A bright and fresh twist on a classic favorite, Lemon Sticky Buns are the perfect treat for breakfast or dessert.
Whew. We made it. We’re safely on the other side of Passover. Another year, another week of meat, chicken, eggs and potatoes. Admittedly, I’m ready to buckle down on the diet and kinda avoid desserts right now, so if you’re with me there, you might not want to keep reading. Seriously.
When I think of the ultimate non-passover dessert, it’s gotta have yeast in it. Pesach is a time of no yeast, right? So real proper chometz has gotta be a fluffy, yeasty delight. Now, you might remember that Cinnamon Buns are my all-time favorite, ultimate weakness. Doesn’t matter what diet I’m on…put hot sticky cinnamon buns in front of me, and I am D-O-O-M-E-D.
You can imagine that when I first thought of improving on the classic cinnamon bun, I felt like I needed to wash my brain out as punishment for such heretical thoughts. But I caved. I always do when I have an amazing recipe idea bouncing around in my brain. I created these Lemon Sticky Buns, and now this cinnamon bun loving girl is having an identity crisis of sorts. How can I like these THIS much?!
What can I say? I guess there’s room for the old classics and the new favorites.
- 1 packet dry yeast (2 ¼ teaspoons)
- ¼ cup warm water
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- ¾ cup milk or soy milk
- 6 Tablespoons (¾ stick) butter or margarine, melted and slightly cooled
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 egg yolks
- 4 cups flour
- For pan sauce:
- ¼ cup (½ stick) butter or margarine
- Juice of 1 lemon (about 2 Tablespoons)
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- For filling:
- ¾ cup margarine or butter (6 Tablespoons), melted
- 1 cup sugar
- Zest of one lemon
- For glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 ½ Tablespoons water
- ½ Tablespoon oil
- A few drops of lemon juice, optional
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the yeast, warm water and one tablespoon of sugar. Let it sit for a couple of minutes until it starts to bubble.
- Add the soy milk, melted margarine, sugar, egg and egg yolks to the yeast mixture. Stir to combine. Add half of the flour mixture and beat using the paddle until the mixture is combined. It will resemble a thick batter. Switch to the dough hook and add the remaining flour.
- Knead until all of the flour is incorporated, then continue to knead until the dough no longer looks sticky, about 5 minutes. Set aside to rise for about an hour and a half.
- Preheat the oven to 350.
- Combine all of the ingredients for the pan sauce and spread over the bottom of a 9x13 pan, or two smaller pans.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a large rectangle. The thinner you roll the dough, the better!
- To prepare the filling, rub the zest into the sugar until the mixture has a consistency of wet sand. Spread the melted margarine over the rolled out dough, then spread the sugar over it. Reserve a small amount of it for the top of the buns.
- Roll the dough up along the longer side of the rectangle. Roll as tightly as possible for the best results. Cut the roll in slices, about ½ an inch wide. Place in the prepared pan. Sprinkle with the reserved lemon sugar.
- Bake at 350 for about 18 minutes, until the tops are just turning golden brown.
- Remove from oven and set aside to cool slightly before glazing.
- To make the glaze, combine all ingredients until you have a runny glaze. Drizzle over the buns and enjoy!
Thanks for stopping by folks! And for the dieters among you (did you make it this far? Are you drooling?) never fear! I have the most insanely delicious veggie recipe to share with you! Stay tuned. -Miriam
Lemon makes everything better. It’s a fact. Especially now that I am looking at these beautiful lemon sticky buns 🙂
I just made these (clipped recipe few years ago in ami and didn’t know they were yours!) they were INCREDIBLE ! if I were to sub oil for even one or two parts of this recipe which parts do you recommend? Filling ?pan sauce ? dough ? Thanks ! And if I want the inside more “Lemony”- any way to flavor the dough with a slight lemon flavor as well? Thanks!
You write that 6 tablespoons is 3/4 of a stick of margarine for the dough. For the filling you wrote 3/4 cup of margarine is 6 tablespoons. 3/4 cup is more than 3/4 of a stick. Does the filling really call for just 6 tablespoons? Thank you!
Yes, use 3/4 stick, not cup.