Ina's Easy Sticky Buns

It was Christmas Eve morning and we were ready to have a treat for breakfast at my parents' house. My mom had seen this recipe on Food TV so we gave it a try... these are delicious, rich, sweet sticky buns and they are really easy to make, with only a few ingredients. I made another half recipe of these again for another gathering with friends, after Christmas, and they were still delicious. This recipe is a keeper!

One time I made them without pecans but with raisins and another time I made them with only pecans,... all of these combinations were great and I'm sure there are more additions that would be tasty also. This recipe would work well for a brunch, they tasted great warm or at room temperature. Another note is that when she says " allow to cool for 5 minutes only", she means it... when my friends were over, I was distracted and 7 minutes is too long - I had to do some coaxing. :)


Easy Sticky Buns
As seen on Back to Basics with Ina Garten, and also in her book with the same title (which I got for Christmas!), and on the Barefoot Contessa website
makes 12

12 tablespoons (1 & 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup pecans, chopped in very large pieces
1 package (17.3 ounces/ 2 sheets) frozen puff pastry, defrosted

FOR THE FILLING:
2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup raisins

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Place a 12-cup standard muffin tin on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the 12 tablespoons butter and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Place 1 rounded tablespoon of the mixture in each of the 12 muffin cups. Distribute the pecans evenly among the 12 muffin cups on top of the butter and sugar mixture.

Lightly flour a wooden board or stone surface. Unfold one sheet of puff pastry with the folds going left to right. Brush the whole sheet with half of the melted butter. Leaving a 1-inch border on the puff pastry, sprinkle each sheet with 1/3 cup of the brown sugar, 1½ teaspoons of the cinnamon, and ½ cup of the raisins.

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 ½ inch and discard.

Slice the roll in 6 equal pieces, each about 1½ 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.