Orange Blossom Honey Pistachio Cranberry Sticky Buns: Soft buns filled with cinnamon sugar all rolled up and baked on top of a gooey Orange Blossom Honey Sticky Bun Sauce with pistachios and dried cranberries.
So when one of my dog passes I believe that they send me signs to let me know they are okay.
It may sound sill to some but it comforts me.
This last Sunday was our dog Crissy’s birthday.
She passed last May of congestive heart failure and this was her first birthday since passing.
The weather man had flirted for two weeks that we might get snow on her birthday weekend.
The Seattle area is not known for its snow.
People make fun of us when we get a dusting because it shuts down schools and workplaces.
That’s mainly because we are ill-equipped for it.
No reason to have snow plows galore when it doesn’t even snow every year and when it does it usually doesn’t stick or last for more than half a day.
Where I live we get even less because we are in a valley.
As we got closer to her birthday the forecast seemed to change daily.
And so, again, silly as it seems…I asked my dog to send me snow to let me know she was okay.
Sunday came and around noon, even though it was 40F…it started to snow.
As the day went on the temperature dropped and the snow, while light, continued to fall.
Monday morning I woke up to 9 inches.
She was letting me know she was REALLY okay. 🙂
The snow is still on the ground as the temperatures have stayed below 32F…which pretty much never happens.
When the first snow falls it is tradition in my family to make cinnamon rolls or stick buns.
Since I wasn’t heading out to the store in the weather I had to work with what I had in the pantry.
I had leftover pistachios and dried cranberries from making this tart.
These were amazing.
So amazing.
Hoarded them for myself and didn’t send them to work with my husband amazing.
Make them.
Orange Blossom Honey Pistachio Cranberry Sticky Buns
Ingredients
- For the rolls:
- 1/2 cup warm water, 110 – 115F
- 1 TBSP active dry yeast (I used Red Star Yeast Platinum)
- 1/2 cup whole fat buttermilk, at room temperature
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup plus 1/2 tsp granulated sugar, divided
- zest of one orange
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 3 1/2 – 4 cups bread flour
- For the filling:
- 6 TBSP unsalted butter, super soft but not quite melted
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 TBSP cinnamon
- Orange Blossom Honey Sticky Bun Sauce:
- 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
- 2 1/2 cups brown sugar, tightly packed
- 2/3 cup orange blossom honey
- Pinch of salt
- 2 cups chopped pistachio nuts
- 1 cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment add the yeast, warm water, and 1/2 tsp. granulated sugar.
- Let rest for 5-10 minutes to proof…the batter will puff up. If it does not then your yeast is bad and rolls won’t rise so best to throw out and start again with different yeast.
- Add in buttermilk, eggs, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, salt, zest, vanilla, and melted butter and mix until fully combined.
- Add in 2 1/2 cups of the flour and mix until fully combined.
- Switch to a hook attachment then add another 1 cup flour.
- Knead mixture until combined.
- Continue to knead on low speed about 5 - 6 minutes while adding a little more flour as needed to reach a soft and moist dough (Dough shouldn't stick to the sides of the bowl but does stick to the bottom).
- Transfer dough to an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap (I find press and seal works best) and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 1/2 hours.
- I suggest dividing the mixture up between two greased 9-x-13-inch pans. You might not get your rolls sticking together as much but will have much more sauce ratio…which is the way to go.
- With 20 minutes left in the rise start to make the sticky bun sauce.
- In a large saucepan melt the butter.
- Add the brown sugar, orange blossom honey, and salt and bring to a low boil.
- Remove from stove top and fold in pistachios and cranberries.
- Divide the sauce evenly among the two pans.
- You can let sit. It will start to get hard but that is fine as once baked it will get gooey again.
- Punch dough down.
- Dust a working surface lightly with flour and turn dough out onto surface.
- Sprinkle top of dough with a little flour then roll dough out into an 20 by 18-inch rectangle.
- Spread the softened butter evenly over entire surface (hands work best).
- In a small mixing bowl whisk together brown sugar and cinnamon.
- Sprinkle and spread brown sugar mixture evenly over butter layer (try to leave about 1/2-inch border uncovered along all edges).
- Beginning on an 18-inch side tightly roll dough into a cylinder.
- Pinch the seam to seal (brushing a little egg white underneath helps if needed or I just use a toothpick).
- Cut into 12 equal portions using a large sharp knife (they should be 1 1/2-inch each).
- Arrange rolls, spacing evenly apart on top of the Sticky Bun Sauce and divide among the two pans.
- Cover with plastic wrap loosely.
- Let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 1/2 hours. Preheat oven to 350F near the last 20 minutes of rolls rising.
- Bake rolls in preheated oven until centers are no longer doughy, about 25-30 minutes.
- Rolls and sauce will be hot but you need to flip your rolls out onto a platter or you can be on the safer side and remove with a spatula and then spoon the sauce on top.
- Serve immediately.
- If you have leftovers the sauce will harden a little just pop on a plate in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds and you will be good to go.
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