Easy Sticky Buns is crescent roll dough filled with a cinnamon-sugar mixture, rolled up, and baked in a nutty, sweet, buttery topping. If you have more time and love baking from scratch, be sure to try my Pecan Sticky Buns!
Easy Sticky Buns
If you don’t have time to make sticky buns from scratch, then this recipe is for you! It starts with store-bought crescent roll dough (that is my homemade recipe!) and then ends with the sweet and sticky flavor and texture you would expect from a caramel roll. And, of course, I couldn’t leave out the pecans, which is one piece of the recipe that differentiates sticky buns from caramel rolls. There is no rise time needed, so you could get a batch made in no time. (Well, in about 30 minutes or so…)
Sticky Buns Ingredients
There are two parts to this recipe–the topping and the rolls.
Topping: The topping, which starts at the bottom of the pan, is made with brown sugar, unsalted butter, and pecans.
Nuts: As stated above, nuts are pretty standard on sticky buns. However, you could leave them out if preferred, or try the rolls with a different kind of nuts like walnuts or even almonds.
Filling: A buttery, cinnamon-sugar filling is brushed and sprinkled on the rolled-out dough. Just like a traditional cinnamon roll!
Sticky Buns vs. Caramel Rolls
As I stated earlier, one big difference between sticky buns and caramel rolls is the nuts, most commonly pecans. You might be wondering, what is the difference between sticky buns and cinnamon rolls? Cinnamon rolls do not need to be inverted out of the pan because they are not made with caramel sauce. They are often topped with a cream cheese glaze and do not contain nuts.
How to Slice Sticky Buns with Dental Floss
After rolling all the goodness up into rolls, sometimes it’s hard to slice them into individual-sized rolls without smooshing them. If the knife you are using is not sharp enough, that can lead to the squishing of the rolls before they are baked. A great method to save you from frustration is dental floss! Yep, dental floss.
To use dental floss, first, make sure it is plain (not flavored) floss. Slide a long piece of floss underneath the rolled-up rolls and wrap the floss around the roll about 2 inches in. Pull to slice through the roll. Continue this method every two inches or so. Now, don’t forget to go floss your teeth, but use a new piece of floss!
More Breakfast Recipes
Easy Sticky Buns
Ingredients
Sticky Bun Topping
- ¾ cup (150 g) brown sugar
- ½ cup (1 stick / 113 g) unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup (54.5 g) coarsely chopped pecans
Rolls
- 2 tubes (8-count each) crescent rolls
- ½ cup (1 stick / 113 g) unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
Sticky Bun Topping
- In a bowl, combine the melted butter and brown sugar. Pour it into the prepared baking dish, spreading it out evenly.
- Top the butter and brown sugar with the chopped pecans.
Rolls
- Working on a clean work surface, roll out both tubes of dough. Position the second sheet of dough directly next to the first sheet, creating a large square of dough. Combine the sheets of dough so that no seams are seen.
- Spread the butter evenly over the dough.
- In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon. Mix well.
- Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over the top of the dough.
- Working on the long edge, roll the dough into a log. Slice into 12 equal-sized pieces. Nestle each piece into the sticky topping in the pan.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.
- Flip the baked rolls onto a large cookie sheet or sheet pan.
- Serve warm.
Did you make this recipe?
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Easy to make, very tasty. I used Pillsbury honey flavored rolls for an even richer taste. Everyone loved these.
Love the crescent roll shortcut (I used the sheets) but the “sticky” topping wasn’t what I think of for sticky buns. It actually crystallized as it cooled. Next time I’ll add some honey/corn syrup to the topping for the sticky effect. The roll part was yummy timesaver though!
I often make my own cinna rolls with yeast, but this was so much easier- and my family LOVED it. So I’ll be making a lot more of these. I sprinkled some orange zest over the sugar/butter/cinnamon mix on the large rectangle, because I normally do that with my home made rolls. Thank you for the recipe. I love it.
This is the recipe I use when I make sticky buns. I had already made the dough so didn’t use crescent rolls but could see how this would make it easier! These were & still are my families favorite!
I just made these! We had them warm, and we LOVED them.