The Penn Stater Magazine

And Now for Something Completely Different…

January 4, 2009 at 9:36 am Tina Hay Leave a comment

…a recipe for sticky buns!

You can see they're a little crowded, which is why you might want to use slightly bigger pans than the 12x9 and the 8x8.

When I had some folks over to my house on New Year’s Day to watch that stupid, stupid, stupid Rose Bowl game, I made homemade sticky buns for the occasion. A friend suggested that I post the recipe to the magazine blog. So here it is.

It’s not really a Penn State-related recipe, I must admit; I got it from my mom, who most likely got it from her mother. It may be that sticky buns generally are a Pennsylvania Dutch kind of thing. Whatever the case, they’re easy to make, and if you miss Penn State, these might well remind you of the Diner.

Hay Family Sticky Buns

2 packages dry yeast
1 t. sugar
1/2 C. warm water

Mix the above ingredients together and let stand for 10 minutes.

1/2 C. vegetable oil
2 C. warm water
1/2 C. sugar
1-1/2 t. salt
7 to 7-1/2 C. flour

Combine these ingredients with the yeast mixture. Spread vegetable oil on the inside of a large bowl and place the dough in the bowl. Add vegetable oil to the top of the dough. Cover and let stand until doubled in bulk, about 60 to 90 minutes.

Next, mix up the sticky-bun goop:

4 T. margarine, melted
1/2 C. light brown sugar
2/3 C. dark Karo
chopped nuts (optional)

Pour the goop into two baking pans, one about 13×9 and one about 8×8, or a little bigger.

Preheat oven to 350˚.

Roll the dough on a lightly floured board. Dot with margarine; sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll the dough into a log shape and cut into slices (buns) about 1/2” to 3/4” thick. Place buns into baking pans on top of the goop. Bake at 350˚ for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Makes about 3 dozen.

Click here and here to see two early stages of the sticky-making process, and here to see a shot of the finished stickies after they’ve been flipped out of the pan.

Tina Hay, editor

Entry filed under: State College, University Park campus. Tags: grilled stickies, Penn State Diner, Pennsylvania Dutch, Rose Bowl, State College Diner, sticky buns.