Recipe: Apple Butter Sticky Buns
Colorado has been absolutely freezing the past few weeks…the whole “300 days of sun” thing is obviously just a scheme to get Californians away from their home state and move here. But really it’s been quite frigid lately and I’ve been craving some warm, toasty desserts (although the past couple days have actually proven that the sun does exist here…I’m just not trusting it quite yet…). So this past weekend I decided to make one of my favorite cold-weather recipes: Apple Butter Sticky Buns (they’re great for any weather, honestly…I just needed a good excuse to make them!).
Now, I’m sure everyone (at least in America) is familiar with the classic cinnamon roll: it’s I-need-a-dentist-after-eating-a-bite sweet, comfortingly warm, and usually covered in an eye-catching white glaze. But sticky buns have woefully been put on the back-burner of the cinnamon love train (I realize that saying “cinnamon love train” was a mistake, but it’s too late now…it’s out into the world and I’m sorry…).
And for no good reason–in my personal (and probably controversial) opinion, sticky buns are actually better than cinnamon rolls–they tend to have more depth of flavor from using brown sugar and (often) roasted nuts. They also have more moisture from the caramel sticky bun filling–and the glaze actually has flavor beyond being just sugar.
My sticky bun recipe is particularly flavorful because I swap out the standard caramel-pecan filling with an warm, spiced apple butter mixture. The autumnal fruity flavor cuts some of the overwhelming sweetness that these types of rolls can have; they also provide some interesting variation to the standard sticky bun (or cinnamon roll). And every person I’ve served these to has been amazed–nobody wants to eat another ordinary cinnamon roll or sticky bun again (what can I say…apple butter has magical powers…).
This recipe is also ripe for creative variations; the dough is my go-to sweet roll dough. It’s incredibly tender and flavorful. Here are some adaptations of the base recipe that you can also try:
- Orange-Pistachio Sweet Rolls: I do love orange-pistachio on this blog (see this tart recipe and cookie recipe for delicious baking inspiration!). To make this variation, use orange zest instead of the cinnamon and add 2 tbsp. orange juice to the dough. For the filling, melt some butter and spread on the dough. Then add some orange marmalade and pistachio praline pieces and roll it up. Top with pistachio praline when out of the oven. (NOTE: You can make this like a classic cinnamon roll and add an orange glaze on top or add the jam to the bottom of the pan for sticky buns).
- Apple-Butter Pecan Sticky Buns: Add roasted pecans (or any nut of your choice) on top of the filling before rolling it up. Top the buns with more roasted nuts. It’s a simple, delicious variation!
- Chocolate-Hazelnut Sweet Rolls: Replace 1/2 cups of flour with cocoa powder in the dough and remove the cinnamon. For the filling, use chocolate-hazelnut spread (and add more toasted hazelnuts if you want an extra crunch!). Top with a chocolate glaze and hazelnut praline.
- Anything else that you can think of 🙂
Finally, here’s the recipe:
Apple Butter Sticky Buns Recipe
Ingredients
1 cake pan or 1 brownie pan
For the dough:
- 1 packet active dry yeast This is approximately 2 1/4 teaspoons of yeast
- 1/3 cup warm water Check the yeast packet for water temperture instructions
- 3/4 cup warm milk
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup butter, softened This is one stick of butter.
- 2 egg yolks, beaten
- 3 3/4 cups AP flour
- 1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp. salt
For the apple butter filling:
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups apple butter, preferably unsweetened
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
- 3 tbsp whole milk
Chopped roasted pecans, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- First, start with the dough. Place the yeast in a large bowl; pour warm water and milk over it and let it activate (this will take about 10 minutes or so; it will look frothy and have dissolved when ready).
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- Add brown sugar and stir until combined. Then add the egg yolks and softened butter, mixing again until combined. It’s okay if the butter is in chunks–this will get kneaded in later.
- Now add the flour mixture to the wet mixture. With a wooden spoon, mix until the dough starts coming together. Then transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead until somewhat smooth (about 2-3 minutes). NOTE: We don’t want to over knead since this dough is supposed to be very tender instead of chewy–kneading too much will overdevelop the gluten and that’s not what we want! It’s okay if the dough looks slightly rough; it should just be cohesive. It might also be a bit sticky but that’s alright.
- Place the dough in a lightly oiled or floured bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel. Let rise in a warm place until almost doubled in size, about 1-2 hours. NOTE: I find that placing the dough on top of a warmed toaster oven works really well (just put a tea towel over the toaster first). It will keep the dough nice and warm without overheating it. Just make sure not to leave the toaster oven on for too long!
- Grease your cake or brownie pan.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, remove it from the bowl and punch out all the air. TIP: A good way to tell if the dough is ready is to stick a finger into the dough then remove it. If the indentation stays, it’s ready! If it starts sealing the hole, then let it rise for a little bit longer 🙂
- With a rolling pin, roll out the dough on a lightly floured worksurface until it forms a rectangle. The dough should be about 1/4 inch thick (although this can be down to personal preference…if you prefer more filling, roll thinner; more dough, roll thicker).
- Now we’ll make the apple butter filling! You need to make this when you need it since the filling will start setting–like a caramel–if you don’t use it while still warm. Start by melting the butter on medium heat in a small saucepan.
- Once the butter has melted, add the apple butter and brown sugar. Bring to a boil and then let simmer for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the milk and cinnamon. Stir on medium-low heat until the mixture has slightly thickened.
- Take off the heat and pour about 1/2 cup into the greased cake or brownie pan. The apple butter mixture should completely cover the bottom of the pan. Set aside.
- On the rolled-out dough, pour the remaining apple butter filling and spread around with a spatula until the entire rectangle is evenly covered. TIP: I like to sprinkle some extra cinnamon over the top at this point. If you like things very cinnamon-forward I’d recommend that!
- Now roll up the dough starting from the bottom and working your way upwards (if you’ve rolled cinnamon rolls or jelly rolls before, it’s the same idea!). Make sure to roll tightly and evenly, without letting too much space come between the filling and the dough.
- Once rolled up, cut the dough into 2 or 3 inch slices (this is again down to personal preference–you can make them slightly thinner or thicker; just remember to adjust the baking time accordingly!). It helps to use a dough cutter; I’ve even heard of using unflavored dental floss before (if you’ve tried this, let me know how it works!). Just try to not press down too much and squish the dough 🙂
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Place the slices cut side up into the prepared pan. Leave a little room between each roll, as they will rise quite a bit! Let the rolls rise for 15-20 minutes, until puffy.
- Once risen, bake the rolls for 25-30 minutes. They will look slightly browned on top when done and well-risen (they really like to explode out the pan!).
- Take out of the oven and let cool for a couple minutes. Then, on a plate or wire cooling rack, flip the pan over in one swift motion so that the apple-butter side is facing up. Don’t worry–it’s not as hard as it sounds; you just need to be confident 🙂
- Garnish the rolls with roasted nuts (pecans are my choice!) and some more cinnamon, if you want.
- Eat the whole pan and count it as one roll; nobody will every find out 🙂
Notes
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These sticky buns go exceptionally well with the Apple Cinnamon and Pecan Praline macarons from Poeme Macarons. If you want an extra-luxurious dessert experience, order some today and make these sticky buns. You’ll make a bunch of new friends if you share…the power of food is strong 🙂
Happy baking everyone!
