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Not much can beat these homemade Extra Sticky Maple Pecan Sticky Buns. Soft and fluffy homemade bread dough, swirled with cinnamon sugar, and baked with a maple pecan “sticky” sauce. These rolls are nothing short of perfect and better than anything you could get from a bakery. Try making these as a weekend morning treat, or serve them up Thanksgiving morning for a special holiday breakfast.
{This post is sponsored by The American Pecan Council.}
With Halloween arriving tomorrow and October now coming to a close, I have my eyes on all the coziest, sweetest recipes for November and the upcoming holiday season. It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is just a few short weeks away. But I have to say, I am so very excited, and already have my menu set.
Over the next couple of weeks I will be rolling out all of my Thanksgiving dinner recipes. But before that happens I’m really excited to share these sticky buns. I feel like Thanksgiving breakfast can so easily be overlooked. But the bottom line is that everyone needs a little something in their stomachs pre-Thanksgiving feast. And this year I am all about these sticky buns.
They’re hands down the best sticky bun I’ve ever made. And while they take a little more time than a bowl of cereal, they are extra special. They are equally perfect on your holiday breakfast/brunch table as they are for a cold weekend in at home.
{pouring sticky sauce over pecans}
If you’ve been reading HBH over the years, it’s pretty obvious that come November, pecans are one of my favorite nuts to incorporate into my recipes. Growing up, my mom would make her chocolate chip pecan pie for holiday dinners, and to this day it’s still one of my favorite pies. American Pecans are also harvested in the fall – making it the perfect time to enjoy your pecans, harvested straight from pecan farmers across the country. And of all the major tree nuts eaten in the U.S., pecans are the only ones indigenous to America – making it the perfect nut to serve on Thanksgiving!
Over the years I’ve developed a lot of recipe using pecans, but I’ve never shared a homemade pecan sticky bun…
All I have to say is that I’m so sorry I didn’t create this recipe earlier. These buns are some of the best ever.
Soft, buttery, super sticky, perfectly sweet, and just a little crunchy from the pecans which are actually nutrient dense! I know I already said this, but nothing beats these buns. Especially when warm, right out of the oven.
So good!
{buns before baking}
Here are the details.
I used a very simple and basic dough recipe, but it’s one that I love. It leaves you with rolls that are moist, soft, and fluffy. It’s also very easy to make and doesn’t require much time. Which is great, since everyone is extra busy this time of year.
The most important aspect of a sticky bun recipe is the sticky sauce. It’s KEY.
Start with your pecans. I’ve teamed up with the American Pecans. When you buy pecans you’ll want to ensure they’re a golden color which indicates that they’re fresh. To maintain their freshness, store your pecans in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To create the perfect pecan sticky bun. Spread the raw pecan halves and pieces in the bottom of a baking dish, then make the maple butter sauce. Pour the sauce over the pecans…smell the goodness.
Now, you’ll want to roll out the dough like you would as if you are making cinnamon rolls. Place the rolls cut side down into the sticky pecan sauce. Nothing too fancy or hard.
At this point, you can let the rolls rise overnight in the fridge. Then simply bake up and enjoy!
These are great to make the night before and then pop in the oven for a super easy breakfast or afternoon snack. Your house will smell incredible as they bake. And trust me, no one will be able to resist grabbing a roll (or two) to enjoy.
Also, these travel very well, so you could even think about gifting them for the holidays season. So fun…and delicious!
Either which way, you need to make these rolls soon. Betting they will soon become a new holiday tradition!
If you make these pecan sticky buns, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Extra Sticky Maple Pecan Sticky Buns
Servings: 12 makes rolls
Calories Per Serving: 1395 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup warm whole milk
- 1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) instant dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
- 3 ½ - 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Sticky Sauce
- 2 cups roughly chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup whole milk or heavy cream
- 2/3 cup real maple syrup
- 1/4 cup + 1/2 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
- 12 tablespoons salted butter
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 4 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature
Instructions
- 1. To make the dough. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the milk, yeast, brown sugar, eggs, butter, 3 ½ cups flour, and salt. Using the dough hook, mix until the flour is completely incorporated, about 4-5 minutes. If the dough seems sticky, add the remaining ½ cup of flour.2. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour or until doubled in size.3. Meanwhile, to make the sticky sauce. Line a 9x13 inch baking dish with parchment. Spread the pecans in an even layer in the bottom of the baking dish. 4. In a medium sauce pot, combine the milk, maple syrup, brown sugar and 12 tablespoons butter. Cook over medium heat until the butter is melted and the sauce bubbling, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Pour the sauce over the pecans.5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a small bowl, mix together the remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar and the cinnamon. 6. Lightly dust a surface with flour. Roll the dough into a rectangle (about 9×24 inches). Spread 4 tablespoons softened butter evenly over the dough. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar evenly over the butter and lightly push the mixture into the butter. Starting with the long edge closest to you, carefully roll the dough into a log, keeping it fairly tight as you go. When you reach the edge, pinch along the edge to seal. Using a sharp knife, cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in the prepared baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise 20-30 minutes or transfer to the fridge to rise overnight.7. Transfer to the oven and bake 20-25 minutes, until golden brown on top. If the rolls are browning too quickly on top, cover with foil halfway through cooking. 8. Let the rolls sit 5 minutes and then carefully invert the rolls onto a serving plate. Serve warm and enjoy!
{This post is sponsored by The American Pecan Council. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep Half Baked Harvest cooking!}
It will be really hard to try another cinnamon roll recipe after making these. As my mom said, “These are the best rolls I’ve ever had.”
That is so amazing! Thank you so much Maggie!
I made these for Christmas morning. They turned out perfectly and were so delicious! Thank you for sharing this recipe of gooey sugary goodness.
Thank you! I am so glad you loved this!
I am looking forward to making these on Christmas morning. I would like to make them ahead of time but wondered how many days ahead of time you recommend?
You can make 2-3 days ahead and keep in the fridge. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you loved this recipe and had a great Christmas! Thanks so much and happy Holidays!! xTieghan ?
LOVED THESE!! I made them for Thanksgiving breakfast and they were a smash. Only thing was that they were a bit under cooked/doughy, even though I cooked them for more time than was required. I let them rise over night in the fridge – maybe i packed them in to tight (didn’t account for them to rise as much as they did)? Any helpful tips? Want to make them for my family for Christmas morning this year too. Thanks!
Hey Chrissy!! OK, so if you let them rise overnight in the fridge, let the rolls sit on the counter while the oven preheats so the rolls come to room temp. Then if they still are not cooked through, cover them with foil and cook an additional 10-20 minutes. Please let me know if you have any other questions. So glad you love this recipe. Thanks so much!! xTieghan ?
I don’t know what went wrong with my sticky sauce, but it was very thin, and it had separated a little (maybe I shoud have cooked it a little longer?) BUT it was still so very good! Your maple fig tatin recipe, which also uses salted butter and maple syrup, is one of my all time favorite, so I wasn’t surprised these buns were delicious as well! (I used pistacchio instead of pecan, just a personal preference.) Definitely a keeper!
Hi Sophie! I am so glad you still enjoyed this recipe and it was delicious! I am not positive what went wrong without being there. Please let me know if you have further questions!
Made these a couple days ago and they were delicious!!! I made the recipe as written at 7000′ altitude and it was perfect.
You’re right about that dough recipe, it’s simple and quick but the result was amazing. Incredibly light and fluffy, like eating pillows. The light dough was a nice balance to the sticky topping. I noticed the recipe didn’t specify which type of brown sugar to use in the filling (I’m sure it doesn’t matter since it’s just filling), so I opted for dark brown for a richer flavor, and I think it was the right call. 🙂
Thanks for the fabulous recipe–I would absolutely make it again!
Hi Suzanne! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! Thank you so much!
Just pulled these out of the oven for Thanksgiving breakfast. They are delicious!! It’s everything you want for Thanksgiving breakfast, and bonus, the house smells amazing! Thanks for this recipe and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!
Thank you so much Melissa! I am so glad these turned out perfectly for you! Happy Thanksgiving!
Do you roll the dough length-wise or do you roll it diagonally? Looks like my grandmother’s sticky buns, can’t wait to bake these for my dad here soon!
Hey Liv! I roll the dough lengthwise. Please let me know if you have other questions. I really hope you love this recipe! Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving! xTieghan
These are glorious!!! I made these for book club and will make them again for Friendsgiving. These aren’t too sweet and the layer of sugared/buttered pecans really add a touch of candy nutty crunch. Some extra notes are 1) don’t bother really plating these as they are a bit messy with the pecans and 2) careful which direction you roll depending on your work space. I ended up with mini cinnamon rolls. Considering how good these were, that was good for sharing!
Thank you so much Aggie! I am so glad you loved these buns and they turned out so well for you! Thank you!
I’d love to do this homemade from beginning to end but can you do this with a premade dough? Just curious what you would recommend. We are going somewhere without the mixer. (Just found your blog btw and am obsessed! My husband eats very little meat so many of your recipes will be great in our home!) thanks!
Hey Maggi! I would recommend using Rhodes bread dough, then rolling it out and doing the filling as I direct. I have not tested this, but I dough think it would work well. Let me know how it goes and Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much and happy Thanksgiving! xTieghan
Will these rise in the fridge overnight, or let them rise to the size needed and then refrigerate overnight? Thanks in advance!
HI! You can let them rise in the fridge overnight. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much and happy Thanksgiving! xTieghan
Do you have any suggestions for adjustments for high altitude? It’s the sitcky sauce that is my concern. Since the boiling temperature for water is just 199* for me (at 7,000 ft in the Colorado Rocky Mountains), I’m wondering how that will affect the texture of the sticky sauce. When making candy, I do temperature adjustments so I don’t overcook it. If I lower the baking temp for these rolls by 13 degrees to accommodate the sticky sauce, what would that do to the rolls? Any advice is appreciated!
Hi Renee, I actually in CO and have no issues with the recipe. I would make and bake the rolls as I have directed. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan
These look incredible and I cannot wait to make them. I’m a huge fan of pecans but love raisins also. Do you think I could use both??
HI! I am sure you could add raisins. I would remove 1/2 cup of pecans and add 1/2 a cup of raisins. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan
Help Tieghs! I made these and everything was perfect however when I inverted them, something must have curdled in the syrup and there were curds throughout the pecan topping. Could it be the milk? Can’t seem to figure it out because it did look uniform in consistency when I poured it over the pecans in the baking dish…they won’t be going to waste? however just want to fine tune for when I make them again. Thank you so much for listening!❤️
Hey Gia, what percent milk did you use? I recommend using full fast as lower fat milk curdles easier. Hope this helps!
Would this dough recipe work for regular sliced bread and bread rolls?
Hey Brittany, I works for rolls but I am not sure about bread slices. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan