sticky buns

Socrates once said, “Thou shouldst eat to live; not live to eat.”  Oh but what does Socrates know anyways…I bet he never had one of these sticky buns!  Do you ever describe days based on food?  Um, I know it sounds weird, but I thought today just seemed like a sticky bun kind of day! So I began the search for an easy and delicious sticky bun recipe.  This Christmas, my brother, knowing my love for baking and cooking, gifted me the cookbook “Barefoot Contessa-Back to Basics” by Ina Garten. I’m finding throughout this cookbook, that most all of her recipes use very little ingredients.  One of my goals in cooking is to use less ingredients, not only for the budget, but it also makes for simpler cooking and who doesn’t love that?  When looking through her book, I came upon her recipe for “easy sticky buns” and instantly wanted to try them.  They looked so good,  I’d bet Socrates would of begged for one too!

STICKY TOFFEE BUNS

*adapted from the Barefoot Contessa

You’ll Need:

12 Tbsp. unsalted room temperature butter

1/3 c. light brown sugar, lightly packed

1/2 c. pecans, roughly chopped

1 package (2 sheets)- frozen puff pastry-defrosted

for the filling:

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2/3 c. light brown sugar

1 c. raisins (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Place a 12 cup muffin tin on a sheet lined with parchment paper.  In a mixing bowl, combine 12 Tbsp. butter and 1/3 c. brown sugar.  Place 1 rounded Tbsp. of mixture in each of the 12 muffin cups.  Distribute the pecans evenly among the 12 muffin cups on top of the mixture.

Lightly flour a clean surface and unfold one sheet of puff pastry, making sure the folds go left to right.  Brush the whole sheet with half of the melted butter.  Leaving a 1 inch border around the pastry.  Sprinkle each sheet with 1/3 c. of the brown sugar, 1.5 tsp. cinnamon, and 1/2 cup of the raisins ( I omitted the raisins b/c they weren’t in my pantry and they were still wonderful.)  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 1.5 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.   Yields 12 servings.

These were the best sticky buns I’ve ever had and I’m pretty picky.  They were crispy on the outside but flaky and soft in the middle, a perfect combination. So….pour yourself a cup of coffee and let today be a sticky bun kind of day for you!!

Jamie