Grandma Ruth's Legendary Sticky Buns Brought Generations Together

"When you'd come inside, the smell of this bread dough was amazing," my grandma recalled when I asked her about her sticky bun recipe.

My grandma Ruth, or "Nani" as she's known in our family, has been baking her sticky buns for as long as she can remember. She never used a recipe though, relying instead on trial and error and instinct until they turned out just the way she liked. When I finally asked her to share the details over the phone, that was the first time her recipe had ever really been written down.

When I asked her how she got started, my Nani told me she used to sell them. Her next-door neighbor would buy a pan, and sometimes, she would make a pan or two of her sticky buns in exchange for a meal. She even brought them along when babysitting for the CEO of the Pottsville, Pennsylvania, hospital, where my father worked at the time. After tasting them, the CEO declared:

"John's mother-in-law makes the best sticky buns you've ever eaten!"

Her sticky buns also made regular appearances at church potlucks and Easter sunrise services, where they quickly became a much-anticipated treat. At home, she'd make them especially for my mom, who loved eating a couple straight out of the oven-her absolute favorite way to enjoy them.

Ruth Lynn

"When you'd come inside, the smell of this bread dough was amazing."

Ruth's Sticky Bun Recipe

You can use any homemade white bread recipe, but the basic ingredients are:

Ingredients

White Bread Dough

• 2 cups warm water
• 1 Tbsp. active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tsp. salt
• 4 - 5 1/2 cups all-purpose or bread flour

Sticky Bun Syrup

• 2 cups light molasses or Karo dark corn syrup
• 1/2 cup melted margarine or butter
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup dark molasses
• 2-3 Tbsp. water

Instructions

• Prepare the white bread dough according to recipe instructions, making sure to let the dough rise.
• Roll out the dough on a lightly-floured surface to 1/4- to 1/2-inch thickness.
• Generously cover the dough with melted margarine, sugar, and cinnamon.
• Roll the dough up and cut into 1/2-inch thick slices.
• Mix the syrup ingredients and add to the bottom of a 9x13 pan.
• Place the rolls into the pan, making sure it's not too crowded (no more than 12 rolls).
• Let the rolls rise in the pan at room temperature for about two hours.
• Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes or until the buns are slightly golden brown on top.
• Remove from oven and immediately invert onto a baking sheet.

Tips For Perfect Sticky Buns

For the best results, Ruth suggests these tips:

• Don't overcrowd the pan with the sticky buns, as they will increase in size when they rise.
• If you don't want to take the time to make homemade bread dough, you can use frozen.
• When cutting your sticky bun dough into slices, don't cut them too thick, or there won't be enough syrup to cover them when they rise.
• When rolling up the dough, be careful not to roll it too tightly to allow the buns room to rise and puff up.
• Invert the baked sticky buns as soon as they come out of the oven, so the syrup mixture doesn't get stuck in the pan.

How To Best Enjoy Ruth's Sticky Buns

According to my mom, the best way to enjoy a sticky bun is slightly underbaked and straight from the oven. You can also add raisins or nuts to the syrup mixture for an added crunch or chew. And if you want to ditch the syrup altogether, these buns pair nicely with white frosting as well.

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