Yum Yum Sticky Buns

OH MY WORD! That's all I can say about this recipe. Those of you who know me well know that I love The Food Network. I was watching Barefoot Contessa aka Ina Garten the other day and she made sticky buns that looked D-I-V-I-N-E! Although Ina doesn't make me jump out of my seat with excitement about her personality, SHE CAN COOK! I bought the ingredients before it started snowing last weekend, thinking that it would be great to make them for breakfast on our snow day. Due to the power outage, the sticky buns were put on hold. I finally made them Sunday morning for breakfast before church. How ironic that I made them on Sunday morning, and when I took one bite, knew that it had to be a sin to eat them? They were just as good as they looked. To top it off, they are extremely easy to make. Thanks Ina! Try them for yourself, and tell me that you don't want to slap yo' mama they are sooo good! (I forgot to mention that I left the raisins out because we don't like them in our bread.)




Easy Sticky Buns (makes 12)

12 tablespoons (1 & 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

1/2 cup pecans, chopped in very large pieces

1 package (17.3 ounces/ 2 sheets) frozen puff pastry, defrosted

FOR THE FILLING:
2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 cup raisins

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place a 12-cup standard muffin tin on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the 12 tablespoons butter and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Place 1 rounded tablespoon of the mixture in each of the 12 muffin cups. Distribute the pecans evenly among the 12 muffin cups on top of the butter and sugar mixture. Lightly flour a wooden board or stone surface. Unfold one sheet of puff pastry with the folds going left to right. Brush the whole sheet with half of the melted butter. Leaving a 1-inch border on the puff pastry, sprinkle each sheet with 1/3 cup of the brown sugar, 1½ teaspoons of the cinnamon, and ½ cup of the raisins. Starting with the end nearest you, roll the pastry up snugly like a jelly roll around the filling, finishing the roll with the seam side down. Trim the ends of the roll about ½ inch and discard. Slice the roll in 6 equal pieces, each about 1½ inches wide. Place each piece, spiral side up, in 6 of the muffin cups. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry to make 12 sticky buns. Bake for 30 minutes, until the sticky buns are golden to dark brown on top and firm to the touch. Allow to cool for 5 minutes only, invert the buns onto the parchment paper (ease the filling and pecans out onto the buns with a spoon) and cool completely.