Barefoot Bloggers-Easy Sticky Buns

This month's Barefoot Blogger's picks were all about breakfast foods. Earlier in the month we had delicious banana sour cream pancakes and today these easy sticky buns. Both of these picks made for some fun Sunday breakfasts for us this month! These sticky buns are best described as little bites of buttery, sugary, goodness! Warning, these are not for those that are faint hearted about using butter. This recipe uses just shy of two sticks and you can definitely taste the butter in them. The prep on these is really easy. They are a perfect pick for weekend breakfasts or a brunch because unlike regular sticky buns, you don't have to deal with making all the dough and waiting for it to rise. Combining preparation time and cooking time, you can have these tasty buns on the table in about an hour. I would call this Ina's version of semi-homemade! I followed the instructions and had no problems with the filling overflowing, as experienced by some. Also, mine released from the pan perfectly. Given all the butter, it was not surprising. Thanks to Melissa at Made by Melissa for this pick.

Past Breakfast Favorites:
Maple Roast Bacon
Blueberry Pancakes
Baked French Toast
Brunch Menu

Easy Sticky Buns

Makes 12

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup pecans, chopped in very large pieces
1 package (17.3 ounces/2 sheets) frozen puff pastry, defrosted for the filling
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup raisins

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place a 12-cup standard muffin tin on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the 12 tablespoons butter and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Place 1 rounded tablespoon of the mixture in each of the 12 muffin cups. Distribute the pecans evenly among the 12 muffin cups on top of the butter and sugar mixture.

Lightly flour a wooden board or stone surface. Unfold one sheet of puff pastry with the folds going left to right. Brush the whole sheet with half of the melted butter. Leaving a 1-inch border on the puff pastry, sprinkle each sheet with 1/3 cup of the brown sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the cinnamon, and 1/2 cup of the raisins. Starting with the end nearest you, roll the pastry up snugly like a jelly roll around the filling, finishing the roll with the seam side down.

Trim the ends of the roll about 1/2 inch and discard. Slice the roll in 6 equal pieces, each about 1 1/2 inches wide. Place each piece, spiral side up, in 6 of the muffin cups. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry to make 12 sticky buns.

Bake for 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 (ease the filling and pecans out onto the buns with a spoon), and cool completely.

Source: Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics, Clarkson Potter, 2008.