Hello Chickens! Today, I decided to once again tackle a yeast project. My fear is slowly fading … I mean really, what is the worst that can happen? I’ve experienced many epic fails in the kitchen without yeast! I can conquer this!

My Grandma and her three daughters were masters of the sticky bun. I don’t know if they ever used a recipe but they were always perfectly sweet and gooey. I’ve just spent most of the morning fussing and flouring and cleaning up my kitchen (multiple times). How did Grandma make them so quickly?

My Mom baked everything in our house but there was one thing that would tempt her at the bakery … sticky buns! I only every remember seeing or eating a cinnamon sticky bun so I was intrigued to find this recipe, with thanks to Jean Seidel of Wadena, Iowa. My family loves chocolate and what a great treat for a lovely Sunday morning. Here it goes …

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Chocolate Sticky Buns
1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
1/3 cup warm water (110-115F)
¾ cup warm milk (110-115F)
½ cup butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
4 ½ to 5 cups all-purpose flour

Syrup
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup butter
¼ cup corn syrup
3 tablespoons baking cocoa
1 ½ cups chopped pecans

Filling
¼ cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons baking cocoa
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the milk, butter, sugar, salt, egg and 1 ½ cups flour. Beat on medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.

Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Combine the first four syrup ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute. Pour into two greased 9” round baking pans; sprinkle with pecans. Set aside.

Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly-floured surface; divide in half. Roll each portion into a 12”x10” rectangle; brush with melted butter. Combine the sugar, cocoa and cinnamon; sprinkle over rectangles to within ½” of edges.

Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with the short side; pinch seam to seal. Cut each roll into 9 slices; place cut side down over syrup and pecans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 40 minutes.

Bake at 375F for 20-25 minutes or until well browned. Cool for 1 minute before inverting onto serving platters.

I’m happy with these sticky buns! The dough rose when it was supposed to and the buns came out of the oven looking oh so fluffy. This is the first time I’ve tried an enriched dough and it didn’t rise as much as a lean dough. But, the baked result is a very soft bun with a rich and gooey chocolate filling and topping.