Gramma's Sticky Buns

Susan's coming tonight, so mom and I made up her version of Sticky Buns. (I convinced her to skip the raisins...)

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1.5 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2.25 teaspoons yeast (my mom uses a concave tablespoon)
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1/2 cup milk (or my mom may use1/4 cup water, 1/4 cup evaporated milk)
• 1/4 cup water

Caramel Topping:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 26 or so whole pecans, chopped

Filling:

• 1/4 cup butter, very soft (slightly melted is fine)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon  

Instructions:

1. Whirr together flour, sugar, yeast, and salt in food processor with a metal blade for about 5 seconds.
2. Whirr in butter until combined, about 30 seconds.
3. Combine milk and water, warm to 110 or so degrees.
4. Slowly add in most of the milk while whirring. Add rest of milk/water as needed so ball forms.
5. Let dough spin about 50 times.
6. Form dough into a ball, place in a greased bowl. Turn dough to grease all sides. 
7. Cover top of bowl with plastic wrap.
8. Careful place dough bowl in a larger bowl of warm (~100 degree) water to help start the rising process.
9. Let dough rise for at least 15 minutes.
10. Melt the brown sugar, butter, and  corn syrup in a 8 x 8 pan in microwave, removing to stir every 30 seconds or so. Heat and stir until well combined.
11. Sprinkle the chopped nuts over the topping.
12. Roll out dough into a 12 x 8 inch rectangle. (We did not need to flour our plastic sheet cutting board, but you may need to lightly flour the work surface.)
13. Spread warmed butter over dough.
14. Mix the filling brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the dough.
       



15. Roll dough up along long edge, and ping seam on long edge together.
16. Slice log into 12 rolls (in quarters, and then each quarter into thirds.)
17. Place rolls cut site down over caramel topping in three rows of four, spacing evenly. Cover pan with plastic wrap.
       



18. If you plan to bake them soon, let them rise for 35 to 45 minutes or until doubled. Preheat pven to 375 after about 20 minutes of rising.
    (To bake the next morning, after 5 or 10 minutes, place pan in the refrigerator for a slow rise. The next morning, let sit out on counter while the oven preheats.)
19. Remove wrap, bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes. 
20. Remove from oven, let cool 2 or 3 minutes in pan, then invert pan to turn out buns onto a cutting board.

Carole's Notes:

These are AMAZING... Main problem - we only made one batch.

The recipe is lightly adapted from Better Homes cookbook (caramel part) and her "Special Cuisinart Food Processor Recipe" book (roll part).