1/2 cup warm water (105-115°F)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 envelope active dry yeast
1 cup milk
About 4 cups unsifted all-purpose flour or bread flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg yolk
2 cups light brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup plus a few tablespoons of additional bourbon
4 ounces (generous 1 cup) large pecan halves, toasted
2 ounces (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature (it must be soft)
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Directions: Butter a large bowl for the dough to rise in; set it aside. Stir the water and granulated sugar together in a 1-cup glass measuring cup, add the yeast, stir briefly with a knife, and set aside for about 10 minutes until foamy.

Place the milk in a small pan, over low heat, and warm it to 105 to 115°F.

This dough can be made in a food processor or by hand.

To make it in a processor, fit the bowl with the metal chopping blade. Place about 3 cups of the flour in the processor bowl. Add the salt. Turn the motor on, through the feed tube, add the egg yolk, gradually add the warm milk, and then the yeast mixture (which will have risen up near the top of the cup--incidentally, you can stir and deflate it before you add it to the flour mixture or you can pour it in just as it is.) Process until the mixture forms a ball and comes away from the sides of the bowl, then continue to process for about 45 seconds more.

To mix this by hand, place about 3 cups of the flour in a large mixing bowl, add the salt, egg yolk, warm milk, and the yeast mixture, and beat well with a heavy wooden spoon (or electric mixer).

Whichever way you have mixed the ingredients, now place the remaining flour on a large work surface. Turn the dough out near the flour and knead, adding only as much of the flour as you need to be able to handle the dough. You probably will not use all of it.

If you prepare the dough in a processor, it needs only about 1 minute of kneading; otherwise, it needs only about 5 minutes of kneading.

When the dough becomes smooth and feels alive, form it into a ball and place it in a buttered bowl, turn the dough around in the bowl to butter all sides of it , cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and set it to rise in a draft-free spot where the temperature is about 80 to 85°F. The dough should rise until it doubles in volume; it will take 45 to 60 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the muffin pans. Butter the pans generously (use additional butter to the 1/2 stick called for). Place a rounded tablespoon of the light brown sugar in each pan (that should use up about half of the sugar--reserve the balance). Place a teaspoon of bourbon in each pan to wet the sugar. Place 3 pecan halves in each pan, rounded sides down. Set the pans aside.

When the dough has risen, make a fist, punch down the middle of the dough, fold over the sides and press them in, and then turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead it just two or three times, cover it loosely with plastic wrap, and let stand for about 10 minutes.

Cut the dough in half, set aside and cover one piece, and place the other piece on a lightly floured surface. Flour a rolling pin and roll the dough out into a rectangle 10 x 12 inches. As you roll the dough, occasionally use your fingers and gently pull out the corners of the dough to make a rectangle with squared corners.

With a narrow spatula or the back of a spoon, spread 1 ounce of the soft butter over the dough. With your fingers, sprinkle half of the remaining brown sugar over the butter. Then sprinkle lightly with a few tablespoons of the additional bourbon. Then, through a fine strainer, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon (reserve the remaining teaspoon of cinnamon for the other pan) all over the surface.

Roll the dough up tightly like a jelly roll, starting at a 12-inch side. With a ruler and the tip of a small, sharp knife mark the roll into 12 equal pieces.

When you cut this roll into pieces, the dough will want to stick to the knife, causing the slices to squash (which really will not matter a bit). But to avoid some of the sticking and squashing, spray the knife blade with Pam before making the first cut (and possibly one more time after making several additional cuts). Cut into 12 pieces.

Flatten each piece slightly, cut side up (and down), either by pressing it between your hands or by pressing it against the work surface with your fingertips.

Place the pieces cut side up (and down) in the prepared muffin pan. Cover the pan loosely with plastic wrap and place in a a draft-free spot, preferably where the temperature is about 80°, and let stand to double in volume.

Prepare the second panful, and let it rise too. It will take about 35 minutes, more or less, for the buns to rise.

Before baking, adjust a rack one-third up from the bottom of the oven and place a large piece of aluminum foil on the rack below to catch any syrup that might bubble over. Or, if if your oven does not have another rack below, place the foil on the floor of the oven.

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Bake these only one pan at a time; first bake the ones you shaped first--the others can wait. bake for about 25 minutes until the buns are beautifully browned (they will rise magically during baking).

As soon as you remove a pan from the oven, immediately cover it with a cookie sheet and turn the pan and the sheet over; hold the pan upside down for a moment, to allow the syrup to run out on the sheet, then with two wide metal spatulas (or what have you) pick up any nuts that fell off, place them on the buns, and scrape up any syrup that runs onto the cookie sheet and replace it on the top of the buns.

When the syrup stops running, use the spatulas to transfer the buns to a dish or tray.

Let the buns cool for about 20 minutes, or completely, before serving.

Aren't they gorgeous? And delicious?

Leftovers may be frozen. Place them on a foil-covered tray, freeze the buns, and then cover airtight with plastic wrap. Thaw before uncovering.

This recipe is by Maida Heatter from Maida Heatter's Cakes.

Submitted by: Meela