Peanut Sticky Buns

Even though these are called peanut butter sticky buns, there’s actually no peanut butter in them. Before you cry foul hear me out. The dough contains PB2, powdered peanut butter. PB2 is something my sister turned me onto. It’s a powder that you can add water to create a peanut butter mixture, or you can add it to smoothies or baked goods. Today we are going to use it to make sticky buns.Rabbit trail: I was intending to create a PB&J sticky bun when I worked on this recipe. These buns you see pictured do in fact contain jelly (rhubarb!). But I found that with all the other elements at play, namely the sticky peanut glaze, you really couldn’t taste the jelly filling. Sometimes kitchen adventures don’t turn out exactly as you plan, but this one still turned out incredibly delicious. So I’ve omitted the jelly filling in the recipe notes below. If you want to give it another go though, be my guest. 🙂Peanut Butter Sticky Buns, adapted from The Dahlia Bakery Cookbook

For the dough:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup milk
5 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
3 1/3 cups flour
2 tablespoons PB2 powder (original or chocolate)

In a small pot melt the butter. Over low heat stir in the milk and sugar until just warmed and the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat. Stir in the yeast and allow this to sit and bubble for 8-10 minutes. In a large bowl stir together the flour, salt and PB2. When the yeast is ready stir it in along with the egg yolks until a dough begins to form. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 4-5 minutes. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and allow to rise for 2 hours.Toward the end of the rise time prepare the peanut glaze. You’ll need: 3/4 cup butter, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup light corn syrup, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1 1/2 cups chopped peanuts. In a pot melt together the butter, sugar and corn syrup until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and peanuts. Pour the batter into a buttered 9×13 baking dish. Or, if you find you don’t have a 9×13 baking dish for some reason, then two 8×8 baking pans.Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a large square. For the inside brush on 2 tablespoons melted butter and sprinkle in 1/4 cup sugar mixed with 2 teaspoons cinnamon. Roll up and slice into cinnamon rolls. Place the rolls in the prepared pans. Bake at 350°F for 35-40 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and CAREFULLY flip the rolls out of the pan, revealing the peanut glaze on top. The best is if you can lay a cutting board or serving dish over the pan and flip it all together. Use oven mitts. Be careful. Don’t get hot peanut glaze on your forearm. That would totally hurt, like a lot.These are best if served immediately, while they are still warm. The glaze will begin to harden as the sticky buns cool. But you can always just give them a few minutes in the microwave or a warm oven if needed. Enjoy! xo. Emma