Sticky Maple Buns

Around the Pauley Plantation (tongue in cheek, but we do have maple trees), it's about time to begin harvesting sap. It's a process that is labor intensive for at least a week but SO FUN!  You have to bulk up to have the energy for it (LOL, any excuse works!), so this week I had warm sticky maple buns fresh from the oven, a great reward for the hard work of gathering, reducing and canning last year's sap. A friend of mine asked me to post my recipe. Get yourself some syrup, locally made if available, and give this recipe a try!

Begin with a basic sweet roll recipe. Here's the one I use, modified from Better Homes and Gardens:
4 to 4 1/2 cups flour
1 pkt active dry yeast
1 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
Combine half the flour with the yeast. Heat the milk, sugar, butter, and salt to 115-120 degrees F. Add to the flour mixture. Use a mixer on low speed for one minute. Then add the eggs. Mix on high until silky smooth. Then stir in more flour and continue stirring in flour until you have a gooey ball. Begin kneading more flour into the dough until it's smooth and firm. Place into a greased bowl. Turn the ball over. Cover for about an hour or until double in size. After that, the fun part. Punch it down. Divide in half and allow it to rest for a few minutes.
Sticky maple buns:
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons of cinnamon
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Roll out dough into two 8"X12" rectangles. Spread each rectangle with butter. Mix cinnamon and sugar together and sprinkle half on each rectangle. Roll up from the long side and cut into 1" rounds. Turn oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare two round baking pans with butter. Pour half the maple syrup into each pan. Sprinkle with walnuts.  Place the rounds over the maple/walnut mixture. Bake for 20-22 minutes. Serve warm. YUM!!!