Easy Pecan Sticky Buns

my mom makes the best sticky buns. hands down. i remember in college telling her that's all i wanted for christmas - a batch of her sticky buns waiting for me when i got home. of course at the time i didn't know all of the time and effort that went into making a batch of those delicious, buttery, sugary bites of heaven.

last year we made them together and i appreciated her all the more. (why is it that we don't really appreciate our parents until we get older. i'm sure it really isn't fully until we have our own kids. i guess my brother has one up on me.) if you are interested in the recipe we used last year (and you should be), we actually made two versions - the classic pecan sticky buns and the pioneer woman's cinnamon rolls.

so i got to thinking, how can i make sticky buns when a craving hits without all the kneading and rising and waiting? here comes puff pastry to save the day! this recipe is super easy and if you are like me and usually have puff pastry in your freezer, it's likely you have all the ingredients you need on hand to make these.

i made these a couple of weekends ago and had them ready to eat within an hour of waking. keep the ingredients on hand so you can whip these up on a weekend morning or last minute if you have company stay over or pop in for brunch. if word gets out, you might find people at your doorstep every weekend.

---

Easy Pecan Sticky Buns
makes 16 buns


2 sheets of puff pastry (thawed overnight in the fridge or on the counter for 30 minutes)
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans

filling:
2 tbs unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans

preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

stir together butter and sugar. spoon 1 tbs of butter and sugar mixture into each of 16 greased muffin cups. sprinkle chopped pecans on top of butter and sugar mixture.

unfold 1 puff pastry sheet and press seams together. roll out slightly. brush 1 tbs melted butter onto puff pastry and sprinkle 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, and 1/4 cup chopped pecans. tightly roll up the pastry so it is rolled into a long log. cut in half and then cut each half into 4 equal pieces. repeat with second puff pastry so you have 16 pieces.

place each piece spiral side up into muffin cups. bake for 30 minutes until golden brown and puffed. remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes. turn muffin tins upside down making sure all filling is removed from pan. let cool an additional 5 minutes and enjoy.