You won’t believe how amazingly delicious my pecan caramel rolls are, and your family won’t believe you made them!
Good sticky buns are a thing of beauty, and the best are made using brioche dough.
The problem is most brioche doughs are complicated and can prove to be a little daunting for a novice baker. But using a no-knead brioche dough recipe takes most of the work out of the process.
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I was truly amazed the first time I made these perfectly delicious pecan caramel rolls. So much so that I had to make them again just to be sure it wasn’t beginners’ luck.
It’s a simple foolproof recipe, that only needed a little tweaking to get the best results possible.
Of course, the dough is great for just plain Brioche rolls or a nice loaf of bread! The recipe I’m going to share with you will yield a few batches, and the dough will hold up for 5 days, giving you time to plan what other delicious treats you can bake.
Ingredients
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make Caramel Pecan Cinnamon Rolls. In Chef Speak, this is called the “Mise en Place”, which translates to “Everything in its Place”.
Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed up the cooking process, it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
How to make no-knead brioche dough
- Mix the yeast, salt, and water in the bowl of your mixer, and mix well
- Add in eggs, honey, and mix until well blended
- Add the melted butter, and continue to mix until well blended
- Add the flour and, using your dough hook, incorporate it all. Mix just enough so that all the flour is incorporated.
The dough may look loose and wetter than you think it should be, it may also look like it has lumps, that’s ok.
- Transfer the dough to a separate bowl, cover it with a towel, and let it sit and rise for 2 hours.
- Chill the dough for at least 2 hours before making the rolls.
- Using floured hands, cut out a 1 ½ lb piece of brioche dough.
- Dust the dough with more flour and shape into a ball by stretching the dough around and under in quarter turns until it is fully shaped.
How to make a caramel topping
- Cream the butter, salt, and brown sugar.
- Spread evenly over the bottom of a 9-inch cake pan, and scatter the pecan halves over the topping.
- Set aside until needed.
How to make cinnamon smear
While the dough is resting, cream the butter, cinnamon, and sugar until smooth and creamy.
How to assemble the Pecan Caramel Rolls
- Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to a ⅛ inch thick rectangle (about 12″x8″). Add flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking to the rolling pin or surface.*
- Spread the mixture evenly over the dough.
- Sprinkle the pecans over the filling.
- Start rolling the dough along the long side of the dough, so you end up with a roll.
*Refrigerate the roll for 20-30 minutes to chill the dough before slicing.
- When the dough is ready, using a serrated knife, cut the log into eight equal pieces and place them in a prepared cake pan.
- Cover with plastic and allow to rise for 1 hour in a cool area of your kitchen.
- Place rolls in a 350-degree preheated oven, and bake for about 40 minutes or until golden brown and set in the center.
- Run a knife around the sides of the pan and turn out the rolls onto a platter immediately.
When I first made these rolls, I had no idea if this type of brioche dough would turn out and I definitely didn’t expect it would be so good!
These are without a doubt the best Pecan rolls I ever had, light and fluffy, and so very flavorful!
Recipe FAQs
Also known as Active Dry yeast, it’s a type of dry yeast that’s granular, with a consistency similar to cornmeal. It’s a living organism that’s dormant until proofed or dissolved in a small amount of lukewarm water (105- 110°F).
Active dry yeast (granular) is typically sold in individual packets or small glass jars. If using the latter, be sure to refrigerate it after opening to keep the yeast fresh and active.
When turning the dough out onto the counter to roll out, use plenty of flour. If the dough is sticking to your hands or the work surface, add more flour to prevent sticking.
I usually dredge the dough I’m using in flour before starting.
Yes, you can. Increase the dough, smear, and caramel by 50%. That means rolling out the dough to a 12″ x 12″ area to work with.
No, you don’t. If you have nut allergies they can be omitted. You can use raisins instead of nuts if you prefer.
More Brioche Recipes You’ll Love!
No-Knead Brioche Pecan Caramel Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups lukewarm water
- 1½ tablespoon granulated yeast (2 packets)
- 1½ tablespoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt
- 8 eggs lightly beaten
- ½ cup honey
- 1 ½ Cups unsalted butter melted (3 sticks)
- 7½ cups all purpose flour
Caramel Topping
- 6 tablespoon unsalted butter softened
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup Karo syrup or Honey
- 30 Pecan halves (or as many as needed)
Filling for Rolls
- 8 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ cup toasted and chopped pecans (optional)
- pinch of ground black pepper
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Instructions
- Mix the yeast, salt, water in the bowl of your mixer, mix well
- Add in eggs, honey and melted butter, and continue to mix until well blended
- Add in flour and using your dough hook, incorporate all the flour, mix just enough so that all the flour is mixed in.
- The dough may look loose and wetter than you think it should be, it may also look like it has lumps, that’s ok.
- Transfer dough to another bowl, cover with a towel and allow to sit and rise for two hours.
- Chill dough for at least 2 hours, before making the rolls*
- For topping cream butter, salt and brown sugar spread evenly over the bottom of a 9-inch cake pan, then scatter pecan halves over the topping and set aside.
- Using floured hands cut out a 1 ½ lb piece of brioche dough.
- Dust dough with more flour and shape into a ball by stretching the dough around and under in quarter turns until it is fully shaped.
- Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough int a ⅛ inch thick rectangle (about 12"x8") add flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking to the rolling pin or surface.*
- While the dough is resting cream butter, cinnamon and sugar, then spread the mixture evenly over the dough and if you're using pecans in the filling add them now by sprinkling them over the filling.
- Start rolling the dough along the long side of the dough, so you end up with a roll.
- If the dough feels too soft to cut, allow it to chill for about 20 minutes.
- When the dough is ready, with a serrated knife, cut the log into 8 equal pieces and place in prepared cake pan.
- Cover with plastic and allow to rise for 1 hour*
- Place rolls in a 350 degree preheated oven, and bake for about 40 minutes or until golden brown and set in the center.
- Run a knife around the sides of the pan and turn out the rolls onto a platter immediately*
- Serve the rolls and get ready for rave reviews
Kim says
I love ALL of your recipes!
Can these rolls be made two days a head of baking?
Chef Dennis Littley says
The dough will last for a week, but once you put the rolls in the pan they will begin to rise. Two days might be pushing it, I’m honestly not sure, since I’ve never done that. But if you keep the pan well wrapped and cold, it will slow the rise. You may not need to let them rise anymore after two days.
Heidy says
This was such a wonderful recipe and the entire family loved the buns! Excellent instructions and tips that were easy to follow. We will be making it for years to come. Happy Holidays!
Aya says
These pecan rolls are something else! My family and I devoured them. They were so fluffy and soft.
Kayla DiMaggio says
These pecan caramel rolls were so delicious! I love the flavor of the caramel and the pecans together. They were so sticky and so sweet!
Tristin says
We make cinnamon rolls every Christmas, but this year we will be trying your pecan caramel rolls. Can NOT wait!!
Veronika says
I made this recipe and it came out AMAZING! Was very easy to make and follow the instructions. Going to make it again this weekend!
Jessica says
Wow, the dough was so pillowy soft. I love the addition of caramel and pecans to these rolls – it’s a personal favorite of mine. I’ll be making them again for Christmas brunch.