Pumpkin Sticky Buns

About these sticky buns

• Full of flavor – These buns contain warming pumpkin spices that complement the sweet pumpkin puree flavor and symbolize fall.
• Lots of texture – These are like pumpkin cinnamon rolls, but the rolls rise on top of a bed of gooey caramel and pecan nuts. When the buns finish baking they are inverted and the caramel bottom becomes the top. It’s the mix of soft and tender bread, sticky caramel, and crunchy pecans that bring all the texture.
• Make these ahead of time – The dough can be made ahead of time and refrigerated for the first rise. This will increase the flavor and gives you a bit of wiggle room when you want to bake the buns. After the cold rise overnight, the following morning the sticky buns can be shaped and rise for the second time before being baked.

The dough

The dough for these pumpkin sticky buns is a lovely and versatile one, it’s the same as what is used in this pumpkin dinner rolls recipe. It is lightly enriched with egg, milk, and butter for great flavor and texture.

It’s a soft dough that’s fairly easy to work with by hand too if you don’t have a mixer. The dough is not quite as enriched as brioche dough but still has amazing texture and flavor and doesn’t use quite so much butter!

Ingredients

Find the actual recipe amounts in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post, but here is a run-down of what you will need.

• All-purpose flour. A strong all-purpose flour with a protein level of at least 11%. You can use bread flour too.
• Yeast. Active dry yeast or instant dry yeast. The yeast used in this recipe can be instant yeast or active dried yeast. Instant yeast will rise faster than active dried yeast. Whichever one you use, it needs to be viable. Usually, the instant yeast sachets are pretty full-proof, but sometimes active dried yeast can lose viability.
• Granulated sugar. There is a little sugar in these rolls which complements the spices and the pumpkin flavor.
• Pumpkin puree – You can use canned puree or make your own homemade fresh pumpkin puree.
• Spices – ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Or use a ready-made pumpkin pie spice mix.
• A large egg – If you want to make these egg-free you could substitute the egg with around 3 tablespoons of extra milk. However, they won’t be quite as tender.
• Salt.
• Whole milk.
• Butter. Salted or unsalted butter, just enough to bring some richness. It should be softened to room temperature.

The filling

• Light or dark brown sugar – Brown sugar in the filling keeps the filling a bit moister.
• Ground cinnamon – Brings the cinnamon flavor to the sticky pumpkin cinnamon rolls
• Softened butter – so the filling sticks

The topping

• Melted butter
• Brown sugar and honey – Honey makes a perfect addition to caramel, like in this caramel honey popcorn!
• Pecans (or swap it with nuts of your choice. You could use pumpkin seeds for a nut-free version!)

Equipment

You will need a 9x13inch baking dish.

A stand mixer is helpful but the dough can be made by hand.

Method

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.

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.

Add in the softened butter, a few cubes at a time.

Keep mixing on medium speed for around 10 minutes until the soft dough is smooth and strong and it pulls away cleanly from the sides of the bowl.

Kneading by hand

Alternatively, knead the dough by hand. Add the warm milk, sugar, and yeast into a large bowl and mix. If using active dry yeast, let this sit for around 5-10 minutes until it becomes foam.

Add the flour, salt, pumpkin puree, spices, and egg to the bowl. 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 with a lid, plastic wrap, or beeswax wrap

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 where it will rise more slowly.

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.

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.

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.

Place the slices on top of the pecans and caramel. Let them rise in a warm spot until doubled in size.

Baking

While the sticky buns are rising, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). 

Bake the buns for around 25-27 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 pumpkin pecan buns have finished baking, remove them from the oven and carefully invert them onto the parchment paper-lined tray.

Serving and storing

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.

Baked sticky buns can be frozen for up to 3 months too. Thaw the buns overnight in the refrigerator and warm them up in the microwave before serving.