“I could eat a million of these!,” exclaimed my husband, Chris, as he took a bite out of the first of many mini sticky buns he had for breakfast. I definitely agree with him as not only are they cute, but they are delicious and very easy to make. These miniature version of sticky buns are filled with orange-flavored cream cheese and pumpkin butter and topped with a pecan and brown sugar glaze. 

Using oven-ready crescent roll dough and jarred pumpkin butter, are , of course, the key to the relative ease of this recipe.  The other two major components – the crunchy topping and sweet creamy filling – require only simple mixing of a few ingredients.  The rest is just assembly and baking. In about 30 minutes from start to finish, you’ll be eating your first of many sticky buns.

The pumpkin butter, a seasonal product from Trader Joe’s signals the arrival of autumn and the orange zest cuts the richness of the cream cheese, all of which works with the crunchy, not-too-sweet toping.  Warm and oozing with sticky goodness, these are perfect with a cup of coffee  on a lazy weekend morning.

Mini Pumpkin Butter and Orange Cream Cheese Sticky Buns
Yields 16 mini sticky buns

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons butter, softened
6 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped pecans
2 teaspoons Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur (optional)
8 ounces Pillsbury Crescent Seamless Dough Sheet (I used a 12 ounces Pillsbury Grands Big & Buttery Crescents)
3 tablespoons cream cheese, softened to a spreadable consistency
1 to 2 teaspoons orange zest, finely chopped, to taste
4 tablespoons pumpkin butter (I used Trader Joe’s brand)

Method:
Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a mini muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.

Place butter, brown sugar, pecans, and Grand Marnier in a small bowl and mix until well combined. Scoop a heaping teaspoon of the mixture into 16 mini muffin tin cups.

Unroll seamless dough sheet on a clean surface and lightly roll into a 1/4-inch thick rectangle. (If using regular crescent roll dough, gently press edges of perforation together and lightly roll into a rectangle.) Mix cream cheese and orange zest together and spread over the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border on the top and bottom edges. Spread pumpkin butter over the cream cheese/orange mixture. Roll the dough from the long side down then cut into 16 slices with a serrated knife. (If too soft to cut cleanly, chill the uncut dough, covered, for 30 minutes before cutting.) Place each slice into a muffin tin cup on top of the butter/sugar/pecan mixture, pressing down slightly.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown on top. Let cool for 2 minutes then place a serving platter on top of the muffin tin and invert. Serve immediately.

Adapted from Iowa Girl Eats.

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