Honey Buns
I am sure you have had a version of these cinnamon rolls before – maybe called sticky buns. No matter what you call them, they are delicious. They differ from traditional cinnamon rolls in that they are covered in honey and pecans instead of frosting. I think this makes them easier to make and just as tasty, if not more because of the nuts. That is, if you are a nut fan. I wasn’t when I was a kid so my mom always made half without the nuts.
It was tradition to eat these honey buns for breakfast on Thanksgiving and Christmas morning. My mom doubled the recipe, made them the night before, refrigerated them overnight and popped them in the oven in the morning to warm them up. Eating a warm honey bun with butter brings me right back to Christmas morning.
In this recipe I have used traditional measurements and metric – grams (except for the honey – I usually just squeeze enough honey to cover the bottom of the pan. I only have a gram measurement for the honey here but you can eyeball it too.) You can get a kitchen scale here if you don’t have one. I am kind of getting into weighing my ingredients – it makes it exact each time (and it is fun)!
Honey Buns
Soft, fluffy cinnamon rolls covered in honey and pecans.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup scalded milk
- 2 Tbsp or 24 grams sugar
- 1 tsp or 5.6 grams salt
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 Tbsp or 8 grams yeast
- 1 egg
- 3 1/2 cups or 420 grams flour
- 180 grams honey
- chopped pecans
- 1/4 cup butter
- brown sugar
- cinnamon
Instructions
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If you are using active dry yeast, place yeast in a small bowl, sprinkle with a bit of sugar and add 4 Tablespoons of lukewarm water. Mix and let sit for about 5 minutes until it becomes foamy. Skip this step if you are using instant yeast.
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Scald milk by placing in a small sauce pan and heating until bubbles form around the edge. You can also put it in the microwave for 1 minute and 20 seconds. Mix in sugar, salt, and oil. Allow to cool to lukewarm. Add the yeast and mix. Add the egg.
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Stir in the flour and knead on a floured surface. Knead for 5-10 minutes until the dough is soft and elastic.
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Spray a bowl with non-stick cooking spray and place the dough in the bowl and turn over to coat. Let rise until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
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While it is rising, prepare an 8 x 8 inch pan. Butter the pan and add the honey to the bottom of the pan making sure it is spread all around. Sprinkle the pecans onto the honey.
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Roll out the dough to about a 12 x 12 inch square. It should be about 1/4 – 1/2 inch thick. Spread the butter on the dough. Sprinkle on the brown sugar. I never measure the brown sugar but you want a nice layer of sugar so that you can’t see the dough. I also do not measure the cinnamon. Just sprinkle it so that it covers the sugar.
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Roll the dough. Cut the ends off and then cut into 9 1 1/2 inch pieces. Place the spirals into the pan.
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Cover and let rise for 35-40 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until they are looking golden.
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Allow to cool for 5 minutes to let the honey set. Turn the pan over quickly to remove from the pan onto the serving tray. Enjoy!
