Sticky Pecan Buns

Recipe modified by You Want Me to Cook? on February 20, 2011

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Recipe originally published in Good Housekeeping, February 2011.

So my quest to make breakfast has lately hit a roadblock.  Before it did, I was cranking out an egg dish every week.  Then I decided I needed to make a pastry as well, if only because I have a ton of recipes for muffins, rolls, waffles, pancakes, etc…  I was going to start out big and bold and then chickened out.  I ended up picking out a quickie recipe for a very complex pastry.

My finished product: © You Want Me to Cook? Sticky Pecan Buns

Picture published with recipe: None

Good Housekeeping had done a whole bunch of these quickie recipes and none of them had pictures.  And what a shame!  I am far from a professional photographer (I barely can point-and-click) and look how gorgeous these look on the plate.  As I was going through my pictures for this post, I began to drool.

Assessment:

for more details about what my ratings mean, go to Gretchen’s Rating System

Mess:  EH – It really wasn’t bad and I first typed my rating as NADA, but I forgot about the pressing the biscuits into circles and rolling them.  It wasn’t a horrible mess, but there was some mess involved.  Nothing that my sponge didn’t clean up though.

Start-to-Finish Time: AROUND AN HOUR – only about 20 minutes of that is hands-on and the rest is baking time.

Prep Work: ALL FINGERS STILL HERE – I bought pre-chopped pecans, so there was no prep work at all for me.  It was a mix-and-go recipe.

Ease of Recipe: COOK IT IN MY SLEEP – I would trust everything up to the “slice in half” part to young children.  That is most of the recipe.

Overall:  SORRY HONEY, NO LEFTOVERS – we ate the entire pan over the course of the day.  I’m not really proud of that.  I just couldn’t help myself, and if I can’t pass up a sweet, there’s no way my husband is going to pass it up either.  Think Cookie Monster but with sticky pecan buns.  I literally had to beat him off the last one.

Recipe Information:

Prep/Total Time: none given

Servings: 16

Nutritional Information

None listed

Good Housekeeping really didn’t give any time or nutritional information.  I’m sure it is because it is a simplified version and they assume that it will take everyone a short amount of time.  Still, it would be nice if they gave you some indication of how long it will take.  I’m not even going to pretend that it’s got a shred of being healthy.

Here is how long it took me to make the sticky buns:

• Prep Time: None
• Assembly Time: 20  minutes
• Bake Time: 30-35 minutes
• Total Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients:

Changes denoted by red text

© You Want Me to Cook?
Sticky Pecan Buns
Ingredients Needed

1 tube of buttermilk biscuits (16- to 16.3-ounce; 8 biscuits)

3 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup brown sugar

¾ cup chopped pecans

¼ cup brown sugar

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

Ingredient Notes:

Buttermilk Biscuits – there was no specific type of refrigerated biscuit specified, so I used a buttermilk store brand.

Chopped Pecans – to save myself some time, I bought pre-chopped pecans.  If you have whole pecans you want to use, add your mini-chop to your equipment list.  Don’t chop them too fine, you want to have nice chunks on top.

Equipment Needed:

© You Want Me to Cook?
Sticky Pecan Buns
Equipment Needed

Mixing bowl

(2) Spoons - mixing

Plastic spatula

Small bowl

Cutting board

Sharp knife

Cake pan - 8"

Equipment Notes:

Cake Pan – according to Better Homes and Gardens metal pans are best used to achieve nicely browned baked goods or for broiling and high temperatures.  If you only have a glass cake pan, you can use it, but you may not achieve that gorgeous brown color as easily.

Directions:

(1)  Set oven to 350°F.

(2)  In bowl, microwave butter on High 1 minute.

(3)  Stir in 1/3 cup brown sugar; cook 1 minute, stirring once.

The sugar should start to melt and the mixture should look like golden brown syrup.

(4)  Stir in pecans, chopped; spread in 8-inch cake pan.

(5)  Mix ¼ cup brown sugar and cinnamon. With hand, flatten biscuits to 1/8 inch; spread heaping teaspoon cinnamon sugar in center.

(6)  Roll tightly; slice in half. Place, cut sides down, in pan.

The easiest way to roll them up is to keep the spice/sugar mixture to one side, leaving about ½” on the other side.  Press the mixture lightly into the biscuit before rolling.  Then, start rolling from the side with the  mixture.

(7)  Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until golden. Invert onto plate; serve warm.

These were so good, I can’t even begin to describe.  Okay, I guess this is a blog where you expect me to describe it, so here goes… The pecans caramelized in the brow sugar to make a praline glaze that completely coated the pecans and I wanted to eat all by alone.  You don’t even remember they are biscuits – you think they are some kind of elegant pastries that have been painstakingly made from scratch.  They are ooey-gooey and salty-sweet.  Seriously, the amount of time it takes you to make them, you MUST try the recipe at least once.  You’ll be sorry if you don’t.