Small-Batch Sticky Buns (With Overnight Option)
This small-batch sticky buns recipe makes 9 perfectly fluffy cinnamon rolls topped with gooey honey caramel and pecans. This recipe has the option to make same-day or overnight sticky buns.
About these small batch sticky buns
This recipe makes 9 fluffy buns with soft centres and a glossy honey caramel on top (which starts at the bottom of the pan and flips over after baking). The dough is light enough to rise well yet rich enough to really feel like a treat.
If you’re not a fan of pecans they can be swapped for walnuts, almonds, or hazelnuts. For a nut-free option, you can swap with pumpkin seeds. The dough can be made the day in advance (optional) and given a cold rise overnight. Then the next morning you can shape, rise and bake! I’ve got a delicious recipe for pumpkin sticky buns on the blog too!
Just a few ingredients
Baker’s schedule
Same-day bake: Start in the morning. Mix and knead the dough, then let it rise for about an hour while you prepare the honey caramel and cinnamon filling. Once the dough has doubled, roll it out, add the filling, and slice into rolls. Let the rolls puff again until they are pillowy and touching. Then bake.
Overnight option: If mornings are busy, make the dough after dinner. Knead, then cover the bowl and refrigerate it. The long, slow chill (up to 24 hours) develops flavour and keeps your morning relaxed. When you are ready to bake, prepare the caramel and filling, shape the chilled dough into rolls, and let them rise in a warm spot until doubled and bake.
You can also shape the rolls first and let them proof in the fridge overnight. Just place the cut buns snugly in your pan, cover, and refrigerate. Keep in mind this slow, cold proof does carry a risk of over-proofing. If they puff up too much they can collapse or lose structure. It’s a good idea to check them first thing in the morning and bake as soon as they’ve just doubled in size.
How to make small batch sticky buns
- In a stand mixer add milk, sugar and yeast then the flour, salt, and egg. 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.
Dough strength: as you knead, the dough should start to pull away from the sides of the bowl and form a smooth ball. With a small batch it can be harder to see that because there’s less dough to catch on the bowl walls. Don’t be afraid to stop and scrape the bowl down a few times so everything gets worked in. And once it feels smooth, give it the windowpane test: stretch a small piece into a thin membrane without tearing. If it holds, you’re good to go.
- Shape the dough into a ball and place in a clean bowl,
- Let the dough rise until doubled in size, If making overnight sticky buns, the dough can be covered tightly and refrigerated for up to 16 hours.
Filling and shaping
- Melt together the caramel topping ingredients.
- Pour the caramel into a lined pan and top with pecans.
- Roll the dough into a rectangle and brush with butter.
- Spread over cinnamon and brown sugar.
- Roll it up into a log and cut 9 thick slices and place on top of the pecans and caramel.
- Let them rise until doubled in size, then bake.
- Once baked, remove the buns from the oven and carefully invert them onto a lined tray. Serve while warm, but not hot.
Storing and Reheating
Sticky buns are at their gooey best on bake day, but leftovers keep well.
- Room temperature: Store in an airtight container up to 2 days.
- Fridge: Store for up to 4 days in an airtight contianer. Warm in a low oven or microwave 15 seconds before serving.
- Freezer: Wrap the sticky buns up tightly and freeze up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then reheat at 320°F/ 160 °C for 10 minutes to warm them up.
More Small-Batch Recipes
Small-Batch Sticky Buns Recipe
Ingredients
- 160 g whole milk
- 1 ½ teaspoon instant yeast or active dry yeast
- 30 g granulated sugar
- 312 g all-purpose flour or bread flour
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 45 g unsalted butter softened to room temperature
Topping
- 60 g unsalted butter
- 50 g soft brown sugar
- 40 g honey
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 70 g pecans roughly chopped
Filling
- 100 g soft brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 20 g unsalted butter melted
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, warm the milk to around 95-104°F / 35-40°C and pour it 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. 160 g whole milk, 1 ½ teaspoon instant yeast , 30 g granulated sugar
- Add in the flour, salt, and egg. Fit the stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment and mix on low speed to form a thick dough. 312 g all-purpose flour , 1 large egg, ½ teaspoon salt
- Add in the softened butter, a few cubes at a time, and keep mixing on medium speed for around 10 minutes until the soft dough is smooth and strong. 45 g unsalted butter
First rise
- Once kneaded, form the dough into a dough ball. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased medium bowl and cover tightly. Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, around about 1 hour. The exact rise time will depend on your room temperature.
- If making overnight sticky buns, the dough can instead be covered tightly and refrigerated for up to 16 hours.
Shaping and filling
- Line an 8x8inch (20x20cm) square 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. 60 g unsalted butter, 50 g soft brown sugar, 40 g honey, 1/8 teaspoon salt
- Pour the caramel into the lined baking tray and use an offset spatula to gently spread it out. Top it with chopped pecans. 70 g pecans
- In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar and ground cinnamon for the filling and set it aside. 100 g soft brown sugar, 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
- Pull the risen dough from the bowl onto a lightly floured work surface. Dust the top of the dough with some flour. 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 rolling.
- Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a large rectangle that measures around 9×12 inches (23cmx30cm). Spread the surface of the dough with melted butter, then spread over the cinnamon-sugar mixture. 20 g unsalted butter
- Roll it up from the long end to make a 12inch/30cm long log. Cut 9 thick slices measuring around 1.3 inches each using unflavored dental floss or a sharp knife or serrated knife.
- 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 minutes until deep golden brown. If they are browning too fast, you can cover the top of the buns with aluminum foil.
- While they are baking, lay a piece of parchment paper onto a tray or cookie sheet. This is what you will tip the baked buns onto.
- Once baked, remove the buns from the oven and carefully invert them onto the tray. Use a spoon to scrape any extra caramel from the bottom of the baking tray onto the sticky buns. Let the buns cool for around 20 minutes before serving.
- Let the buns cool for around 20 minutes before serving.
Notes
Kneading by hand
If you don’t have a stand mixer, the dough can be kneaded by hand too. 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. Knead by hand for around 10 minutes until it becomes a strong and smooth dough. If you need a break, take it. The dough responds well to resting time.Measurements
Both US customary and metric measurements are included. Use the toggle on the recipe card to switch between the two.Storing
Sticky buns are at their gooey best on bake day, but leftovers keep well.- Room temperature: Store in an airtight container up to 2 days.
- Fridge: Store for up to 4 days in an airtight contianer. Warm in a low oven or microwave 15 seconds before serving.
- Freezer: Wrap the sticky buns up tightly and freeze up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then reheat at 320°F/ 160 °C for 10 minutes to warm them up.
Thank love for the two types of measuring ,
Hello! These look so delicious! If I want to make chocolate-flavoured dough here, any thoughts on how I should alter the recipe?
Hey I haven’t tried to make a chocolate flavored dough yet! Though you could switch the cinnamon filling for chocolate spread instead if you like? A similar filling to this babka filling, but halve the amount.
Do I cover the dough after placing it on top of the caramel in the pan?
Yup you can cover with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel while it rises. 🙂
When baking the sticky buns after the refrigerated overnight do we need to take them out of the refrigerator and let them sit at room temperature at all or can they go straight to the oven?
Hey as written in my recipe I refrigerate the dough for the first rise, then shape them and let them rise for their second time in a warm spot before baking.
If you instead want to place the shaped buns in the fridge overnight to rise you could do that too, and they can be baked from the fridge if they have doubled in size.
I’m reading through the recipe preparing to make these. I noticed that the measurement for the brown sugar in the filling and the topping are both listed as a 1/2 cup, but the grams are different. Which is correct?
Heya the grams are correct, the topping should have 1/4 cup brown sugar. Thanks for pointing that out! Have fixed it now 🙂
These are awesome! It was hard to wait for them to cool down before trying one 🥰
These are so great and easy. And it’s very handy to have a small-batch recipe like this; I love it!
Hi
What size rectangle should I make for the dough so I get nine slices?
Thanks! Mike
Hey it’s written in the instructions 🙂
Thank you for the measurement conversions. Most bakers do not think to give both types of measurements.
If bread flour isn’t the best to use, what brand of non-bread flour of at least 11% do you use for this recipe? Do you use just all purpose flour? If so, what brand? I don’t want to use bread flour if it results in a chewier result. Thanks. Sue
Hey Sue, it’s actually totally fine to use bread flour here, I removed my old note about not using it, it actually works very well with this dough 🙂
I made this for my fiancé and I over the Thanksgiving weekend. It was so finger-licking-good I couldn’t stop thinking about when I’ll be making this again, and it was surprisingly easy.
I made these today they worked out perfectly 👌 so delicious
I made these yesterday and they turned out fantastic!! Didn’t need to modify the recipe but did need to bake them a little longer. Will definitely make again. Thanks for the recipe!! Wish I could post a photo they look so good!!