Caramel Pecan Sticky Buns
These caramel pecan sticky buns are low carb, gluten free, grain free, & sugar-free but no one will ever believe that. They are finger licking good.
Every time I walk into a Panera I stare at the pecan sticky buns. I contemplate buying one. And then I think about how far I’ve come (45 pounds lost and counting) and shake my head. Not worth it. Besides the fact that if I bought one of those and ate all the 740 calories and 89 grams of carbs I bet I would feel sick for days.
This morning, with thoughts of Panera dancing in my head, I searched around online for a low carb version but couldn’t find what I was looking for. Never fear. I broke out the food processor, turned on the oven, and here I am with a new recipe to share.
These are lightly sweetened and go perfectly with a cup of coffee in the morning. Trust me, I just ate two with my morning joe.
What is a sticky bun?
Sticky buns are a type of dessert or breakfast sweet roll that generally consist of rolled pieces of leavened dough — sometimes containing brown sugar or cinnamon — compressed together to form a kind of flat loaf corresponding to the size of the pan in which they are to be baked. –Wikipedia
How to make sticky buns
To make sticky buns you simply make a mozzarella dough, sprinkle it with sweetener, cinnamon, and pecans, roll it up and cut it. Bake it. Top with caramel sauce.
There are several parts to this recipe but it is worth it. It shouldn’t take you longer than 20 min of active work in the kitchen to have a batch of delicious sticky buns.
If you’ve made fathead pizza dough before you can make these. It’s only slightly harder than that type of pizza.
Can I sub other nuts?
Sure! If you prefer walnuts or cashews they are delicious in this. Almonds are a bit too hard but would work.
Mozzarella Cheese in Sweet Dough??
Yes! You cannot taste it a single bit. I promise. My biggest tip with mozzarella dough is to mix it in a food processor and make sure the cheese is completely melted. This ensures you won’t have strings of mozzarella in your sticky buns.
This dough tastes like a traditional flour yeast dough without the flour or the yeast. If you prefer very sweet baked goods add sweetener to the dough.
How to Make Caramel Sauce
It is very easy to make caramel for the sticky buns. The most important thing is stirring frequently and not forgetting about it. If you leave the kitchen to do another task the caramel can easily burn. I’ve made caramel dozens of times and can tell by the smell when it is almost done. It will start to smell rich and fragrant and like caramel. The color changes and it thickens. There may also be a few darker bits forming at the very bottom. Those will look almost burned. This is when you remove the caramel from the heat.
Make sure to take a peek at my other brunch sweets:
Healthy Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls
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Caramel Pecan Sticky Buns
Ingredients
Caramel Sauce Ingredients:
- 4 tbsp butter
- 4 tbsp heavy cream
- 1/2 cup Joy Filled Eats Sweetener (or see alternatives in recipe notes)
- 1/2 tsp caramel extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
Dough Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp butter divided
- 1/2 cup pecan halves
- 8 oz shredded mozzarella
- 2 oz cream cheese
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1/3 cup almond flour
- 1/3 cup coconut flour
- 1/3 cup ground golden flax or additional almond flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp Joy Filled Eats Sweetener (or see alternatives in recipe notes)
- 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Caramel Sauce Directions:
- Combine first three ingredients and cook over medium-low heat until bubbly, slightly thickened, and lightly browned. Remove from the heat and add the salt and extract. Set aside.
- Dough Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350. Spread 1 tbsp butter in a 9-inch pie plate. Sprinkle the 1/2 cup pecan halves on top. Set aside.
- Put cheese in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave one minute. Stir. Microwave 30 seconds. Stir. At this point, all the cheese should be melted. Microwave 30 more seconds (it should look like cheese fondue at this point).
- Add the melted cheese, egg, flours, and baking powder to a food processor. Pulse until well combined. Alternatively, you can mix this by hand by you will need to dump it onto wax paper and knead it to thoroughly incorporate the ingredients.
- Press it out into a 9×12 ish rectangle on waxed paper. Spread with 1 tbsp butter, sprinkle with 1 tbsp sweetener, chopped pecans, and cinnamon. Roll up along the long side. Slice into 1 inch thick slices. Put them in the pie plate. Drizzle half of prepared caramel sauce over the top.
- Bake at 350 for 35-40 min. until the dough is golden brown. Let cool for 5 min and quickly invert onto a serving platter. Scoop out any leftover pecans and caramel sauce and drizzle over the top. Pour the remaining caramel sauce over the sticky buns. Serve warm. Store in the fridge. You can reheat leftovers in the microwave.
Is your caramel extract pure or imitation? How long does the caramel sauce keep? Do you think I could freeze it? Sorry! I have so many questions! I love the idea of having some for coffee on my S breakfast mornings 🙂 thanks for the recipe, I can’t wait to try it.
I use Watkins Imitation Caramel Extract but I don’t love it. I want to find a more natural one. I don’t like it at all in beverages (it has an aftertaste) but in this it is fine.
The caramel sauce should keep about a week in the fridge but it will solidify. You would have to reheat and whisk it to get it back to the original consistency. I don’t know how it would freeze, sorry!
Going to make these today. Oh I’ve been missing sticky caramely rolls!
Was going to make a few batches and either freeze or keep in the fridge for quick breakfasts or snacks. How long do you think they’d last in the fridge and would they freeze well?
They keep in the fridge for up to a week. Warm them up before enjoying. They are much better warm. I have not tried freezing them yet but if you try it let me know how it goes 🙂
These are so cute, and they look delicious!
The recipe above says 1/3 of each, but when I click on it says
2/3 cup each almond flour, coconut flour, and ground golden flax
Which one should I use…
Hi Amanda, the 2/3 of each in the link is make baking mix to keep on hand. Many of my recipes use it. For this recipe you need 1/3 of each totaling one cup.
Yummy yummy! I’m a sucker for sticky buns and I have some extra mozza hanging around my house (how did that happen!?).
Can’t wait to try!!! 😀
Hi, I don’t have a microwave. Would there be any tricks to melting the cheese on. Stove?
The stove would work. Just use low heat. If it’s not melting try medium. I wouldn’t go any hotter than that.
I will try this and I’m going to attempt a dairy free version. Thanks!
Let me know how it comes out! What would you sub for the cheese in the dough?
So I went to save the recipe. It says 801 calories for 1 serving, is that right? What’s 1 serving?
I have no idea how they came up with 801 calories. My guess is that is the calories for all the ingredients in the recipe that are in the database (cheese, egg, butter, vanilla) but they didn’t include the calories for the baking mix. The xylitol in the sweetener has a few calories too. Sorry I can’t be more helpful. I haven’t tried to enter the nutrition myself.
I am trying to make these rolls today. I am so excited because pecan caramel rolls used to be one of my very favorite pastries. Thanks for sharing the recipe. I don’t know if it’s my screen or what but i am have a very difficult time reading the words that are in light blue. Has anyone else mentioned this issue with the grayish background of the site?
I actually just switched it to a darker green after a friend said the same thing. How do you like the green?
These look great! But I have a quick question, could I use THM Baking Blend instead of the local blend? And do you know how many you could have to keep it in S territory? Thanks!
Yes on the baking blend. You might use a bit less since it has gluccomannan as a thickener.
Not sure on serving. I wouldn’t eat more than two at once. That would be about 1/6 of the recipe.
So I used the baking blend, and they turned out AMAZING!!!!! Best thing I have tasted in a while. 🙂 I made them three days in a row now cuz they tend to be gobbled rather quickly. 😉 Very happy with this recipe and I give it 5 stars!! 😀
Thank you 🙂
Anna-How much THM Baking Blend did you use?
Is there a key to mixing it into a dough? I’ve tried this dough recipe before but can never get it uniform, the baking blend stays in clumps.
Hi Jen, I mix it in the food processor. You have to make sure the mozzarella is pretty hot too. It should look almost liquidy. If you don’t have a food processor try using an electric mixer. It helps if the egg is room temperature as well.
Are these still good the next day or two? I know they are best warm out of the oven but I don’t have time in the morning….
They are good the next day. I pop them in the microwave to rewarm them. I made a batch yesterday and ate two for breakfast this morning 🙂
So you use fresh mozzarella or the bag of already grated?
Not ‘fresh mozzarella’ because that is much moister than regular mozzarella. I’ve used both the pre-grated bags or grated my own (the kind that comes in a rectangle block like Sorrento). I normally grate my own by cutting a 1 lb block in half and grating it in the food processor. I grate the second half and use it later in the week for pizza.
I used Barilla fresh mozzarella because that is what I had on hand. I melted it in the microwave and then added the other ingredients. I also use THM baking blend, equal amounts. The dough came out beautifully and the sticky buns are amazing. I love the caramel sauce it can be used for so much more.
I’m so glad to see this! I just bought 8 pounds of fresh mozzarella today for $1 a pound. They were reduced at my local grocery store. I froze some but I also see sticky buns in my future…. 🙂
The caramel sauce….is that 1/4 cup of gentle sweet?
Yes, sorry! Just fixed the typo.
Those look great!