Chestnut Sticky Buns, Barrett? Why are you messing with perfection? It’s a reasonable question, I agree. I have a reasonable answer though. I really love a good sticky bun, I mean, really, who doesn’t? Despite that, I seldom order them out, because, so often they’re disappointing. And once you know how much butter and sugar goes into the darn things, well, one can’t afford to be disappointed. The sticky bun needs to be really fresh, as in made that day, because they dry out so quickly and the dough loses its tenderness and then you have to microwave it to eat it and then you have to wolf it down really quickly or it hardens back up because microwaving is terrible for heating things. True tragedy, I know. So of course, like so many things in life, I decided that if I wanted it done right, I had to do it myself. So I decided I’d learn to make the perfect sticky bun for Christmas Brunch. And then of course, since I was making it myself, I began tweaking the recipes, because if I have to make it myself, then it may as well be exactly how I want it. And since it was chestnut season, I set out to change the world by adding chestnuts instead of pecans. But like so many of my plans, of course, it didn’t pan out. The chestnuts didn’t crunch on top, they just sort of slowly dried out and became chewy. So not what I was going for which is why my Chestnut Sticky Buns became Valentine’s Day Brunch sticky buns. It was clear this wasn’t going to be a quick and easy tweak. Research was required. Because while the outside chestnuts didn’t work at all, the chestnuts inside the bun, with the cinnamon filling, those softened and made the center infinitely richer. It was obvious to me that the chestnuts should become the filling. With that settled, the concern was that the pecan flavor would overwhelm the chestnut flavor, so in came the almonds and out went the pecans and finally, Chestnut Sticky Buns came into existence. These Chestnut Sticky Buns have a lot of steps, but you can easily break it into a couple of days and none of the steps are that challenging. If you start tonight, you’ll have delicious and truly special Chestnut Sticky Buns for a very special Valentine’s Day Brunch.

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Caramel Glaze with Slivered Almonds

Chestnut Sticky Buns feature a tender butter sweet dough, caramel glaze, crunchy almonds and a rich chestnut filling for the ultimate sticky bun.

Prep Time1

Cook Time10

Total Time20

Servings: 12

Author: Barrett Bridenhagen

Ingredients

1 ¾ cups slivered almonds about 8 ounces
½ cup 1 stick unsalted butter
¾ cup packed dark brown sugar
¾ cup heavy cream
⅓ cup honey
¼ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon vanilla paste or 1 teaspoon extract if you don’t have it

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350° F. Spread out nuts on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast until fragrant and slightly darkened, 10–12 minutes. Let cool completely. Set 1 ¼ cups nuts aside for buns (store them in an airtight container if you’re not using them same day).
Melt butter in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar, cream, honey, and salt.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until glaze is golden brown and glossy, 3–4 minutes. The glaze should be warm when you’re ready to assemble, so either make it the day you’re assembling, or rewarm when you’re ready.

Notes

Adapted from Melissa Roberts

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Chestnut Filling

Chestnut Sticky Buns feature a tender butter sweet dough, caramel glaze, crunchy almonds and a rich chestnut filling for the ultimate sticky bun.

Prep Time5

Total Time5