Chelsea Sticky Buns

Cinnamon buns on a snowy Sunday morning.  What could make for a better breakfast?  Of course, these flaky rolls are also a delightful dessert.  I had the idea for these miniature sticky buns after (jealously) watching Ina Garten stroll through London markets.  I've adapted her recipe here for some even sweeter, stickier buns.

These are best when they're still just a bit warm from the oven.  If you want to make them ahead of time, I recommend rolling and filling the dough, and refrigerating it until you're ready to slice and bake.  You'll also need a miniature non-stick muffin pan (but shouldn't you have one of these in your kitchen anyway?).  

I can't believe I haven't used this song yet, but it turns out I haven't: Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl."  Here it is, to go along with some very cinnamon-y Chelsea sticky buns.

Ingredients:
(*Adapted from Ina Garten's Holiday Sticky Buns)

For the buns:
--1 package (2 sheets) frozen puff pastry dough, dethawed overnight in the fridge 
--1/2 c. dark brown sugar
--1 tsp. cinnamon
--1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
--1/2 to 1 c. coarsely chopped pecans (amount can vary depending on your love of pecans)

For the filling:
--1/3 c. dark brown sugar
--1/3 c. turbinado sugar
--1/3 c. very finely chopped pecans (almost dusted)
--1 tbsp. cinnamon
--1/2 tsp. nutmeg
--1/2 tsp. cloves
--1/2 tsp. allspice
--1/2 stick butter, melted

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  

Start with the "buns" ingredients.  In a large bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter.  You'll want to beat it until the sugar and spice are incorporated fully into the butter, making a sort of brown sugar butter (by the way, this makes an excellent topping, on its own, for muffins and breads).  Spoon the butter evenly into the bottoms of the miniature muffin cups, filling them about 1/3 of the way full.  Distribute the coarsely chopped pecans on top of the butter in each of the 24 miniature muffin cups and set aside.  The butter will begin to melt, but that's OK.  

Now for the "filling."  In a bowl, mix the sugars, spices, and pecans and set aside for just a moment.  On a lightly floured surface, roll out the puff pastry dough.  You'll have two sheets, so you'll end up doing this twice.  Using a pastry brush, paint about 1/2 of your melted butter across the pastry dough.  Sprinkle about 1/2 of your sugar and spice mixture evenly across the dough.  Now, you'll want to very carefully roll it up using the longer edge.  In other words, you want to have a longer, rather than a shorter, roll.  Once you've rolled it up, pinch the ends closed and place the dough roll seam-side down.  Using a serrated-edged knife, carefully cut the dough roll into twelve equal pieces.  Place these on top of the butter/pecan mixture in your miniature muffin tins and repeat until all muffin cups are filled.  

Bake for about 20 minutes, or just until the rolls have puffed up and are firm to the touch (you'll know when you see them!).  Allow them to cool down for just a few minutes, and then flip the muffins upside down one at a time onto parchment paper--your bottoms are now your tops, and you've got sticky buns with a gooey, sugary topping.  Remove any remaining butter topping from the muffin cups and add it to your buns.  Let them cool just a bit longer, and then dig in!