Grammie's Famous Butterscotch Sticky Buns: An Old Homestead Recipe

Hi folks, it's Wendie today with a classic, old homestead recipe from our kitchen.

Mmmm....sticky buns. Not just cinnamon buns, but warm, perfectly indulgent cinnamon sticky buns nestled in a base of melted caramel. My grandmother used to make these as part of her Thanksgiving dinner. 

She was a health food nut before it was a thing. She would steam veggies, bake chicken with the skin off, skip the salt and drink nothing but water and warm tea. 

She stretched upon waking up, walked a mile every morning after a light breakfast and swam laps at the pool until her body wouldn't let her any longer. 

Grammie's Famous Butterscotch Sticky Buns

A big indulgence in our house was making oatmeal raisin cookies, so these sticky buns were out of this world a-mazing-ing and took away the punishment of dry turkey and sitting at the kids table. 

I would eat what seemed like my weight in them, warm and super sweet, slathered with butter. Her apartment, on a quiet road in Pasadena, never smelled so good as when she made these buns. In fact, they are so good, that there has been some debate in my family about whose recipe this is. 

Some dare to claim it to belongs to their mother (I won't name names here). But alas, the old and worn index card has been discovered, in my grandmother's cursive writing, stained with butter and yellowed with time. There is no proof as solid as a stained index card.

The recipe takes a bit of doing, and so I shied away from them in my years of first becoming independent and living on my own, I've had good and bad attempts, but experience has taught me that allowing enough time for the dough to rise twice is key. 

If you want to to impress company, make these as part of a breakfast on a cold autumn day. Allow three hours in total and be prepared to be a rockstar. Go ahead and claim it as your own recipe, no one will know. And my Grammie's legacy will live on.

Butterscotch Sticky Buns Recipe

Bun Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Milk
• 1/3 Cup Butter
• 1/2 Cup Granulated White Sugar
• 3 Cups White Flour
• 1 Whole, Beaten Egg
• 2 Tablespoons Yeast
• 1/2 Cup Warm Water
• Brown Sugar to Sprinkle

Bottom Filling Ingredients:

• 1/3 Cup Karo Syrup
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 11 Ounces (1 Package) Butterscotch Chips

Note: To replicate the authentic taste of this old homestead recipe, we skipped using our KitchenAid mixer and instead mixed with a wooden spoon. We found this to be a good decision when we reached the flour stage and having it just come together correctly. A mixer couldn't achieve these results. It's not like incorporating a bread or cake dough- it's all about bring it together so it won't stick.

Using a pan on the stove, place the milk, 1/3 cup butter and sugar in and heat until the butter mets. Remove from heat and let cool. 

Mix yeast with 1/2 cup warm water. Add yeast slurry and beaten egg to cooled mixture in the pan. Add flour gradually while mixing. Add slightly more, turning the dough until it doesn't stick. 

Grease a bowl with butter, place dough ball inside and cover with cling film. Let rise at room temperature for an hour or until doubled in size.

Once ready, place dough on a floured surface and roll out into a rectangle. Sprinkle with and even coat of brown sugar. Roll up.

Melt Karo syrup, 2 tablespoons butter and all of the butterscotch chips in a pan, stirring constantly. When melted, pour into the bottom of a 9x11 casserole dish. Slice even sections from the bun roll and place on top of the mixture.

Let buns rise again for an hour or until doubled in size at room temperature. 

Preheat oven to 375 F and bake buns for 30 minutes. Butter the top of your rolls to taste, then run a knife along the edges to help the rolls drop evenly.  Remove from pan immediately or they will stick.

Serve warm for best results.

We love sharing our off the grid homesteading life with you all and truly enjoy it when you bring your own experiences too the table. Do you have fond recipe memories of your grandmothers? Let us know by joining the conversation below!