Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Almond Honey Sticky Buns




Sticky Buns. Just saying it gets people excited. And I was so excited to hear that this weeks recipe for Tuesdays with Dorie was Sticky Buns! I'd been wanting to make it for sometime, but never seemed to get around it. But, this time, I had a reason to do it!

Making these are fairly easy. Just some patients. It's not near as difficult as people come to think of it. The only part I hate is when it comes to flipping the sticky buns out of the pan while it still hot. Reason doing it is so that it won't stick to the pan; Which is will if you don't get it out soon enough! And I'd burnt myself several time doing it. Every time. I always tell myself to be extra careful, but I never seem to do a good job at it since I burn myself anyways. I'm cursed as a klutz I guess.

Anyways, I've instantly fallen in love with this recipe! I moment I took my first bite, I was just completely speechless. It was just to good to be true. The recipe actually called for Pecans, and, normally, I'm a pecan kind of girl. However, this time, I was really wanting almonds. Which, was kind of odd, but I wanted almonds. And I really liked the almonds in this. It turned out so sticky, gooey, and sooo delicious! This is seriously my new favorite recipe.





Recipe

For the Buns

2 pks. (4 tsp.) active dry yeast
1/3 cup warm water
1/3 cup warm milk
3 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp. salt
3 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
12 ounces (3 sticks) butter, room temperature

For the Filling

1/4 cup sugar
3 tbsp. light brown sugar
1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
3 tbsp. butter, room temperature


For the Glaze

1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut into 4 pieces
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 cups almonds


1. For the buns, put the yeast, water and milk in the bow of a stand mixer and, using a wooden spoon, stir until the yeast is dissolved. Add the flour and salt, and fit the mixer with the dough hook, if you have one.

2. Toss a kitchen towel over the mixer, covering the bowl as completely as you can - this will help you, the counter and the kitchen floor from being showered in flour. Turn the mixer on and off in a few short pulses, just to dampen the flour, then remove the towel, increase the speed to medium-low and mix for a minutes or two, just until the flour is moistened. At this point, you'll have a fairly dry, shaggy mass

3. Scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula, set the mixer to low and add the eggs, followed by the sugar. Increase the miser speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes, until the dough forms a ball. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter in 2 tablespoon size chunks, beating until each piece is almost incorporated before adding the next. You'll have a dough that is very soft, almost like a batter. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue beating until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 10 minutes.

4. Transfer the dough to a clean bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature until nearly doubled in size, 40 to 60 minutes, depending upon the warmth of your room.

5. Deflate the dough by lifting it up around the edges and letting it fall with a slap into the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator. Slap the dough in the bowl every 30 minutes until it stops rising, about 2 hours. Then leave covered dough in the refrigerator to chill overnight.

6. The next day, butter a 9 x 13 inch baking pan and one loaf pan (or you can use two 9 x 13 inch baking pans. This dough is that of a Brioche Loave and the recipe makes 2 loaves, but we only need half of the dough for the sticky buns. You can half the recipe, or use the the other half the dough to make a loaf of Brioche or another pan of sticky buns. It's up to your own choosing).

7. For the glaze, bring the brown sugar, butter and honey to a boil over medium-low heat in a heavy saucepan. Stir frequently to dissolve the sugar. Pour the glaze unto the buttered pan, evening it out as best as you can by tilting the pan or spreading the glaze with a heatproof spatula. Sprinkle over the almonds.

8. On a flour-dusted work surface, roll the chilled dough into a 16-inch square. Using you fingers or a pastry brush, spread 3 tablespoons of butter over the dough. In a small bowl, mix the sugars and cinnamons for the filling. Sprinkle it over the dough, leaving a 1-inch strip base on the sides farthest from you. Starting with the sides nearest you, roll the dough into a cylinder, keeping the roll as tight as you can.






9. With a chef's knife, using a gentle sawing motion, trim just a tiny bit from the ends of the roll if they're very ragged or not well filled, then cut the log into 1-inch thick buns. Should make 15 buns. Fit the buns into the pan cut side down, leaving some space between them. Lightly cover the pan with wax paper and leave in a warm place for about 1 hour and 45 minutes, until doubled in volume.

10. When buns have almost fully risen, preheat the over to 375 degrees. Remove the wax paper and put the pan on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake the sticky buns for about 30 minutes, or until puffed and gorgeously golden; the glaze will be bubbling away merrily. Pull the pan from the over.






11. The sticky buns MUST be unmolded minutes after they come out of the oven. If you do not have rimmed platter large enough to hold them, use a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or buttered foil. Be careful - the glaze is super hot and super sticky.







34 comments:

Engineer Baker said...

Almonds sound like a nice twist, and I'm glad you liked the recipe!

Elle said...

Those are gorgeous!

Anonymous said...

Lovely! And I like the almond variation. YUM.

Christine said...

Like the almond variation. Your sticky buns look delish!

Jules Someone said...

Mmmmm. Almonds! I'm not a huge pecan fan, so I may have to make the switch as well.

Patricia Scarpin said...

These are so fantastic, Tarah. I love it that you used almonds instead of pecans.

Anonymous said...

The buns make up for the burns. Love the change you made!

Bumblebutton said...

They look delicious! Nice improvisation!

Anonymous said...

Oh, lady...almonds? I love it. I love it so much. Great job.

April said...

The almonds look wonderful!

ostwestwind said...

Almonds sound divine. Your buns look absolutely great!
Ulrike from Küchenlatein

Anonymous said...

A wonderful post - great photos! And I, too, had the same reaction that you did - I was speechless. Great idea to use the almonds, too.

Chibog in Chief said...

oh the photos are worth eating..yummy!!

Anonymous said...

It's my new favorite recipe too! Your photos are gorgeous.

Katie said...

Hi - I'm new to food blogging, and I'm totally amazed by your site! Your pictures are amazing - you are so talented! Do you do your own layout/formatting for your page? It look fantastic! - Katie :)

Anonymous said...

Yum Yum!

Lori said...

Great pic o fyou and your husband.

The almond idea was a good one. I contemplated that but then my parents came back from their trip with a bag of pecans. YEAH. I would like to try the alond though.... next time.

Lori said...

Oops. Skip the comment about the pic of you and your husband. I was looking at too many sites at once!

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Oh yes, sticky buns ARE ooey, gooey, and oh-so-delightful - yum!! And the almonds make them even better :0)

mimi said...

love that second photo, it looks so moist and sticky and delish!

PheMom said...

Mmmm... I thought of switching out to almonds too, but I'm a total sucker for pecans. This version does look incredible too though! Just another reason to make them again!

Jayne said...

Those look beautiful! And almonds sound like a good alternative to the pecans. Great job!

Jacque said...

Yours look SO good, wow, great photos! I agree, they were the bomb.

Anonymous said...

WOW - these look wickedly good!

Anonymous said...

WOW - these look wickedly good. I'm so happy I'm not allergic to nuts!

Anonymous said...

mmmm that looks lovely. uber sticky and just so melt-in-your-mouth great.

noskos said...

Yummy looking buns!

Shari@Whisk: a food blog said...

Those look delicious!
Shari@Whisk: a food blog

The Kitchen Vixen said...

They look wonderful! Such beautiful pics!

SYD said...

Yummy

Linda said...

Like the almonds for a change of pace...delicious results!

LyB said...

They look beautiful, I love the idea of almonds, such a nice variation!

Mari said...

This is an easy recipe to fall in love with! Your sticky buns look perfect, well done!

Jaime said...

wow, they look picture perfect!

 
 
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