Bacon, Buttered Pecan and Salted Caramel Sticky Buns
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This cool weather just makes me wanna bake things! I’ve had sticky buns on the brain for a few weeks now, and I’ve been trying to put together some new flavor combinations you wouldn’t necessarily see in a sticky bun. So here’s my crack at it – bacon, buttered pecans and salted caramel. Salted caramel fixes all cooking sins. You could put salted caramel on my big toe and I’d eat it. Not really. Maybe a little.
Look.
I know there are a lot of steps to this. But most of these steps (except for the dough) are “throw it all in a bowl and combine”. Also, there’s no special equipment needed! No stand mixer, no food processor – just the two hands that God gave ya!
The caramel makes these very rich. The bacon on the inside adds a hint of salty deliciousness. The buttered pecans add crunchy texture. All together it’s kind of amazeballs.
Let’s go.
Let’s start with the dough: canola oil, sugar, yeast, baking powder, baking soda, flour, salt and whole milk (whole milk, please. no 2%. no skim.)
Heat the milk, oil and sugar together. Cool down to luke warm, sprinkle in yeast and stir in 4 cups of flour. Cover with a tea towel and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
While the dough is rising, start on the pecans, salted caramel and bacon.
Start with the pecans.
Did you know that all buttered pecans are is pecans and butter? Boop!
Coat the raw pecans in melted butter and sea salt. Roast for 15-20 minutes at 300F. Try not to eat them all. But eat a few.
Then the caramel…
Sea salt, brown sugar, butter, cream and corn syrup. Dump it in a sauce pan and melt together over low heat. Once melted together, boil for a few seconds, then remove from heat and set aside.
And the bacon…
Fry up your favorite bacon. I used Trader Joe’s Applewood Smoked bacon.
Combined the cooked, crumbled bacon with brown sugar and cinnamon. Set it aside. Stop picking out all the bacon. I see you.
Back to the dough!
Once the dough has doubled in size, add in the remaining 1/2 cup of flour along with the baking soda and baking powder. You might have to get your hands in there and knead a little to get the additional flour incorporated. Set aside while you prep the baking pan and prepare your work area.
We’re going to work with half of the dough at a time. On a well floured surface, roll it out into a large rectangle.
Pour half of the melted butter over the rolled out dough.
Top with half of the bacon + brown sugar filling and being to jellyroll her up.
Score the roll every 1 1/2 inches then cut accordingly with a sharp knife.
Pour half of the caramel (about 1/2 cup) into a greased 9″ round pan. If the caramel stiffened up too much, heat it up for a minute or so until it’s pourable. Top with half of the buttered pecans.
Place the rolls in the pan, cut side down, so that there is a little space between each roll to give room to rise. Cover loosely and let rise another 25 minutes.Repeat with the other half of the dough. OR refrigerate the other half of the dough (it’ll keep for about 3 days) and save it for another delicious baked treat. Then eat the leftover caramel and bacon filling with a spoon. I”m not saying I did that. I’m just saying it’s an option. A delicious, delicious option.
Bake at 375F for 30-35 minutes – covering loosely with foil for the first 25 minutes of baking.
I know, it already looks good, but this ain’t even it, y’all!!
Lookathat bacon poking through, though. :X
Time to flip. Put a serving dish on top and carefully invert so the cake pan is now on top of the plate. Let sit for a couple minutes then use a knife to lift the pan away from the buns.
THIS IS MY FAVORITE PART.
BAM.
Serve her warm with any leftover pecans you may have.
I mean… it’s just so… sticky and sweet and crunchy and salty and EVERYTHING.
Bacon Buttered Pecan and Salted Caramel Sticky Buns
adapted from pioneer woman
makes 18 servings (two 9″ round pans packed full of buns) in ~3 hours
Ingredients
for the dough
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1 package (2 1/4 Teaspoons) active dry yeast
4 1/2 cups flour, divided
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon (scant) baking soda
1/2 teaspoon (heaping) baking powder
for the buttered pecans
8 oz raw pecans
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 tsp sea salt
for the bacon filling
12 strips of bacon, cooked and chopped
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon (add another tsp if you like things cinnamon-y)
3/4 cup unsalted butter
for the caramel
1 stick unsalted butter
1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon corn syrup
2 tablespoons cream
1 1/2 tsp flaky sea salt
Directions
for the dough
Heat milk, oil, and 1/2 cup sugar until warm (do not boil). Allow to cool to lukewarm and place in a large bowl.
Sprinkle in yeast and 4 cups flour. Stir gently and cover with a tea towel, allowing it to rise for 1 hour. After 1 hour, add remaining flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
While the dough is rising, prepare the pecans, caramel and bacon filling.
for the buttered pecans
Preheat oven to 300F.
Toss pecans with 1/2 cup melted butter and sea salt. Place pecans on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes. Set aside (and try not to eat them all).
for the bacon filling
In a small bowl, combine crumbled bacon, brown sugar and cinnamon. Set aside. Melt butter and set aside.
for the caramel sauce
Add 1 stick of butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, cream. Allow to melt over low heat until totally combined. Allow to boil for a few seconds, then remove from heat. Stir in sea salt. Set aside.
assemble the rolls
Roll out half of the dough into a large rectangle. Pour half of the melted butter over the dough, followed by half of the bacon filling.
Roll dough up jelly roll style. Pinch the seam to seal. Slice into ~1 1/2″ rolls.
Grease a 9″ round pan and pour in half of the caramel. Sprinkle buttered pecans over the caramel, then place rolls in the pan, cut side down. Cover pan loosely with plastic wrap and let rise for 20-30 minutes.
While rolls are rising for the second time, preheat oven to 375F.
Repeat with the second half of the dough, or save the dough for some other delicious thing. (The dough will keep in the fridge for 3 days) and eat the rest of the bacon and caramel with a spoon. Not saying I did that, just saying it’s an option. A delicious, delicious option.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, with the rolls covered loosely with foil for the first 25 minutes.
Invert the pan of sticky buns onto a serving plate. The sugar is VERY HOT, so let it cool for a few minutes before serving.
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