Cheat’s Brown Butter and Salted Maple Pecan Sticky Buns + Video.
So, let me tell you about one of the best recipes ever.
It’s easy…
Full of all the good things in the world…
And delicious… SO DELICIOUS… Cheat’s Brown Butter and Salted Maple Pecan Sticky Buns!
WATCH HOW-TO VIDEO HERE:
And guys, these are sticky buns like no other. Plus, they only take about an hour from start to finish. Yep, I’m keeping things EASY all week-long, cause when it comes to the days leading up to Thanksgiving, all recipes need to be EASY. You know? You know.
When thinking about a breakfast/brunch for the holidays I always, always sway towards cinnamon rolls. If you just search cinnamon rolls on the blog here, you’ll see that’s pretty clear with this recipe, this recipe AND this recipe. What can I say, my family and I all love cinnamon rolls, I mean, who doesn’t???? They’re kind of the best. Does anyone remember being a kid and popping open the can of Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls and being SO excited for the soft, buttery, doughy, cinnamony sweet rolls to come out of the oven in fifteen minutes? Cause I do.
Those rolls were our breakfast/any time snack during the week between Christmas and New Years. Good, delicious memories!
Anyway, I have since discovered homemade cinnamon rolls, and I of course never looked back. But you know, sometimes you need something easy. No messing around with yeast, flour rising, mixing…hair pulling. Just easy!
That is these sticky buns. Hence the word “cheaters” in the title. The secret is puff pastry. Actually, I think puff pasty is THE secret to holiday recipes…you will see me using it a lot in the coming month (and it’s going to be so good). If you ask me puff pastry is magical.
I used puff pastry as the dough for these sticky buns, which basically takes out all the work. YES. But what really sets these buns apart is the maple “sticky sauce”. Oh my gosh, this sauce is everything. Like my dad called these the best sticky buns he ever had… and guys, he’s kind of picky about sticky buns.
I have to agree though, these buns are the best, and part of that is surely due to the fact that they are so easy to make… but mostly because they are just so flippin good!
Random Question #1: what do you guys think of as a Thanksgiving/Christmas Breakfast?? Do you go sweet or savory? OR do you do both?!
These buns can also double a dessert or after dinner snack to serve with coffee. They are just an all day eating kind of thing, which when it comes to Thanksgiving, or any holiday gathering, is a “must have” treat to have around.
OKAY, so I wish I had more to say today, but I have to get my butt moving and get cooking. People arrive in T-minus two hours and well, I have tons and tons to do. Oddly none of my tasks involve Thanksgiving prep work or dinner prep for tonight.
Ugh. Deadlines are not my friend this week.
But hey, at least I have these sticky buns to keep me fueled (or on a sugar high?) for the next few hours. Yesss!
Random Question #2: what are you guys up to today? Are you stuck working? Traveling to family or friends for the holiday? Prepping for the feast?!?! I want to know. Yes, I’m nosy… tell me everything!
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Cheat's Brown Butter and Salted Maple Pecan Sticky Buns.
By halfbakedharvest
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: brown butter, easy, maple, sticky buns
One of the best recipes ever.
Ingredients
Sticky Sauce
- 2/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 1/2 sticks
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup raw pecans chopped
Buns
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 sheets frozen puff pastry thawed
- 2/3 cup light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray or butter.
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In a medium sauce pot, combine the maple syrup, 1/4 cup brown sugar and 12 tablespoons butter. Cook over medium heat until the butter is melted and the sauce bubbling, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
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Divide the pecans evenly among the bottom of 12 muffin cups. Now pour about 1-2 tablespoons of the sticky sauce over the pecans (reserve any remaining sauce for serving). The sticky sauce should come about 1/3 of the way up the muffin cup.
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Add 6 tablespoons butter to saucepan. Allow the butter to brown lightly until it smells toasted, about 5 minutes. Stir often, butter will foam and then settle back down. Remove from the heat and let cool 10 minutes.
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In a bowl, combine 2/3 cup brown sugar with the cinnamon.
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Lightly flour a clean surface. Unfold 1 sheet of puff pastry with the folds going left to right. Brush the sheet with half of the brown butter and then evenly sprinkle with half of the cinnamon sugar. Repeat with the remaining sheet of puff pastry.
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Starting with the end nearest you, roll the pastry up tightly like you would a cinnamon roll, finishing the roll with the seam side down. Cut about a 1/2-inch off the ends of each roll and discard. Slice each roll in 6 equal pieces, each about 1 1/2 inches wide. This should make 12 rolls. Place each roll, spiral side up, in the prepared muffin cups (place the rolls snugly into the pecans/sticky sauce).
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Place the muffin pan on a cookie sheet with sides. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the sticky buns are golden to dark brown on top and firm to the touch. Allow to cool for 5 minutes only, invert the buns onto the parchment paper lined serving plate (ease the filling and pecans out onto the buns with a spoon). Rewarm the remaining sticky sauce and drizzle it over the buns. Sprinkle the buns with salt and serve warm.
Recipe Notes
*Method adapted from [Ina Garten | http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/easy-sticky-buns-recipe.html].
Umm, okay. Can’t wait to hear your answers!
Oh, and these Salted Maple Pecan Sticky Buns – I need…you need! Let’s make these! <–DO IT.
the majority of the time i’m too impatient to wait for dough to rise, so puff pastry sounds perfect! thanksgiving breakfast is pretty mellow at my house, but christmas breakfast is always cinnamon french toast casserole (basically bread pudding) that i make and this eggy/cheesy/breakfast sausagey dish that my aunt makes.
I’m kindo of sold on the idea of puff pastry for the cinnamon rolls!! Never even crossed my mind, but since my hubby makes a mean puff pastry – sooooo good I die! – I think I am going to consider trying to have him make some this weekend and then I can go and get my fix on cinnamon rolls!! Thanx for the idea, Tieghan!
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These are definitely upgraded versions of cinnamon buns 😀 They look so gooey and delicious!
Ditto that! These look so much better than the stick buns I saw on Super Girl. Wait. I’m not ready to admit I watch Super Girl. I mean, my wife watches Super Girl. At least that’s what I tell my male co-workers. It’s ok for the female to know. Happy Thanksgiving! Drooling over these.
These look perfect! I’ve been slowly prepping for thanksgiving since Sunday (we always have 15+ people on thanksgiving and Christmas) with things like steamed green beans and chopped squash. Then yesterday was baked beans, pumpkin cheesecake, pecan shortbread and molasses cookie dough, and espresso brownies. Today will be dinner roll dough and dressing for the Brussels sprout slaw. Wednesday night I load it all up into my car and drive 3hs to my parents/grandparents’ houses. I’m a teacher so I’m working until Wednesday, so having a prep plan is a must!
Oh Tieghan, you are making me hungry AGAIN !!! I could so do with a couple of these right now. They are on my list to do 🙂
I have all the ingredients for these on hand and I cannot wait to make them!!! They look fabulous!!
Hi! These look sinful! Would it be ok to sub maple syrup for honey? Thanks! Greetings from Portugal!*
Thank you! Yes, honey will be great! Enjoy!
Can these be assembled the night before and baked in the morning? I’m not the kind of girl who wants to wake up before everyone else so I can begin cooking.
Hey Janine! Yes, that works great! Hope you love them!
They look so incredibly great and yummy! I am so getting ready for the holidays with these ones! Do you think that maple syrup would be ok as well? Thanks!
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Hi Arianna, I use maple syrup in this recipe. Hope you love these!! Happy Thanksgiving!
Even though I love the process of making real, yeasted cinnamon rolls, you sometimes just don’t have time for the double rise (those are the best) and that is when shortcuts come handy. I love the idea of using puff pastry here, they sound a bit like pecan danish pastry.
Puff pastry? Genius! And using a muffin tin? Brilliant! We make cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning here, but I just bought the canned (!) variety for Thanksgiving day as I host and I have too much prep work to do! But these looks so easy I would be stupid not to try them for Christmas! Thanks for another great recipe Tieghan!
These look so good, unfortunately my future hubby is allergic to tree nuts so we’d have to leave out the pecans. It should still be awesome thought right?
Fur sure! It will be delicious! Happy Thanksgiving!!
Forgot to answer your questions! I don’t live in America so I’m working.
Second question, Christmas morning is usually just left overs I think (we cook big for Christmas Eve). Last Christmas morning was different as I was in a relationship (still am) so had Christmas Eve with my family and than brunch Christmas Day with my then boyfriend’s (now fiancé’s) family. Brunch was savoury but I brought over Apple Cinnamon Cheesecake to indulge after :).
OMG! Why did I have to wake up and see this recipe first thing? But thank you for making it so easy to make. Excuse me while I go and get the puff pastry out of the freezer. Cheers and Happy Thanksgiving, Ardith
Puff Pastry is my best friend.
You just solved my what am I going to make for breakfast/brunch on Thursday problem! These look fantastic. We are a sweet and savory bunch and working today but errands/shopping this afternoon and tomorrow. Really enjoy your recipes!
Just added Puff Pastry to my grocery list! And just texted to a friend (who’s juggling work and prepping for T-Day) that my having started earlier has only – like Christmas – added MORE to my list to do…
Some people just really shouldn’t have extra time (ME!) – although, friends, family and neighbors… vendors – all – really seem happy that I do (MORE baked goods to go around :)!!
And with as much as I love cooking & recipes – a doc (we always talk recipes) was recently surprised to find that I DON’T Do Christmas dinners – just my casual (and dearly loved – by me) Christmas morning brunch – come in jammies (all good 🙂 – eat and see what Santa brought – And I’m thinking that THESE BUNS WILL BE INCLUDED!!
(Trial run later today as I cook and bake for Tday)
Thx Tieghan <3 ~ Maria
Using puff pastry is such a brilliant idea! I always use pre-made buttermilk biscuit dough but puff pastry sounds way better. And don’t even get me started on that sticky maple sauce.
These sticky buns look amazing!! And yesss puff pastry really is magical, so magical I have a hard time finding some really good pre-made puff pastry. Why kind did you use? I hear sometimes it good to go to your local bakery and that they have some to give you. Happy Thanksgiving!
I could seriously eat these every day.
hehe! Thanks Jennifer!
Can’t wait to make these! I love cinnamon rolls but don’t get a chance to make them too often due to the time. I worked today and now I’m at the doctor’s boo! But my neice is coming home from college so I’m excited 🙂
Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!! Thanks Stephanie! 🙂
OMG, I just drooled on my keyboard. These look so good!!
hehe! Thanks Kara! Have a great Thanksgiving!
Cinnamon rolls look so yummy! I just got off today for break because I am in high school. Going to a family reunion for my grandma’s 80th birthday! Bringing some of your Thanksgiving recipes and I think the whole big family will love them. 😉
Thank you, Kristen!! I hope the recipes are a hit! Have a great Thanksgiving!! 🙂
Those perfect little spirals!
Thanks Laura!
1. Sweet, all the way. Christmas breakfast always involves Christmas cookies. And Thanksgiving will be pumpkin french toast casserole that dangerously resembles bread pudding. Although these sticky buns are now in the running.
2. Today and tomorrow are spent on my med student neurology rotation. Which is basically work, with no pay. But I love it. Except this week I kinda just want to make pie all day.
Enjoy all the crazy cooking family time! Always look forward to your recipes!
Yes, pie all day!! 🙂
Thanks Mandy! Have a great Thanksgiving! 🙂
This recipe is INSANE! Thanks so much for sharing. You made my fall break that much more awesome and I’m about to celebrate with these hehe 🙂
hehe! Thank you! Happy Thanksgiving!!
This looks mindblowing! The pictures give me life!
Thank you! Have the best Thanksgiving!
After I go to the store to buy me some puff pastry to make these sinful cinnamon buns, I start my prep. I’ve decided I’m prepping all my side dishes, yes, even mashed potatoes, today as well as baking my pies & desserts. How the heck I’m going to hold them over in the ‘frig with two turkies already taking residence in there is beyond me! Then I’m planning my diet & exercise regimen so I can recover from the gluttony we all partake in this time of year. *sigh*
OMG!! Hope all goes well! Happy Thanksgiving!
Puff pastry for the dough is genius!!! I think I need to make these as soon as possible 🙂 I like a little savory with some sweet for holiday breakfasts. Some savory protein is usually nice to keep me fueled through all the prep work. I’m working through today, Wednesday, but then luckily I get Thanksgiving and Friday off this year! I work at a hospital and unfortunately people don’t stop getting sick just because it’s a holiday.
That is awesome! Have the best Thanksgiving and enjoy your time off!! 🙂
Sticky buns are the best, these are just gorgeous!
Oh gosh, these look truly amazing! Brown butter+maple+pecans, you can’t beat that!
Recipe saved on my to do list for this week!
Thanks for your gorgeous and yummy recipes!
Major warning to others … DO NOT put all the maple butter sauce in the muffin cups. Muffin pan should NOT be full to the rim with liquid when the rolls are placed in the pan. Right now my house is filled with the smoke from burning sugar on the bottom of my oven. Silly mistakes by an experienced cook: no baking sheet below the muffin pan (yes, this was in the instructions!) and overfilling the muffin cups. My eyes are burning even with every window in the house open, but at least I’ll have some sticky buns to enjoy while my oven is self-cleaning later!
OH NO! Sorry for the trouble, but happy you are loving the buns! 🙂
Lesson learned (again) … follow the directions! 🙂 And the sticky buns were amazing. Ridiculously over the top sticky gooey yummy-ness!
SO happy you love them! THANK YOU! 🙂
Hi! I’ve made these several times for guests and they rave about them! Do you think I could make them and store them in the muffin pan the night before, then just bake in the morning?
Hey Sarah!! So happy you love these! I have never tried making them the night before, but I do not see why that would not work. I’d let them sit on the counter while you preheat the oven to come to room temp. Let me know if you have questions, thanks!! 🙂
Your knowledge is very important
Thank you!
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This recipe looks awesome and SO easy! One question I have is whether you think it would work as well to use Pillsbury crescent dough instead of puff pastry for the rolls? Thank you!
Hey Jordan, I am not familiar with those rolls so it is hard to say. I do think it might work, but I don’t think the textures will be very similar. I think you will have more of a roll like texture. I am sure still delicious. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much!! xTieghan ?
Half Baked to the rescue again! Delish and simple enough that I could pull off after years absent from the kitchen! I was surprised by the amount of butter in these… per recipe 1.5 tbs per roll! Mine left little puddles in the tin after removing. Making again I would cut the butter in half and it would probably be just right for chewy, syrupy goodness.
Hey Alison,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, I am so glad you enjoyed! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Yikes, what a mess. Very delicious, but my caramel overflowed like crazy out of the muffin tins once they started to bake, pouring caramel all over my oven. Definitely put the muffin tin on a pan before putting in the oven.
Hey Sara,
Thanks so much for making the recipe, I am so glad it was enjoyed! Sorry, these are quite messy! Have a great week! xTieghan