Strawberry Pecan Sticky Buns

Adapted from a Recipe by Ina Garten (The Barefoot Contessa). I added strawberries instead of raisins, I never have been a raisen fan (I blame early childhood trauma from my older brother telling me they were squished flies) and I think the strawberry flavor gives it such a lift from the caramelized sugar to another level.

SUPER easy, the simplicity, in fact the hardest part is watching them cook and bubble in the oven and wondering how much longer you have to wait. Let me know what you think.

Ingredients

12 tbsps (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature (make sure it is totally room temp)

1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

1/2 cup pecans, chopped in very large pieces

1 package (17.3 ounces/ 2 sheets) frozen puff pastry, defrosted

For the filling

2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

3 tsp ground cinnamon

1 1/2 cup strawberries chopped into 1 cm cubes (errr about 1/4 inch)

Directions

Pre-Heat oven to 400 degrees F (204.44 Celsius). Place a 12-cup standard muffin tin on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. (I used a teflon non stick muffin pan).

In the bowl of an electric mixer preferably fitted with a paddle, --I didn't have one.. so just make sure whatever you use whips and smooshes it together well. Combine the 12 tbsp butter and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Plop 1 rounded tablespoon of the mixture in the bottom of each muffin cup segment. Distribute pecans and spoon about 1 tsp of strawberries into each muffin cup on top of the butter and sugar mixture.

Lightly flour a wooden board or flat clean surface. Unfold 1 sheet of puff pastry with the folds going left to right. Brush the whole sheet with melted butter. Leaving a 1-inch (approx 2 1/2 cm) boarder on the puff pastry, sprinkle each sheet with 1/3 cup of brown sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the cinnamon, and the remaining strawberries split between the 2 sheets. Starting with the end nearest you, roll the pastry up snugly like a jelly roll around the filling (firm but not tight) finishing the roll with the seam side down. Trim the ends of the roll about 1/2 inch (1 1/2 cms) and discard. Slice the roll in 6 equal pieces (it's easy to do if you cut in half and then divide the sections into 3 even rolls). Place each piece, spiral side up, in 6 of the muffin cups (very lightly press it down). Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry to make 12 sticky buns.

Bake for 30 minutes, until the sticky buns are golden to dark brown on top and firm to the touch. Be careful- they're hot! Allow to cool for 5 minutes ONLY, invert the buns onto the parchment paper (ease the filling and pecans out onto the buns with a spoon) and cool completely.