These soft pumpkin sticky buns are swirled with cinnamon sugar and baked over a buttery honey caramel with lots of pecans. You flip the pan after baking so the caramalized bottom becomes the gooey top. Pumpkin puree gives the dough a gorgeous golden color and keeps it soft and spices bring the perfect fall flavor. The dough can be mixed in a stand mixer or kneaded by hand, and there is an overnight option if you want to prepare it ahead.
About these pumpkin sticky buns
These are made much like cinnamon rolls, but the caramel and pecans go into the pan before the shaped buns. Once baked, the pan is flipped so the caramel becomes the topping. The dough is lightly enriched with milk, egg, and butter. It is soft without being as rich as brioche dough, and the pumpkin helps it stay tender. The filling is a simple mixture of butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon, while honey keeps the caramel topping soft and sticky.
If you are looking for more pumpkin baking recipes, try my pumpkin cinnamon swirl bread or pumpkin fried doughnuts.
Ingredients
The exact quantities are listed in the printable recipe card below. These are the main ingredients worth noting:
- Pumpkin puree: Gives the dough its golden color, subtle pumpkin flavor, and soft texture. Use canned or homemade pumpkin puree, not sweetened pumpkin pie filling.
- All-purpose flour: Use a strong all-purpose flour with at least 11% protein so the soft dough has enough structure. Bread flour also works.
- Yeast: You can use instant or active dry yeast. Instant yeast can be mixed in right away, while active dry yeast should first sit in the warm milk until foamy.
- Warm spices: Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves flavor the dough, with extra cinnamon in the filling. You can use pumpkin pie spice too, to replace the spices on their own.
- Brown sugar and honey: These combine with butter to make the sticky caramel topping. Honey keeps it soft and adds more flavor than brown sugar alone.
- Pecans: Add a crunchy contrast to the soft buns and sticky caramel. Walnuts also work, or you can use pumpkin seeds for a nut-free version.
Notes on the pumpkin dough
This is the same dough used for my pumpkin dinner rolls. The finished dough should be soft and slightly tacky, but it will become smooth and elastic when it’s kneaded enough.
Pumpkin puree varies in moisture depending on what you’re using. If it’s homemade puree, you want to drain it first if it is loose or watery. The dough can also be kneaded by hand. It will feel sticky when the butter is first added, but it becomes much easier to handle as the gluten develops.
Method
- Warm the milk til lukewarm, then add in the yeast and sugar.
- If using active dry yeast, let this sit for around 5-10 minutes until it becomes foamy, if using instant yeast this step can be skipped.
- Add the flour, salt, pumpkin puree, spices, and egg to the yeast mixture. Fit the stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment and mix on low speed to form a thick dough.
- Fit the stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment and mix on low speed to form a thick dough.
- Add in the softened butter, a few cubes at a time. Keep mixing around 10-15 minutes until the soft dough is smooth and strong and it pulls away cleanly from the sides of the bowl.
- Place in a large bowl, cover and rise until doubled in size.
- Melt the butter, brown sugar, honey, and salt until the butter and sugar have melted into a caramel. Pour the caramel into the prepared pan.
- Roll the dough into a rectangle and spread with butter and cinnamon-brown sugar.
- Roll into a log and cut into 12 equal slices.
- Scatter pecans over the caramel, then lay on the slices of cinnamon roll and let them double in size.
- Bake until golden, then invert onto a parchment paper lined tray.
Make ahead option
For fresh buns in the morning you can refrigerate the dough during its first rise. Mix and knead it the night before, cover it tightly, and chill for up to 16 hours. Then the next morning, make the topping, shape the buns, and let them complete their final rise before baking.
Cold dough will take longer to proof, so wait until the shaped buns are properly puffy.
Serving and storing
Store leftover buns in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Warm them briefly before serving to soften the caramel.
The baked buns can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw them overnight in the refrigerator and warm before serving.
Related recipes
Pumpkin Sticky Buns
Ingredients
Dough
- 180 g whole milk lukewarm
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast or active dry yeast
- 50 g granulated sugar
- 500 g all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
- 170 g pure pumpkin puree
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon cloves
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 55 g butter room temperature
Filling
- 3 tablespoons butter softened
- 100 g brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 170 g pecans halves
Caramel
- 113 g butter
- 100 g soft brown sugar
- 85 g honey
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, warm the milk to around 95-104°F / 35-40°C and pour the warm milk into a bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle yeast and sugar over the milk. If using active dry yeast, let this sit for around 5-10 minutes until it becomes foamy, if using instant yeast this step can be skipped. 180 g whole milk, 2 teaspoons instant yeast, 50 g granulated sugar
- Add in the flour, salt, pumpkin puree, spices, and egg. Fit the stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment and mix on low speed to form a thick dough. 500 g all-purpose flour, 170 g pure pumpkin puree, 1 large egg, 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ⅛ teaspoon cloves, ¾ teaspoon salt
- Add in the softened butter, a few cubes at a time, and keep mixing for around 10-15 minutes until the soft dough is smooth and strong and it pulls away cleanly from the sides of the bowl. 55 g butter
- Kneading by hand – Use a wooden spoon and mix the dough until it forms a shaggy dough ball. Once it forms a dough ball, pull it onto a floured surface and knead in the butter, a few cubes at a time. The butter will make it a bit of a sticky dough initially. Knead by hand for around 10-15 minutes until it becomes a strong and smooth dough. If you need a break, take it. The dough responds well to resting time.
First rise
- Once kneaded, form the dough into a smooth ball. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl and cover.
- Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, around about 1 hour. The exact time the dough rises will depend on your room temperature.
- If making the dough ahead of time, it can instead be covered tightly and refrigerated for up to 16 hours.
The filling and topping
- In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar and ground cinnamon for the filling and set it aside. Roughly chop up pecans with a sharp knife and set them aside. Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper. 100 g brown sugar, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 170 g pecans halves
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt together the butter, brown sugar, honey, and salt until the butter and sugar have melted. Give it a good stir while it's melting to combine it into a cohesive caramel. 113 g butter, 100 g soft brown sugar, 85 g honey, 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Once melted together, pour the caramel into the prepared pan and use a rubber spatula to gently spread out the caramel. Don't worry if it's not super even, it will spread out more later when it's baking. Top it with the chopped pecans.
Shaping
- Punch down the risen dough and pull it from the bowl onto a lightly floured work surface. If the dough has come from the fridge, it will be very stiff. You can let it warm up to room temperature for 10 minutes first before shaping.
- Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a 12×18 inch (30x45cm) large rectangle. Spread the dough with the softened butter. Evenly sprinkle over the cinnamon sugar filling. Roll the dough up from the long side into a log. Cut the log into 12 equal pieces, using unflavored dental floss or a serrated knife. 3 tablespoons butter
- Place the slices on top of the pecans and caramel. Let them rise in a warm spot until doubled in size.
Baking
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Bake the buns for around 25-28 minutes until deep golden brown. If they are browning too fast, you can cover the top of the buns loosely with aluminum foil. While they are baking, lay a piece of parchment paper on a large tray. This is what you will tip the sticky buns onto once baked.
- When the buns have finished baking, remove them from the oven and carefully invert the pan onto the parchment paper-lined tray. Remove the pan.
- Let the buns cool for around 20 minutes before pulling them apart and serving. Leftover sticky buns can store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Do you remove the pan when you invert or leave them in the pan for 20 min?
I remove the pan the moment I invert them