Sticky Pecan Rolls

Cinnamon roll dough layered with brown sugar and pecans that sit atop a layer of sticky brown sugary goodness! 

Can you really go wrong with brown sugar, butter, and pecans? 

Instead of classic cinnamon rolls, these rolls have just brown sugar filling that is sprinkled with chopped pecans. The pan gets a layer of melty brown sugar butter and pecans before the rolls go on top of them.

As the rolls bake, the brown sugar butter underneath gets all gooey and sticky and delicious. Once they're out of the oven, you can flip the pan over and dump them onto another serving tray. (Or cookie sheet, if like me, you're at your bf's house and he has absolutely nothing to put them on). Whatever.

If you think they look delicious now, just wait till they get turned upside down!...

BOOM! I've never been so happy to have sticky fingers.

Can we take a moment to admire the beautiful pecans? My coworker gave me a bag of pecans from her yard a few weeks ago, and I tried cracking some of them for these rolls. I couldn't bring myself to chop any of the whole pecans because it was such an accomplishment to get any out of the shell in ONE PIECE. They're like little nuggets of gold in my eyes. I could barely bring myself to even eat them.

Hah! Who am I kidding? I didn't think twice about inhaling these babies. I do know now why pecans are so expensive.

They were worth the pain. And the raw fingertips. Cracking pecans is serious work!

Now I'm left with sticky and raw fingers. At least my tummy's happy.

Sticky Pecan Rolls

Ingredients

For the dough:

• 4 large egg yolks, room temperature
• 1 large whole egg, room temperature
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 6 T. melted butter
• 3/4 c. buttermilk, room temperature
• 4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 package (2 1/4 tsp.) instant dry yeast
• 1 1/4 tsp. salt

For the filling:

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 T. melted butter

1/2 cup chopped pecans

For the sticky topping:

1/2 cup melted butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup pecans (whole or chopped)

Cooking Directions

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together egg yolks, whole egg, sugar, butter, and buttermilk.
2. Add about 2 cups of the flour, along with the yeast and salt and whisk until combined.
3. Switch to the dough hook attachment, and add all but 3/4 cup of the remaining flour and knead on low for 5 minutes.
4. Check the consistency. If the dough sticks to the sides of the bowl still, add more flour. Dough should be soft and moist but not sticky.
5. Knead for 5 more minutes, or until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
6. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand about 30 seconds.
7. Lightly spray a large bowl with oil and place the ball of dough in the bowl.
8. Roll the dough around to coat it in oil, cover the bowl, and let it rise until doubled, about 2 1/2 hours.
9. Melt butter for the baking dish, and mix with brown sugar.
10. Pour and spread evenly into the 9x13 pan, and top with 1/2 cup of the pecans.
11. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and gently press down with your fingertips.
12. Shape the dough into a rectangle about 12x18 inches.
13. Melt butter, and brush onto the dough, leaving a 1-inch border along the top long edge.
14. Sprinkle melted butter with brown sugar and pecans, and gently press it down with your hands to pack it on.
15. Starting at the long edge, roll the dough into a tight cylinder. At the end of the rolling, pinch the dough together to seal it.
16. With a very sharp knife, slice into 12 even rolls, and place into the pan in rows 3x4.
17. Refrigerate overnight.
18. Remove rolls from refrigerator and allow to puff up at room temperature.
19. To speed up the process, place them in the OFF oven in the middle rack. Place a shallow pan on the bottom rack, and fill with boiling water and close the door. Approximately 30 minutes later, the steam will have helped the rolls rise and puff up. Remove both pans from the oven.
20. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
21. When the oven is ready, place the rolls on the middle rack and bake until golden brown, approximately 30 minutes.
22. Remove the rolls from the oven. If desired, CAREFULLY flip the pan over onto a serving tray. To do this, place the tray upside down on top of the pan of rolls. Hold the edges of both together as you quickly turn it over onto the tray.
23. Let cool slightly, and enjoy!

Dough recipe from Alton Brown