls?
Cinnamon rolls and sticky buns are made using the same leavened sweet dough and the same cinnamon sugar filling. Cinnamon rolls are baked then drizzled with a white sugar glaze, sticky buns on the other hand are baked in a brown sugar and nut caramel sauce which creates their sticky goodness.
Ingredients for these baklava sticky buns: There are 3 parts to these tasty sticky buns:
- The dough.
- The filling.
- The sticky topping.
Let’s quickly walk through the ingredients list for each part.
DOUGH
- Active dry yeast – You can use instant yeast if that’s what you have. If you use instant, you won’t need to bloom it first, but it’s a good idea to test if it’s still alive. If your yeast doesn’t foam up your yeast is dead and the buns won’t turn out. If using instant no need to bloom or activate it.
- Warm milk – make sure you use whole milk for a rich, soft, and fluffy dough it also adds extra flavor that you won’t get with low-fat milk. It’s super important to make sure your milk is lukewarm. The best temperature of the water should be anywhere from 95 degrees to 105 degrees for this. You don’t really want anything warmer, as it will kill the yeast.
- Butter – Unsalted as always. Unsalted butter gives us control on how much sodium is in our food. Make sure it’s room temperature and softened.
- Sugar – just a little granulated sugar for the dough
- Cinnamon – to spice them up a a bit
- Salt – We always need to add a bit of salt to our baked goods, to bring out all the flavors.
PECAN TOPPING
- Butter – While I used unsalted, you can use salted butter in the topping. Doesn’t need to be softened as it will be melted
- Brown Sugar – This is what’s going to create our caramel.
- Honey – This is where the sticky part comes in. You can also use corn syrup or maple syrup instead if you prefer.
- Walnuts and pistachios – Roughly chopped, you can also use pecans if you prefer.
- Lemon juice and zest – for that signature citrus baklava flavour
FILLING:
- Brown sugar – I prefer to use dark brown sugar.
- Cinnamon and lemon zest – For that is spiced citrusy burst of flavour
- Butter – unsalted again and softened
- Walnuts and pistachios – Roughly chopped, you can also use pecans if you prefer. Because we want these as nutty as baklava is!
How to make these baklava sticky buns:
- Make the sticky bun dough.
- Let the dough rise (1st rise). Transfer the dough onto a floured surface, knead it, then place it in a lightly greased bowl. Let rise until doubled in size, about 46 min to 1 hour
- Make the topping, then pour it into a greased baking pan.
- Roll the dough into a rectangle, about 10×12inches. Make sure the dough is smooth and evenly thick.
- Spread filling onto the dough.
- Tightly roll dough & cut into rolls. This should form log. Cut into 9 even rolls. Arrange them in the baking pan on top of the topping. (They bake upside down!)
- Let the rolls rise (2nd rise).
- Bake. The rolls take about 25 -35 minutes to bake. Tip: halfway through the bake time, cover the rolls loosely with aluminum foil so the tops don’t over-brown.
- Flip rolls & serve. Let the rolls cool for 5 minutes. Using oven mitts, invert the pan onto a large serving platter. The warm topping will deliciously melt down the sides! Serve and enjoy!!
Make Ahead Overnight Instructions & Storage
- These sticky buns can definitely be made ahead of time. Perfect for entertaining because they can be prepared the night before serving. To prepare the night before serving, simply place the shaped (unbaked) rolls on top of the sticky topping as instructed, cover the rolls tightly, then refrigerate for 8-12 hours. The next morning, remove the rolls from the refrigerator and allow them to rise on the counter for 1-2 hours before baking.
- Baked sticky buns will keep well for up to 5 days in a sealed container or they can be frozen. Freeze in suitable containers or trays then thaw completely before serving or reheating.
- Freezing Instructions: Baked rolls can be frozen up to 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and warm up before enjoying.
Tips for making delicious sticky buns:
- Feel free to add some lemon zest to the dough as well as it adds a nice depth of flavor.
- You can use either dark or light brown sugar for the filling and topping.
- If you don’t have walnuts or pistachios pecans will also work.
- Use a very very sharp knife to slice these buns or floss to cut the dough into buns for clean edges.
- Make sure to grease both the bowl the dough rises in and the baking dish the buns bake in really really well to stop them sticking.
- Make the caramel sauce while the dough rises to save time. It can also be made in advance and placed in the fridge.
- After baking for 15 minutes cover them with foil to stop the buns from browning too much.
- Allow the buns to cool slightly before serving.
- Try serving these with a dollop of whipped cream for an over the top indulgent treat.
- These are perfect served for breakfast, as a snack, or dessert.
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