Christmas is hurtling toward us and the children are starting to hyperventilate in their excitement. Dinners and breakfasts are being planned and last minute gifts bought and wrapped. To that end I’m sharing my take on a delicious and crowd-pleasing Christmas breakfast. Ok, I’ll be honest, we’re all going to want to eat Sticky Pecan Cinnamon Rolls in the middle of winter when the doldrums set in as well.
You can shorten this method a little if you feel the need. I tried two different ways to make these rolls and both ended up pretty similar. The first batch I made I rolled out the rolls right after I finished kneading the dough. No first rise, just straight to the pan. I did let them rise for 20-30 minutes in the pan before baking but they didn’t change much until they hit the oven.
The second batch I let rise for about an hour before I rolled them out and made rolls. However, I didn’t do a second rise but stuck them straight into the oven. I think the second batch rose just a little bit better than the first but in the end either method will produce a good cinnamon roll!
Look at all the gooey goodness! These Sticky Pecan Cinnamon Rolls are soft and sweet with a crunchy topping of brown sugar, butter and pecans. The topping will harden a little but it won’t get tooth crackingly hard.
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas weekend full of family, friends and good food! I’m sure there will be plenty of chaos and good times both. Now I’ll get on to the recipe and let you get on with holiday prep.
Thanks for pinning and sharing and enjoy your long weekend!
-Erin
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Sticky Pecan Cinnamon Rolls
- Prep Time: 2-3 hours
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 3-1/2 hours
- Yield: 9 servings 1x
- Category: Bread
Description
These Sticky Pecan Cinnamon Rolls are soft and sweet with a crunchy topping of brown sugar, butter and pecans. Perfect for a family Christmas breakfast.
Ingredients
Rolls:
- 1–3/4 cup (230 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (65g) whole wheat flour
- 1/4 cup (25 g) old-fashioned oats
- 1/4 cup (35 g) spelt flour
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp instant yeast
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 2 Tbsp canola oil
- 1/2 cup (115 ml) cold water
- 1/2 cup (115 ml) scalded milk
Filling:
- 2 Tbsp melted butter
- ground cinnamon
- 1/3 – 1/2 cup (75-100g) packed dark brown sugar
Topping:
- 5 Tbsp (85 g) butter (softened)
- 6 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup (60 g) chopped pecans
Instructions
Rolls:
- In a small saucepan heat the milk but don’t boil it. Put the cold water into it and let it cool down while you mix the rest of the ingredients.
- Use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for a quick and easy process.
- Put all the flour and oats into the mixer.
- Add the salt on one side of the bowl and the yeast on the other and mix.
- Put in the honey and oil.
- With the mixer on low, pour in the milk/water mixture and mix until the dough comes together.
- You can now knead it in the mixer for 5 minutes or on the counter by hand.
- If you knead it on the counter used a little flour at first and then knead in oil so that the dough stays light.
- Put the dough in a lightly greased bowl and let it rise for about an hour (or until doubled in size).
Baking:
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (175 C).
- Mix the butter, sugar, and vanilla and then press it into the bottom of a 9″ round cake pan. It doesn’t have to perfectly cover the bottom – it will melt and run as soon as it hits the oven!
- Spread the pecans across the topping and set aside.
- Lightly flour the counter and roll the dough out into a rectangle about 14″ x 18″ (35 x 45cm).
- Brush the dough with butter and then sprinkle on a good layer of cinnamon.
- Use your hands to break up the brown sugar and sprinkle it across the cinnamon. Once it’s all on, pat it out to flatten it a little and get better coverage.
- Starting at one end of the longer edge, gently roll up the dough into as tight a spiral as you can.
- Mark the top with a knife into thirds and then thirds again to get nine even pieces. Cut with a sharp serrated knife or a piece of sewing thread.
- Place the rolls into the pan – one in the middle and the other eight around it.
- Bake for 30 minutes and cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes.
- Turn out upside down onto a plate.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Keywords: sticky pecan cinnamon roll recipe, caramel pecan rolls, easy cinnamon roll recipe, christmas morning cinnamon rolls
Food Photographer, Recipe Developer and Blogger
Hi, I’m Erin! I’m a Mom, wife, dog mom and photographer. I love to take beautiful pictures and develop delicious recipes. I live on bread, tea and chocolate 💗
