Makes 16 large sticky buns
Dough
The dough needs to rise slowly in the refrigerator overnight, so prepare the dough the night before you wish to serve it.
1 package (¼ ounce) yeast -not rapid rise
1 cup warm water
1 cup vegetable shortening - preferably organic such as Spectrum
1 cup sugar
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
1 cup boiling water
2 eggs, beaten
7 ½ cups all purpose flour
Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water, stir to combine and set aside
In a large nonmetal bowl, combine the shortening, sugar, salt and boiling water and stir to melt the shortening - cool to lukewarm
Add the eggs and stir in
Add 7 cups of flour to the bowl stirring with a spoon at first then gather the dough with your hands, it will be sticky
Turn the dough out onto a well floured board and add the last ½ cup of flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking to your hands
Knead the dough for about 1-2 minutes
Clean out the bowl, oil it lightly and return the dough to the bowl - cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight (at least 8 hours)
In the morning take the dough out and roll to a 12X20 rectangle
Filling to Sticky Buns
½ stick butter softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 ½ cups golden raisins
Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl
Spread the butter evenly on the rectangle of dough
Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture then the raisins
Base of Sticky Buns
1 cup Lyle’s Golden Syrup (Pure Cane Syrup)*
2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 sticks butter
2 cups pecans roughly chopped
Combine the above ingredients in a saute pan and bring to a low simmer to melt the brown sugar and divide evenly between the two pans
To form and bake the Sticky Buns
Once the filling has be added to the dough - roll the dough up from the long side
Gently with you hands on both sides of the roll, stretch the roll to about 26 inches and even it up
Cut the dough in 16 equal pieces
Place 8 buns in each pan - they will rise and fill the pan
Cover with a tea towel and place in a warm spot for about 2 hours
Heat the oven to 350 degrees
Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until lightly golden brown and dough is cooked through
If you like your sticky buns extra sticky you can do an additional batch of the “base” (with or without the pecans) to spoon over for serving - after all, Christmas comes just once a year.
*Lyle’s Golden Syrup can be found locally at Wegmans or online
