Ooey Gooey Pecan Sticky Buns

I spent my birthday in Austin with P’s family, which was actually really special for me. His family got me bakeware, which I couldn’t be happier with, followed by a wonderful dinner. When asked what I wanted to do for my 30th birthday, I said 3 things: coffee, a kick-ass hot yoga class, and to bake. I got to do all THREE of of those things, and it was wonderful.

At Story, we outsourced our pastries from a local Mexican Bakery since we didn’t have an oven. One of our most requested and sold out pastries was the pecan sticky buns. This recipe is a recreation of that, but only using dates and honey. Don’t let that fool you though… these are SO good. The filling is made with pitted dates that are soaked and combined with cinnamon, and the dough is made with a mixture of whole wheat and almond flour combined with unsweetened soy milk. We also used aquafaba, which is SO fun to make in the Kitchen aid.

This recipe would be so fun to make with your children or if you want to spend a morning baking, as the dough takes two proves. I absolutely love taking traditional recipes and using what I have in the pantry or using ingredients that don’t bloat me like crazy. I hope you enjoy making these as much as Ben and I did, and really appreciate real, whole foods and what we can do with them. 🤍

Xo,
B

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Ingredients:

Buns:

• 1 can chickpeas

• 1 cup of wholewheat flour

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 cup almond flour

• 2 tsp salt

• 7 g fast-action instant dried yeast

• 3 tbsps honey

• 1 1/4 cup unsweetened soy milk

• 1 tbsp olive oil + a little for pan glazing

• 1 cup chopped pecans

Filling:

• 1½ cups Deglet Noor dates, soaked and pitted

• 1/4 cup unsweetened soy milk

• 2 tsps cinnamon

• Soak dates for 10 minutes, pit, then bend until a paste in a food processor. 

Glaze topping:

• 3 tbsp honey

• 1/4 unsweetened soy

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 1/3 heaping cup all purpose flour 

• Whisk together in a bowl. 

Recipe:

• Make aquafaba by using a Kitchen Aid or high power mixer to mix juice from a chickpea can on high for 6-7 minutes until a merengue, foam consitency.

• Mix the flour, salt and yeast in a large mixing bowl. Add in 1/4 cup of lukewarm aquafaba and honey.
  and stir everything together with a large wooden spoon. Then add the olive oil and integrate.When the mixture has mostly stuck together turn the mixture out on to a work surface or bread board.

• Knead the mixture (or use the kitchen add) for 8-10 minutes until shiny and smooth. Put it in a large mixing bowl, coat in a thin layer of olive oil and cover the bowl with a tea towel. Leave this in a warm place  for between one and two hours until it has doubled in size. 

• While the dough is proving, make the filling. 

• After 2 hours, empty the dough out on to a work surface and push the air out with your fingertips. Roll the dough flat until it is 7 inches wide and 14 inches high, and spread filling evenly across the dough. Add 1/2 cup of chopped pecans to the filling. 

• Roll lengthwise (hotdog style) into a tight log. Cut into 12 even pieces (approximately 1.5 inches each)

• Place 12 rolls into a 9 x 13 backing sheet and prove for 1 more hour under a towel in a warm place. 

• Preheat oven to 350*F. Bake rolls ~20 minutes until golden brown on top. 

• While the rolls are baking, make the glaze. Once out of the oven, drizzle glaze evenly while rolls are still warm and top with the rest of the 1/2 cup chopped pecans. 

• You can store these up to 1 week in the fridge.

Best served with hot coffee. ☕️