Mia Cucina Su Cucina

This morning I was chatting with a friend on Face Book. Last week I made my favorite Sticky Buns (a thick cinnamon filling and a topping of rich, sticky sauce sprinkled liberally with pecans) and mentioned that I had made them on FB. So today she said,” It is def(initely) soup weather here. Although I am still drooling over the thought of sticky buns a few days back!” I promised her that I would put up the recipe. 

This is a spinoff of a recipe published by King Arthur Flour. If you want to have these hot for a morning meal, I suggest putting the sticky buns in the pan and let them rise, covered, for 45 minutes. At this point put them in the refrigerator overnight, covered. Pull them out a half hour before baking. Continue with baking instructions. I bake with King Arthur Flour. www.kingauthurflour.com

Sticky Buns

Dough
2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
1/4 cup sugar
3 tbsp butter, melted
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg, beaten
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, unbleached
1 tsp salt 

Filling
2 tbsp. butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp cinnamon

Glaze
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (1 stick)
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup (the real stuff, not table syrup)
2 tbsp rum (optional)
1 1/2 cups pecan pieces

In a large mixing bowl or in the bowl of an electric mixer, combine all the dough ingredients up to the salt, mix to form a shaggy dough. Knead the dough, by hand or mixer, for 10 minutes. Allow it to rest for 10 minutes. Add salt and then knead for an additional 10 minutes, till smooth and supple (though still somewhat sticky). Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover loosely and allow it to rest for 1 1/2 hours; the dough will become quite puffy, thought it may not double in bulk.

While the dough is rising prepare the glaze. In a small sauce pan, mix the glaze ingredients together. Warm on stove, low heat, until butter is melted. Pour in to an 11X11X2 inch pan. (A 9X13X2 pan will work too.) Sprinkle pecans over top of the glaze. Set aside.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and roll it into a 16X12-inch rectangle. Spread the dough with butter and sprinkle on sugar-cinnamon mixture. Starting with a long edge, roll the dough into a 16-inch log. Slice the log into 9 pieces.

Place the buns in the prepared pan, cover the pan and allow the buns to rise until double in bulk, about 1 hour. Uncover the sticky buns. Bake the sticky buns in a preheated 375 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Tent with foil if browning too quickly. Remove the buns from the oven and invert them onto a cooling rack. Makes 9 sticky buns