Biscuit Sticky Buns

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If you want homemade sticky buns and you want them now, then this is the way to go. And if you have the super easy caramel sauce on hand (which I strongly recommend!) it goes even quicker, you’re about an hour away from these scrumptious buns. Over the weekend, as the newly made caramel sauce waited in the refrigerator (waiting for me to make ice cream), I was watching an episode of Brunch at Bobby’s on The Cooking Channel. This might seem insignificant, but truth be told we have not had TV for several years. We had ditched our cable TV when one night we turned it on and realized something wasn’t connected, and that we hadn’t watched cable TV for months, spending our precious non-office hours either online or out and about in the city. Now after 5 or 6 years without cable TV it feels… almost like a new technology. I suppose this is how books will be when digital content dominates (I hope this doesn’t happen!). But I had been missing the cooking shows all these years. Food TV is very stingy with its online offerings of shows on Amazon or Hulu. And looking back I drew a lot of inspiration from Barefoot Contessa and others. But it was online that I found inspiration for food photography. That isn’t something you really get on TV, the content needs to move too fast, and it’s full of commercials, and, most bizarrely as I’m writing this, I have my blog open in the background, and an ad on my website takes over full screen with video and audio! I kid you not, just as I’m writing about the tone of the web versus TV. I must apologize for these ads if they get annoying. I will be a happy blogger the day I can take them down. So the biscuit sticky buns. I saw Bobby Flay make them on the fancy new futuristic TV I have, ha ha, it looked easy and sure enough they come together fast. We devoured them pretty quickly and this was the only one remaining for the photo shoot. And full disclosure they do not look like this out of the oven, I prettied it up with some extra sauce, but either way you will not be disappointed! 

Biscuit Sticky Buns

(adapted from Bobby Flay)

 

Biscuit Dough:

  • Butter, for greasing
  • 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
  • 1 1/2 cups cold buttermilk or 6 tablespoons buttermilk powder

 

Filling:

  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/4 cup granulated pure cane sugar
  • 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped toasted pecans, plus more for topping

 

Topping (or use caramel sauce recipe here):

  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 1/4 cups packed light brown muscovado sugar
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • Pinch fine sea salt

 

For the dough: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly butter the sides and bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.

Using a dough cutter, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and buttermilk powder if using, in a large bowl. Cut in the butter using your fingers or a dough cutter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the buttermilk or 1 1/2 cups cold water if using buttermilk powder, and gently mix until the mixture just begins to come together.

Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured counter. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 16-by-12-inch rectangle about 1/4-inch thick. Position the dough so the short side is facing you.

For the filling: Brush the surface of the dough with the softened butter. Combine the sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Spread the mixture evenly over the butter, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Spread the chopped pecans over the sugar mixture.

Fold 1/4-inch of the short side in. Roll the dough up tightly into a log starting on the shorter side. Using your hands to apply pressure, roll the log back and forth a few times to seal the dough. Slice 1/4-inch of dough off each side to even the ends, then cut the log into 8 equal pieces.

For the topping: Combine the butter and 1/4 cup water in a medium nonstick saucepan over high heat and cook until the butter is melted. Whisk in the brown sugar and cook until smooth and bubbly. Reduce the heat to low, whisk in the heavy cream and cook for 1 minute. Add the salt, then remove from the heat and keep warm.

Pour the warm topping into the prepared baking dish. Scatter some additional chopped pecans evenly over the surface. Place the buns in the baking dish, cut-side down. Bake until puffed and golden brown, 25 to 35 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool on a baking rack for 5 minutes. Carefully invert onto a platter (the bottom needs to be warm or they will stick to the dish, rewarm dish on stove top if they stick).