FABULOUS FOODIE FAKE OUTS ~ PUFF PASTRY STICKY BUNS

Do you love the idea of eating hot sticky buns... right out of the oven... your OWN oven? Warm and gooey and delicious?
Me too... but they are just too much work... until now!

I found a scrumptious recipe for yummy sticky buns without all the work! That's right...no yeast dough...no kneeding... no rising... no punching down... no rolling... nothing time consuming! This recipe is a real impostor... a delicious fake!

PUFF PASTRY STICKY BUNS are part of the Fabulous Foodie Fake Out~ foods that are not necessarily what they appear to be! Check out the bottom of this post to visit other fakers... er, participants...

At first glance these sticky buns look like they took me half the day to make... not so! Instead of making a real, time consuming dough I use puff pastry! What could be tastier than that?

The original recipe is from Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa! All of Ina's recipes that I make become my favorites! And this one is at the top of the list!

You won't believe how easy these are to make... and they taste even better that the real thing!

THE BAREFOOT CONTESSA'S PUFF PASTRY STICKY BUNS

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1 package (17.3-ounces/ 2-sheets) frozen puff pastry, defrosted

For the filling:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup raisins

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place a 12-cup standard muffin tin on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

In the bowl, combine the 12 tablespoons butter and 1/3 cup brown sugar and mix using a mixer until well incorporated. Place 1 heaping tablespoon of the mixture in each muffin cup. Sprinkle the pecans evenly over the sugar mixture in each muffin cup.

Unfold 1 sheet of puff pastry on a lightly floured surface. Make sure the long ends are at the top and bottom of the work surface. Brush the pastry with the melted butter. Sprinkle 1/3 cup of brown sugar, 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 cup of raisins over the puff pastry. Leave a small 1 inch border around the edges. I made 6 sticky buns with raisins and 6 with pecans. I used about 1/3 cup pecans and sprinkled them over the pastry just like the raisins.

Starting with the end nearest you, roll the pastry up snugly like a jelly roll and end by placing the roll seam side down on the floured surface.

Cut off about 1/2 inch from each end.

Slice the roll in half. Then slice each half into 3 pieces.

Place each piece, spiral side up, in 6 of the muffin cups. Gently press the spirals in the muffin cups. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry to make 12 sticky buns.

Bake for 25~ 30 minutes, until the sticky buns are golden brown and bubbly on top. Make sure they do not feel too soft or underdone. The sticky buns are extremely HOT, so be careful! Cool in the pan for 5 minutes only, scoop out each sticky bun with a spoon and invert on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Scoop out any pecans and caramel sauce and drizzle over each sticky bun.