Do-Ahead Sticky Buns

These sticky buns use a clever shortcut: biscuit baking mix combined with yeast creates a dough that’s faster to make than traditional brioche but still rises into soft, pillowy rolls. The butterscotch pudding mix stirred into the brown sugar and butter topping does the work of a cooked caramel without the candy thermometer.

The do-ahead approach is the real selling point. Assemble everything the night before, cover the pan, and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. In the morning, pull the pan out, let the rolls rise for about an hour, and bake. Hot sticky buns with almost no morning effort.

Inverting the pan immediately after baking is the moment of truth. That butterscotch mixture on the bottom of the pan becomes the glossy, sticky glaze on top. Leave the pan upside down for a minute so every drop drizzles over the rolls.

Pro Tips

• Knead the dough just 20 times. Overkneading biscuit mix dough makes it tough instead of tender.
• Roll the dough tightly from the long side. A loose roll means gaps in the spiral where the filling leaks out.
• Don’t skip the full rise time. The rolls need to double in size for that soft, airy texture. Rushing gives you dense buns.
• Invert onto a heatproof plate immediately. Waiting lets the caramel cool and harden in the pan, and the rolls won’t release cleanly.

Variations

• Add chopped pecans to the bottom of the pan with the butterscotch mixture for a pecan sticky bun.
• Sprinkle raisins over the butterscotch filling before rolling for a classic cinnamon-raisin twist.
• Use vanilla pudding mix instead of butterscotch for a milder, vanilla-forward caramel.