Coconutty Orange-Apricot Sticky Buns

Submitted by Debs Recipes

"Tantalize your taste-buds with these tender sweet buns! The orange-apricot filling which spirals through them bursts with abundant flavor and a nutty gooey glaze adds the final decadent touch -- Mmmm! -- I happily created these sticky buns for the Ready Set Cook #9 Contest."

 

• Ready In: 3hrs
• Ingredients: 20
• Serves: 12

ingredients

• Dough

• 1 (1/4 ounce) packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
• 1⁄4 teaspoon sugar
• 1⁄4 cup warm water
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
• 1⁄4 cup butter, softened
• 1⁄3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 1⁄4 cups all-purpose flour

• Glaze

• 3⁄4 cup butter, softened
• 1⁄2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 1 teaspoon freshly-squeezed orange juice

• Filling

• 3⁄4 cup chopped pecans
• 3⁄4 cup lightly toasted coconut
• 1⁄2 cup chopped dried apricot
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 1⁄2 cup white sugar
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons melted butter

directions

1. Sprinkle yeast and sugar over warm water;let stand about 5 minutes until foamy.
2. Stir together proofed yeast mixture, egg, coconut milk, butter, sugar, salt, and 1-2 cups of the flour; gradually stir in remaining flour (a KitchenAid stand mixer or bread machine may be used) until a very soft and somewhat sticky dough comes together;add additional flour a tablespoon at a time if necessary to preclude excess stickiness, but be careful not to add too much.
3. Knead (a KitchenAid stand mixer or bread machine may be used) about 8 minutes until dough is smooth and still soft.
4. Place dough into oiled bowl; cover bowl and put in a warm place; allow dough to rise about 1 1/4 hours until doubled.
5. Meanwhile, cream together butter, brown sugar, orange zest, and orange juice to make the glaze; spread glaze evenly across the bottom of a 9x13" baking pan.
6. Combine pecans, coconut, apricots, orange zest, sugar, and cinnamon (save the melted butter for later) to make the filling; stir and toss to mix well.
7. Measure out 1 cup of the filling and sprinkle it evenly over the glaze already in the baking pan; set remainder aside.
8. Once dough has doubled; punch it down then turn out onto a lightly floured surface such as a large cutting board or clean countertop; roll or pat the dough into a 12x18" rectangle.
9. Brush dough rectangle with 2 tablespoons melted butter; sprinkle remaining filling evenly over the dough, leaving a 1" margin along one of the long sides.
10. Roll the dough up jelly-roll-style,beginning with the long side without a margin, into a tight cylinder, ending at the long side with the margin; pinch along the long seam and at the ends to seal the roll shut.
11. Cut (see the NOTE below for a very easy cutting method) the roll into 12 even pieces, each about 1 1/2" wide; arrange the cut pieces, pretty-side down, on top of the glaze in the baking pan.
12. Cover the pan and allow the buns to rise about 45 minutes or until once-again doubled.
13. Bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes until the buns are golden-brown with sugar bubbling up between them; cool in baking pan 5 minutes, then invert onto a baking sheet; continue to cool a few minutes longer then pull apart the sticky buns; serve while still warm or cool completely.
14. NOTE: Using both hands, slide a two-foot length of plain dental floss under the dough roll; bring the ends of the floss up and across each other at the place you want to cut; pull the floss tight to make a very clean cut straight through the dough.

Reviews

[bitterman]

This is a great recipe. If you like sticky buns that is. the flavours were really good. I shared with my neighbors, and they agreed it should win a contest!

 

[Sydney Mike]

If you love the real 'ol fashioned cinnamon rolls like I always have, you should LOVE these buns as well! These are sooo finger-lickin' good that you'll have a difficult time stopping after eating just 2 or 3! The combo of flavors is so delicious! A great dessert for company if only you can keep them around long enough!!

 

[LUv 2 BaKE]

WOW. These are outstanding!!! The oh so soft dough just seems to melt in your mouth, while the incredibly fragrant, flavourful toasted coconut combined with the apricot, orange and pecans give a deliciously sweet result. I am very impressed with this recipe! The dough seemed to rise fairly slow for me, but since the buns rose a lot in the oven while baking it didn't matter. I used light coconut milk, and a little less 1/4 cup of butter for the glaze (to decrease the fat content a bit) which worked nicely for me. I think these would be just as delicious without the glaze. Thank so much for a wonderful winner of a recipe. Reviewed for RSC #9.