A few summers ago, my husband and I were road-tripping in Seattle and happened across a Middle Eastern restaurant. After the most delicious meal, the owners gave us a piece of baklava to share. It was the first time I had ever tried baklava, and those flavors still stick with me. It was incredible! I wanted to take those flavors and put them into a fluffy sticky bun, so I created these Honey Walnut Sticky Buns. They have a soft, fluffy yeast dough, are filled with a spiced honey walnut mixture, and are baked in honey syrup. These sticky buns are so delicious – they are sweet, mildly spiced, and are incredible eaten warm from the oven.
How to Make Honey Walnut Sticky Buns
Making the Dough
The dough for these rolls is a yeasted dough that contains milk, butter, and eggs to provide for a soft, fluffy texture. To make the dough, combine the melted butter, milk, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. The mixture should be around 110°F, which is warm enough for the yeast to activate, but not so warm that they die. Add the yeast to the butter mixture and let it stand for about 3 minutes before whisking in the eggs, vanilla extract, and salt. Add the flour, one cup at a time. Once you have added two cups of flour, switch to the dough hook and incorporate the remaining flour. Knead the dough on medium-high speed for about 8 minutes before transferring it to a greased bowl, covering it, and placing it in a warm spot to rise until doubled in size, about an hour and a half.
Making the Honey Syrup
The honey syrup is what makes these sticky buns sticky! Make the syrup and use it to coat the bottom of the baking pan. When the rolls bake, they will absorb some of the flavor of the syrup. The finished rolls are coated with syrup, and flipping them out of the pan makes a gorgeously topped sticky bun! To make the syrup, combine butter, honey, brown sugar, water, and salt in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a simmer and stir until the mixture reduces slightly and the brown sugar is dissolved. It will continue to reduce in the oven, so it shouldn’t be too thick. Pour the honey syrup into a lightly greased 9×13-inch pan and set aside.
Filling and Rolling the Sticky Buns
These Honey Walnut Sticky Buns are filled with a spiced honey walnut mixture. To make the filling, start by mixing together softened butter, honey, cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves in a bowl. Once all ingredients are combined, set it aside and roll out the dough.
Roll the dough out on a floured surface into a rectangle of about 10×18 inches. Spread the butter and honey mixture on the dough, making sure to cover all of it. Sprinkle the chopped walnuts on top of the butter and honey before rolling the dough into a long (about 18 inch) cylinder. Slice the cylinder into 12 individual rolls, each about 1½ inches thick. To do this, I like to cut the cylinder into fourths and then slice each of those quarters into three rolls. Arrange the rolls into the pan filled with the honey syrup. Cover the rolls with plastic wrap and allow them to rise while the oven preheats.
Baking
Bake the sticky buns at 350°F for 25-30 minutes, or until they are lightly golden brown on top and the syrup is bubbling.
Serving and Storage
The Honey Walnut Sticky Buns are best warm from the oven, but you can store extras in a covered container at room temperature for 2-3 days before they start to become stale. I recommend reheating them in the microwave for 20 seconds! If you want to freeze the rolls, freeze individually wrapped rolls for up to 2 months. Allow the rolls to come back to room temperature before eating.
I made these Honey Walnut Sticky Buns with my mom when she visited recently, and we had so much fun baking together! The Honey Walnut Sticky Buns are sweet, with a spiced filling and a soft, fluffy pull-apart roll. Bake up a pan of these delicious rolls with your loved ones, for a weekend brunch, or just because, and have fun! I’d love to know how it went, so let me know in the comments below, or post a photo on Instagram and tag @sugardustedsweets!
For other Sugar Dusted Sweets recipes you might like, click on the images below!
Honey Walnut Sticky Buns
Ingredients
Sticky Bun Dough
- ¼ cup (60 g) unsalted butter melted
- 1 cup (240 g) milk room temperature
- ½ cup (100 g) sugar
- 2 ¼ tsp (7 g) yeast
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 tsp (4 g) vanilla extract
- ½ tsp (2 g) salt
- 5 ½ cups (690 g) flour
Honey Syrup
- ¼ cup (60 g) butter
- ¼ cup (85 g) honey
- ¼ cup (50 g) brown sugar
- ½ tsp (2 g) salt
- ½ cup (170 g) water
Honey Walnut Filling
- ¼ cup (60 g) butter softened
- ¼ cup (85 g) honey
- 2 tsp (8 g) cinnamon
- ½ tsp (2 g) cardamom
- ½ tsp (2 g) cloves
- 1 cup (150 g) walnuts chopped
Instructions
Sticky Bun Dough
- In a large bowl of a stand mixer, combine the melted butter, sugar, and milk. The mixture should be warm, but not hot, about 110°F.
- Add the yeast to the warm milk mixture and allow it to sit for about three minutes.
- Whisk in the eggs, vanilla extract, and salt until all ingredients are evenly distributed.
- Add in the flour, one cup at a time. Once about 2 cups of flour have been added, switch to a dough hook before adding the remaining flour. If you don't have a stand mixer, simply stir in the remaining flour.
- Once all flour has been added, knead on medium speed with the dough hook for about 8 minutes. If you don't have a mixer, knead the dough by hand for 10 minutes.
- Transfer the dough to a greased bowl and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 1½ hours.
- Make the honey syrup and honey walnut filling while waiting for the dough to rise.
Honey Syrup
- Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan and set aside.
- In a saucepan, combine the butter, honey, brown sugar, salt, and water.
- Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring consistently.
- Simmer for 2-3 minutes until the mixture thickens slightly and the brown sugar is completely dissolved.
- Pour into the bottom of the prepared baking dish and set aside.
Honey Walnut Filling
- Combine the softened butter, honey, cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Finely chop the walnuts and set aside in a separate bowl.
Forming and Baking the Sticky Buns
- On a floured surface, roll out the dough into a rectangle of about 10×18 inches.
- Spread the spiced honey butter over the dough and sprinkle with the walnuts.
- Tightly roll the dough into an 18-inch long cylinder, making sure that the seam ends up at the bottom of the roll, keeping it closed.
- Slice the log of dough into 12 individual rolls. To keep the rolls the same size, begin by cutting the cylinder into fourths, then cut each fourth into thirds. Each roll should be about 1½ inches thick.
- Place the rolls into the prepared pan of honey syrup.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Allow the rolls to rise in the pan while the oven preheats.
- Bake the rolls at 350°F for 25-30 minutes, or until they are lightly golden brown on top and the syrup is bubbling.
- Allow to cool slightly and either flip the rolls onto a serving tray so that the syrup side is up or serve directly out of the pan, drizzling each roll with more honey syrup, if desired.