Quick and Easy Sticky Caramel Buns

By pknaub

These soft, tender buns, bathed in golden syrup and crowned with pecans, are leavened with baking powder — not yeast. They go from "What's for breakfast?" to "YUM" in under 45 minutes!

Ingredients

• Topping
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup dark corn syrup or maple syrup
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts, optional
• Dough
• 3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups lukewarm buttermilk*
• 4 tablespoons melted butter
• Substitute 1/4 cup buttermilk powder + 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water, if desired.
• Filling
• 1/2 cup brown sugar

Preparation

Step 1

Directions
1) Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 2" round cake pan. Make sure the cake pan is at least 2" deep; if it's not, place the pan on a parchment- or foil-lined baking sheet, to catch any spills.
2) To make the topping: Combine the melted butter and brown sugar, stirring to combine.
3) Stir in the syrup.
4) Pour the topping into the prepared pan, spreading it to the edges. Sprinkle the nuts (if you're using them) atop the topping. Set the pan aside.
5) To make the dough: Stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Note: If you're using buttermilk powder in place of buttermilk, add it here.
6) Pour the lukewarm buttermilk (or lukewarm water, if you're using buttermilk powder) and melted butter into the bowl with the dry ingredients
7) Stir to combine. The dough will look very shaggy.
8) Transfer the dough to a floured surface, and knead very briefly, just to smooth it out a bit.
9) Roll the dough into a 9" x 12" rectangle.
10) Brush the dough with water, and sprinkle with brown sugar, leaving a bare edge on one of the longer sides.
11) Roll the dough into a log, starting with the longer edge that's covered with filling. Pinch the seam closed as well as you can; it'll be a bit messy, with filling spilling out. That's OK.
12) Using dental floss or a serrated knife, cut the log into 12 slices.
13) Lay the slices in the prepared pan, atop the topping.
14) Bake the buns for 23 to 25 minutes, until they're golden brown.
15) Remove from the oven, and immediately invert the pan onto a serving plate. Let it sit for about 15 seconds, then remove the pan, scraping out any nuts or syrup that's stuck in the pan, and spreading it back onto the buns.
16) Serve warm.
Yield: 12 buns.