Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, it’s time to turn our attention to …. wait for it~ Christmas (and any other holiday you might celebrate this time of year) And when I think about Christmas ..and the holidays, the first thing that comes to mind is presents food! 🙂
Not just any food..oh NO, I’m talking about food worthy of Christmas morning, food worthy of sharing with Santa…basically, ‘food’ much like these sticky buns!
These beautiful buns are filled with all the warm spices of the season, simmered together with deliciously slightly spicy apple cider.
I decided to ditch the regular dough, and go with the light, buttery, flaky goodness that is … wait for it {again}~ puff pasty! That’s right, puff pastry has been taken to new levels of puffed-up deliciousness as it’s stuffed and rolled into sticky, apple cider, flavor-filled perfection.
You haven’t had an amazing sticky bun until you’ve had these~ trust me, make LOTS and make this your go-to contribution to all things holiday~ you will be adored! 🙂
What you’ll need:
1 package of puff pastry (2 count)
The Filling~
1/2 cup sliced almonds or pecans..with some reserved for topping
1 stick butter..NOT two as shown! *room temp.
1 cup brown sugar
A muffin/cupcake pan
Directions:
Unroll one if the sheets of puff pastry and smear it with 1/2 a stick of the butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and a sprinkling of the cinnamon and some nuts.
Roll it up tightly as you would cinnamon rolls, and slice the buns into approx. 1″ thick slices.
Repeat with the other sheet of puff pastry..and place the buns into the fridge while you prepare the topping.
In a small pot, simmer the apple cider, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and nutmeg until thick, making sure to stir lots to prevent sticking. When it’s reduced and thick, take off the heat and stir in the almonds.
Now, fill each hole in the muffin tin about 1/8 of the way up with the thick topping and place a cinnamon bun on top of it. Bake them at 350 for approx. 15 minutes OR until the buns are puffed, golden, and firm. Reserve any remaining topping for serving later.
Let them cool quite a bit, but NOT all the way..and flip them out onto your serving plate. Top them with some extra nuts and a little drizzle of some of the topping if you have some leftover. So they look like > THIS…
Serve and DIG IN!
And taste the amazing flavors of the season! ~Enjoy! 🙂