Best-Ever Sticky Buns Recipe

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1. Prepare the Dough:

   Combine sour cream, butter, salt, and 1/3 cup of the granulated sugar in a small saucepan. Cook over medium-low, stirring occasionally, just until butter melts, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat, and cool to 100°F to 110°F.

2. Stir together warm water, yeast, and remaining 1 teaspoon granulated sugar in a small bowl. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.

3. Combine sour cream mixture, yeast mixture, and eggs in the bowl of a heavy-duty electric stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. With mixer running on medium-low speed, gradually add 3 3/4 cups of the flour, beating until a soft Dough forms and pulls away from sides but still adheres to bottom of bowl.

4. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes, adding up to 3/4 cup flour, in very small amounts, if necessary to keep it workable. (Dough should be tacky but not sticky.) Place in a lightly greased bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover and chill 8 hours or overnight.

5. Turn Dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll into a 16- x 20-inch rectangle.

6. Prepare the Filling:

   Stir together brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.

7. Sprinkle Filling evenly over Dough rectangle, pressing gently to adhere, leaving a 1-inch border on both long sides.

   Starting at 1 long side, roll up Dough, jelly-roll style.

   Using a piece of unflavored dental floss, cut off and discard 1 inch from each end of roll. Cut roll crosswise into 12 (1 1/2-inch-wide) pieces.

8. Prepare the Topping:

   Stir together all ingredients in a small bowl.

9. Assemble the sticky buns:

   Pour Topping into a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch metal baking pan. Spread to coat bottom of pan evenly. Sprinkle evenly with pecans.

   Place rolls, cut side down, in baking pan with sides touching.

   Cover with plastic wrap, and let stand in a warm place until rolls double in size, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

10. Preheat oven to 375°F. Remove and discard plastic wrap from buns. Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, 20 to 22 minutes.

    Cool in pan 5 minutes. Carefully invert buns onto a serving platter. Serve warm.

What Are Sticky Buns?

Sticky buns are a type of sweet roll made with a rich dough that swirls up fillings of brown sugar, cinnamon, and other spices. Much like cinnamon rolls, sticky buns bake up big and fluffy. But unlike cinnamon rollswhich typically have a sugary glaze or cream cheese frosting on top, sticky buns are usually inverted once baked so that a syrupy, caramel-like glaze that’s studded with nutty pieces of pecan or walnuts will be on top and drip down into each bite.

Key Ingredients for Sticky Buns

Our recipe for sticky buns is made with an enriched dough, one that includes eggs, butter, sugar, and milk, along with the yeast and flour. Enriched doughs typically make breads or buns that are more tender and buttery. Here are the key ingredients and what they do in this recipe:

• Sour cream: Sour cream adds richness and moisture to the dough, ultimately helping to tenderize the gluten strands in the flour so the final sticky buns have a bouncy, tender crumb.
• Butter and eggs: Standard ingredients for an enriched dough. Because of the higher fat content from the sour cream, butter, and eggs, however, this dough takes a little more time to rise than a classic yeast dough would. It’s worth the wait—trust us.
• Active dry yeast: Because of the long rise time of this dough, reach for active dry yeast instead of instant. You need a more controlled rise for the best texture.
• Bread flour: This type of flour contains more protein than standard all-purpose flour. It’s ideal for sticky buns because it develops more gluten, leading to bread with real structure.
• Brown sugar and cinnamon: These are used for the sticky buns’ filling for a classic flavor. We suggest dark brown sugar for the richer, more caramel-forward flavor, but you can use light brown sugar in a pinch.
• Light corn syrup and heavy cream: These are used in the syrupy topping. Both create a richer, more luscious glaze and will help prevent the sugar from hardening and crystalizing after baking and cooling.
• Pecans: You can’t have sticky buns without nuts, and we prefer pecans. Walnuts will work, too,

Recipe Tips For the Best Sticky Buns

• Don’t rush the rise. Instant yeast is great for many applications, but in this recipe, you want the slow, steady rise of active dry yeast. Leave your instant packets for another recipe.
• Be patient. The rise time for these rolls is designed to give you time in your schedule. The first dough rise is at least eight hours or overnight so you can start this the night before and finish in time for a leisurely brunch.
• Adjust seasonings. The combination of brown sugar and cinnamon is classic, and you shouldn’t feel like you need stray too far from it. But if you’ve got a spice cabinet itching for us, consider adding some cardamom, nutmeg, even allspice.

Can You Freeze Sticky Buns?

Yes, you can, but it’s not really an ideal solution. The caramel could very well break or lose some of its silky texture while freezing and thawing, resulting in a sticky bun that isn’t quite as grand as it should be.

But if you want to make these ahead of time and freeze, bake the buns entirely. Invert the pan onto a freezer-safe dish, cool, then freeze up to two months. When you’re ready to enjoy them, thaw overnight in the fridge, and warm gently in a 300°F oven until heated through.

How To Store Sticky Buns

If you end up with more buns than you can eat at breakfast, seal the remainders in an airtight container and store in the fridge up to two days. Reheat gently in the microwave or an air fryer to get the syrup warm again.