These Pear and Walnut Sticky Buns will blow all other sticky bun recipes out of the water. Sorry. Not Sorry! These are a must-make. You can thank me later!!
If you enjoy baking with yeast, I have many other recipes I invite I'm certain you will love. Here are a few for your consideration - No-Knead English Muffin Bread, Sally Lunn Batter Bread, Mashed Potato Cinnamon Rolls, and Oatmeal Honey Bread with Sunflower Seeds.
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Table of Contents Found Here
The ingredient list:
*Please note that the exact measurements along with a "shop the recipe" feature from Instacart and Walmart is available inside the printable recipe card.
What I wrote back in 2014:
*Disclaimer - This recipe was originally published in 2014. I'm working hard to update all my older recipes with recipe cards, new photos, and additional recipe information. But, getting to all of them will take time. Please bear with me. In the meantime let me assure you that this recipe is still a winner and one I'm sure you'll be well pleased with when you make it at home.
With this month's #TwelveLoaves theme being pears, it took me a while to figure out what I wanted to make.
When I realized that I had never made or posted sticky buns on my blog, I decided that I'd go ahead and make some Pear and Walnut Sticky Buns. Yep. Good choice on my part I'd have to say!
I've made Homemade Cinnamon Rolls and shared them with you once before. They're probably one of my most popular posts to date. I can only hope these will give those a run for their money. 😉
These sticky buns are so good that they just about exploded from the pan during baking.
Can't say I blame them though.
When I sampled the few end pieces hot from the oven, my taste buds nearly exploded with excitement too!
These Pear and Walnut Sticky Buns are absolutely delicious (if I do say so myself).
What I love about them is that the flavor of the pears comes through nicely and they don't get lost in all that delicious caramel and walnuts.
Sometimes, because of the mild flavor of pears, they can become virtually invisible to the taste buds when used in recipes.
Happily, this is not the case here. SUCCESS!
How long does it take to make pear sticky buns with walnuts from start to finish?
The majority of the 4.5 hours it takes to make these caramel topped sticky buns is hands-off proving and bake time.
There are two total rise times of one hour each and a 60 minute bake time.
While the dough is rising the first time you can prepare the pear and walnut filling, and while the sticky buns are rising for the second time before baking you can prepare the caramel topping.
Are these sticky buns healthy?
Well, that might be a stretch, but let's face it, you're probably not going to eat them every day.
I did, however, pump up the fiber value by adding some quick-cooking oats into the dough so you don't have to feel guilty having more than one.
And, fruit, oatmeal, and walnuts are a fantastic way to start any day!
What makes this sweet dough so delicious?
The dough for these sticky buns is slightly sweet with the addition of honey and brown sugar.
The step-by-step photo instructions:
Making the sweet dough:
Preparing the pear and walnut filling and rolling the dough:
Topping and baking the sticky buns:
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This is an original recipe that I'm extremely proud of, and I hope you enjoy making (and eating) it as much as I've enjoyed bringing it to you!
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Printable Recipe Card
PEAR AND WALNUT STICKY BUNS
Equipment
- stand mixer (optional) dough hook
- dough whisk
- vegetable peeler for peeling the pears
- nut chopper
- 3 quart saucepan for making the caramel
- kitchen timer
- kitchen scale
Ingredients
For the dough:
- ¾ cup warm water 110 - 115 degrees
- 1 package (2¼ teaspoons) active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon honey
- ½ cup warm milk 110 degrees
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 ½ - 4 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅔ cup quick-cooking oats
For the filling:
- 1 medium pear, not overly ripe I used Bartlett, diced small with the peel on
- 1 ½ cups roughly chopped walnuts divided
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons honey for drizzling
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
For the caramel:
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter I use salted
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons milk
- The remaining 1 cup of walnuts
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
To make the dough:
- -In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Stir in the honey, then allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes, until foamy.
- -In another small bowl, warm the milk and butter in the microwave on low power until warm, not hot.
- -In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, and salt.
- -Use the dough hook and with power on low, add the yeast and water mixture to the flour and knead until incorporated. Add the milk and butter mixture, and knead until the dough comes together into a ball.
- -Add in the oatmeal and knead the dough until all the oatmeal is incorporated throughout the dough.
- -Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size (approximately 1 hour).
To make the filling:
- -Place the diced pears in a bowl and set them aside.
- -In a large skillet over medium/low heat, sauté the walnuts in the butter and cinnamon for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Divide the nuts into 2 bowls (1 cup and ½ cup).
To roll the buns:
- -Once the dough has risen, punch it down to deflate.
- -On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to form an approximate 12" x 15" rectangle.
- -Sprinkle ½ cup of the walnuts evenly over the dough, leaving a 2" border around the edges.
- -Spread the diced pears evenly over the walnuts, leaving the same border.
- -Drizzle the 2 tablespoons of honey over the pear and walnuts, and sprinkle the pear and walnuts with a little pinch of salt. (no measurements here...use your best judgment).
- -Roll the dough lengthwise, as evenly as possible, making sure the seam is on the bottom when complete.
- -Use a serrated knife to carefully slice the log into 18 uniformly sized slices. *Note - you may need to slice off a segment from each end to make the roll even. *see photo*
- -Carefully place each slice into a 9" x 13" casserole dish that has been prepared with baking spray. *Note - place the end segments on a parchment-lined baking sheet so they don't go to waste.
- -Allow the buns to rise again, loosely covered) until doubled (about 1 hour) in a warm, draft-free place.
To make the caramel:
- -In the same large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat.
- -Stir in the remaining ingredients (except vanilla) and stir and cook until the sugar is completely dissolved and the caramel starts to get thick.
- -Turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla.
- -Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- -When the buns have risen the second time, spoon the caramel and walnut sauce evenly over the buns.
- -Bake in a preheated oven for approximately 60 minutes or until the buns are puffy and a deep golden brown.
- -Cool for 15 minutes and then loosen the buns from the bottom of the pan while still warm to prevent sticking.
- Serve warm and enjoy!!!
Notes
Nutrition
Should you have any questions or comments regarding anything you've seen on my site, please don't hesitate to reach out to contact me. It is always my distinct pleasure to get back with you just as soon as I possibly can!
Thank you so much for visiting me today in my Kudos Kitchen. I hope you found something you'll love and that you will come back and visit me often. Please know that there is always room for you around my kitchen table!
Until we eat again, I hope you have a delicious day!
Lauren says
These look awesome - I love walnuts and pears together 🙂
Kirsten/ComfortablyDomestic says
Oh my goodness! What I wouldn't do for one of those sticky buns right about now.
Aly ~ Cooking In Stilettos says
These look gorgeous!
Paula-bell'alimento says
Can I get this delivered for breakfast tomorrow ; ) Wowzers.
Meseidy says
I love sticky buns!
The Food Hunter says
great job!
Paula says
Adding the oats to this recipe takes all the guilt out of eating nothing but these for breakfast for me! Thank you 🙂
Kim (Feed Me, Seymour) says
Stick buns are one of my major weaknesses. I love your twist on it, with the pears!
Marjory @ Dinner-Mom says
Wow! These look fantastic. Pinning this for next time I have some family over to impress!
Rebecca {foodie with family} says
Those sticky buns sound outstanding! I love pear and walnut together and in a sticky bun? Magic!
Robin @ A Shaggy Dough Story says
Mmmm, sticky buns…These look so, so good. I love all of your how-to photos too. Very cool to see the entire process.
Karen Kerr says
Beautiful recipe Renee. Just look at all of that caramelization on the bottom of the pan! Perfection!
Dionne Baldwin says
These sticky buns are stunning. I'd be proud just to make this recipe! I am very impressed and also tempted by these sticky buns. All the textures and flavors would make this really fun to eat for more than just one reason. 🙂
SweetSugarBelle says
Renee, you really outdid yourself!
Renee Goerger says
Thanks, Sugar 🙂
The Ninja Baker says
Keeper recipe, Renée! Thank you so much. Your sticky buns look exactly like the sort my husband showed me on a nostalgic visit to his childhood summer home <3
Renee Goerger says
What a wonderful compliment. Thank you so much!
Holly @ abakershouse.com says
Wow, sticky buns were an excellent direction to go with pears this month. I have a few more pears in my kitchen and hope that I find to make your recipe this week.
Renee Goerger says
I hope you decide to make these, Holly. Let me know what you think if you try them. I hope you'll love them as much as we did.
Stacy Rushton says
Aren't the end pieces of sticky buns just the best, Reneé?! We'd have to fight over these! Lovely!
Renee Goerger says
They really are, Stacy. I didn't have to fight anyone over them however because I was the only one home. LOL. That's what they get for going out on a baking day.
Lora CakeDuchess says
whoa, fabulous sticky buns! These are fantastic buns, Renee! I love that you added walnuts (yes, we were on same bread wavelength here...:))) Gorgeous for our Pear #TwelveLoaves September:)
Renee Goerger says
Thanks, Lora! There were some really wonderful recipes this month!
Liz Berg says
Oh, my gosh, Renee! I so wish I had one of these gorgeous sticky buns for my breakfast this morning! Wow!
Renee Goerger says
I wish I could share them with you, Liz. I need to get them out of the house. LOL