These quick sticky cinnamon biscuits are topped with cinnamon sugar, then finished with sticky caramel and pecans. Make them for a brunch or weekend breakfast and watch them disappear!
I adapted this cinnamon biscuits recipe from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey, which might just be one of the most decadent cookbooks I’ve ever read. These biscuits were the first recipe I made from the book, but really, calling them biscuits just seems insulting. They are so much more than that!
Why You’ll Love These Cinnamon Biscuits
- Cinnamon, caramel, and pecans. A trifecta of deliciousness! These biscuits have a sticky caramel-pecan sauce that would make your dentist squirm. It would be uncouth to spoon the sauce straight into your mouth, so instead, you spoon it onto the biscuits with cinnamon sugar!
- Perfect for a brunch get-together. These cinnamon biscuits are so rich and decadent, you’ll definitely want to share them. They’re fantastic for a holiday breakfast or brunch!
- No yeast required. What separates these biscuits from traditional sticky bun recipes is that they don’t need yeast to get their rise. That’s how they get the quick name—they’re leavened with baking soda and powder, just like quick bread and traditional biscuits.
What You’ll Need
Scroll down to the recipe card to find the ingredient quantities and recipe instructions.
Pecan sauce:
- Light brown sugar
- Dark corn syrup – If you have light corn syrup and molasses on hand, you can use three parts syrup to one part molasses as a substitute for dark corn syrup.
- Unsalted butter
- Chopped pecans – You’ll need to toast the pecans to bring out their flavor. You can do this in the oven, on the stovetop, or in the microwave. You may prefer the stovetop method because it lets you keep a close eye on the nuts so they don’t burn. Toast them in a skillet set over medium heat.
Biscuits:
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Unsalted butter – For flaky cinnamon biscuits, you’ll need the butter to be as cold as possible.
- Buttermilk – A scant two cups of whole milk plus two tablespoons of lemon juice or vinegar can be used as a substitute for the buttermilk.
Topping:
- Granulated sugar
- Ground cinnamon
- Unsalted butter
How to Make Cinnamon Biscuits
- Prepare. Coat a pan with cooking spray and preheat your oven to 425ºF.
- Start the pecan sauce. Combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, and butter in a saucepan set over low heat. Once the butter has melted, increase the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil. Cook until thickened, then stir in the pecans. Pour the sauce into the pan.
- Start the biscuit dough. Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl, then cut in the butter. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs.
- Finish the dough. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in 1 1/2 cups of buttermilk. Mix with a fork to form a soft dough, adding more buttermilk if it’s too dry.
- Form biscuits. Knead the dough a few times, then pat it into a rectangle. Cut the dough into 12 biscuits.
- Make the cinnamon sugar. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Brush the the biscuits with half of the butter and sprinkle them with half of the cinnamon sugar.
- Assemble the biscuits. Place the biscuits in the pan with the cinnamon sugar side down. Brush with the remaining butter and sprinkle the remaining cinnamon sugar onto them.
- Bake the biscuits. Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until the biscuits are golden brown and puffy.
- Cool and serve. Cool slightly, then invert the biscuits onto a serving plate. Remove the pan to allow the sauce to fall around the biscuits. Spoon any remaining sauce from the pan over the tops of the cinnamon biscuits, then serve.
Tips for Success
- Don’t over-knead. If you do, the cinnamon biscuits will have a tough texture and the butter will melt while you’re working the dough, so you won’t get the flaky layers. Unlike a loaf of yeast bread, you really only need to knead a few times.
- Spoon the flour. If you use your measuring cup as a scoop, you’ll end up with too much flour in the recipe. Instead, lightly spoon the flour into the measuring cup or measure by weight.
- Spray your pan generously. Make sure you get every nook and cranny! The caramel sauce is sticky, so using a lot of non-stick spray will help the biscuits slide out of the pan when you invert it.
How to Store
Store these cinnamon biscuits in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 or 3 days. You can also keep them in the fridge for up to a week, but I recommend warming them up in the microwave before you eat them!
Can This Recipe Be Frozen?
Yes, you can freeze your batch of sticky biscuits with cinnamon. Place a layer of parchment paper or wax paper on the sticky tops before wrapping the biscuits in two layers of plastic wrap or placing them in a freezer bag. Let them thaw at room temperature.
More Breakfast Recipes
- Cranberry Orange Muffins
- Homemade Granola
- Herbed Popovers
- Cinnamon Apple Scones
- Pimiento Cheese Biscuits
Get the Recipe:
Sticky Cinnamon Biscuits
Yield
12 biscuits
Prep Time
40 minutes
Cook Time
25 minutes
Total Time
1 hour 5 minutes
Cinnamon Biscuits are topped with cinnamon sugar, then finished with sticky caramel and pecans. These sweet, gooey, nutty biscuits are such a fantastic indulgence!
Ingredients
For the pecan sauce:
- 1 cup (200g) firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (156g) dark corn syrup
- 3/4 cup (170g) unsalted butter
- 1 & 1/2 cups (180g) chopped pecans, toasted
For the biscuits:
- 4 cups (480g) all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 cup (226g) very cold or frozen unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces
- 1 & 1/2 to 2 cups (355 to 474ml) buttermilk
For the topping:
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
To make the pecan sauce:
- Spray a 9″x 13″ pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Place the brown sugar, corn syrup, and butter in a saucepan. Cook over low heat. When the butter is melted, increase the heat to high and bring to a gentle boil. Cook 3-5 minutes, until thickened. Stir in the pecans. Pour into the pan and spread evenly. Set aside.
To make the biscuits:
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Sift together twice the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut in the butter using a pastry blender. Blend until the mixture mostly looks like coarse crumbs, with some of the butter the size of small peas.
- Make a shallow well in the center of the flour mixture. Pour in 1 & 1/2 cups of buttermilk. Blend with a fork to form a soft dough. If dough is too dry, add the remaining 1/2 cup of buttermilk.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead a few times, then pat into a 3/4-inch thick rectangle. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into 12 square biscuits.
To make the topping:
- Stir together the sugar and cinnamon. Brush the tops of the biscuits with about half of the melted butter. Sprinkle with about half of the cinnamon-sugar.
- Place the biscuits, cinnamon-sugar side down into the pan. Brush the tops (that were the bottoms) of the biscuits with the remaining butter and sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon-sugar.
- Bake about 15-17 minutes. The biscuits should be golden brown and puffy, and the pecan sauce should be bubbling around the biscuits.
- Cool slightly, then invert onto a serving plate. Remove the pan to allow the sauce to fall around the biscuits. Scrape any remaining sauce from the pan onto the biscuits. Serve immediately.
Notes
Recipe slightly adapted from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey.
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20 Comments on “Quick Sticky Biscuits”
Mmm caramel, sugar and cinnamon (not sure about the pecans)! These look great. I keep seeing people posting recipes out of this book that look so good.
Ooey, gooey goodness.
I saw this book too and it’s good to see some of the recipes actually tried out. These look great!
I got this book for Christmas and I agree with you. Every page is filled with rich and decadent treats. I was eyeing this recipe but I haven’t played around with yeast bread much. Great pictures of the buns.
I got this cookbook for Hanukkah and have been dying to try this recipe. Now I can’t wait!
Thanks, everyone, for the compliments!
this looks amazing! goodness, I’m trying to get away from these foods (post-holiday pudge) … you’re not helping! it’s ok, i can enjoy reading about it at least 😉 love the photographs, as usual!
These definitely exemplify the title of the book! I hope you have a very fun and delicious year in 2008!
Julie
Decadent is a wonderful word to describe this cookbook. It is a great cookbook! These look wonderful!
Ohhh they look wickidly indulgant.
Thanks, Linda, Julie, Deborah, and Katie! Happy new year!
You are torturing me:) My 2008 food goal is to make (successfully) sticky pecan cinnamon rolls & seeing this recipe is so much easier & yum!
JEP, these are definitely easier and faster than the normal yeast-based sticky buns. Let me know what you think if you try them!
Those sticky buns look so good! Just look at the gooey nuttiness oozing down the side.
Hi Jen a belated Happy New Year!!
I’ll have to try this one..I had to stop going to certain malls because of my weakness for Cinnabons. When I was down in Florida I knew of this small little restaurant where they would bring you out fresh Sticky buns instead of rolls. My brother asked me where this place was and I told him it’s “None of your Biscuit”
Kevin, they are so gooey and yummy…. Words really don’t do them justice.
Tom, I think that restaurant would be a must-try just for the sticky buns. What a great idea!
Made these wonderful biscuits this morning!
They were great! Love your site ~ thanks for the recipe!
And….wanted to let you know that I featured you on my blog today!
Thanks, Betsy! I’m glad you liked them!
They look yummy! Maybe the “quick” refers to how fast they go. 🙂