Pecan Sticky Buns Recipe

An easy-to-follow professional pecan sticky buns recipe! A soft, buttery dough is rolled up with a cinnamon sugar filling and baked on top of an easy brown sugar caramel with pecans!

Don’t be intimidated by the long recipe list or steps! Pecan Sticky Buns are simply cinnamon rolls baked on top of an easy caramelized pecan topping. If you can make cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting, then you have this recipe in the bag!

This is one of the first bread recipes we baked in culinary school! It has the perfect amount of crunchy pecans, chewy caramel and cinnamon roll in every bite. If today is not the day for a yeasted cinnamon brunch project, try my cinnamon scones or cinnamon flop (easy breakfast cake) instead!

Professional Tips for Making Sticky Buns

• Take care not to overcook the caramel. The caramel will continue darkening as you bake the sticky buns, so you don’t want to take it to the edge. The same reason you don’t want to toast the pecans.  
• Test the buns for doneness with a skewer or cake tester. Over-baking is the most common reason for dry sticky buns or sourdough cinnamon rolls! You can also use an instant read thermometer to take the temperature of the center. It should read 185°F. 
• Remove the buns from the pan while they are still warm. Letting them cool too much will result in buns glued to the pan with caramel, but turning them out too soon will cause too much of the caramel to drip off! I like to wait 5 minutes before turning them out.

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Spices: I use a combination of ground cinnamon, cloves, allspice and nutmeg in the brown sugar spiced filling, but you can use all cinnamon or get creative with apple pie spice, pumpkin spice, or even a little speculoos spice with cinnamon! 
• Dark Brown Sugar: You’ll need dark brown sugar for the caramel and the brown sugar cinnamon filling. You can use light brown sugar but I do actually prefer the additional richness from the molasses. 
• Honey: I use honey as a stabilizer for the caramel but you could use light or dark corn syrup if you prefer. You could also use maple syrup for a maple pecan sticky bun!
• Whiskey: The alcohol will most certainly bake out of the caramel but you could use orange juice or even water instead if you are concerned. You can also use almost any alcohol you enjoy and have on hand, though perhaps save the mezcal or tequila for honeydew line margaritas!
• Pecans: You can omit the pecans for nut-free sticky buns or you can substitute another favorite nut like walnuts! 
• Orange: I cover in the variations below how to adapt the recipe to different flavors along with making a neutral-flavored dough. You can omit the orange juice, but do replace it with water or milk. 
• Water
• Instant Yeast: The great thing about instant yeast is you just add them to the dough with all the other ingredients. No blooming, no waiting, and faster rise times! You can also use active dry yeast but you’ll need to wait a little longer for each rise. 
• Milk Powder: Milk powder adds richness without needing to use milk, but you can omit the milk powder and replace the water with milk, if that is what you have on hand!
• Bread Flour: With instant yeast and enriched doughs like this one, I do recommend sticking with bread flour, but all purpose flour will work. The resulting buns will be a little softer and more tender. The dough also might be more difficult to work with. 
• Kosher Salt
• Unsalted Butter: Butter plays a role in every part of these buns! It adheres the filling to the dough, it adds flavor to the dough itself, and it’s part of that sticky caramel situation! You can use salted butter but omit the kosher salt in the dough.
• Egg

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Possible Variations

• Change the flavor of the dough: You could use lemon zest and replace the orange juice with milk, or make a neutral flavored dough by substituting the orange juice for milk and omitting any zest. You can incorporate chocolate chips, chocolate morsels, or toasted nuts!
• Roll up something different: Take a page from my apple cinnamon rolls and use an apple compote as the filling, or try peach preserves, cherry preserves or easy strawberry jam for a fruit-flavored alternative.

How to Make Gooey Pecan Sticky Buns

Use these instructions to make soft, gooey sticky buns in under 2 hours! Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

Prepare the filling & caramel: 

Step 1: In a small bowl, whisk together all the ingredients of the spice mixture in the recipe card above. Set aside. 

Step 2: Spray a 9-inch round cake pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside. In a large sauté pan or in a large saucepan, combine the dark brown sugar, butter, honey, whiskey and chopped pecans. Bring to a boil.

Step 3: Stir and cook over medium heat until the sugar is melted and the mixture combines. Allow to cool slightly and then pour into the prepared cake pan. Spread out or tip the pan to spread evenly. 

Mix the Dough: 

Step 4: Rub the orange zest into the sugar and set aside to release its oils. This can be done up to 2 days ahead of mixing, but I typically do it while measuring the rest of the ingredients. 

Step 5: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, combine milk powder, orange juice, water, instant yeast, bread flour, sugar with orange zest, butter and eggs and mix on low speed until the dough is hydrated and all the ingredients have incorporated. 

Step 6: Add the salt to the dough and mix on medium speed for 4-5 minutes, or until a soft, strong, elastic dough forms. Use the window-pane test to assess the dough. It should pull a smooth, thin window similar to a brioche dough. 

Step 7: Turn the dough out into a lightly oiled large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and proof at room temperature or in a 75°F proof box for 20 minutes. 

Step 8: Fold the dough by taking one side, stretching it up and laying it over the center of the dough in the bowl. Rotate 90° and repeat with the next side. Rotating and folding each of the 4 sides. Cover and proof for an additional 20 minutes. 

Step 9: Roll out the dough into a 12-inch by 16-inch rectangle. Lightly brush the bread with melted butter then sprinkle the dough with the spice mixture. 

Step 10: Starting from the long side, gently roll the dough into a log, thus making a longer, not fatter, log. Seal the edges by pressing the heel of your hand against the bench. 

Step 11: Cut the log into 8 equal pieces. Place 7 pieces cut-side down around the perimeter of the prepared cake pan. Place the last piece in the center of the pan. 

Step 12: Cover and proof the buns for 10-20 minutes depending on the warmth of your room. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375°F convection. 

Step 13: Bake in a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes to an internal temperature of 185°F.

Step 14: Remove the buns from the oven and allow to rest in the pan for 5 minutes. Invert the pan onto a wire cooling rack placed on top of a piece of parchment paper to catch any dripping caramel. You can also invert them directly onto a large plate or serving platter.

Step 15: Allow the sticky buns to cool completely before serving. 

Frequently Asked Questions