The Mom Files

Makes about 12 sticky buns officially, but it all depends on how you slice and roll. Let’s say it makes about enough for 6/7 people for coffee and everyone can have seconds maybe thirds!

Ingredients

Dough:

• 4 cups (500g) all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup (50g) sugar
• 2 ¼ tsp (1 packet, 7gr) active dry yeast or fresh yeast (21gr)
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• ¾ tsp salt
• 1 cup (240ml) warm milk (not hot)
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup (60g) unsalted butter, softened or melted

Filling:

Now here comes your own preference, if you want it to be sticky buns, double the amounts. One half you use in the buns and the other half you pour over and next to the buns creating the stickiness.

• ¼ cup (60g) unsalted butter, softened
• ⅓ cup (65g) sugar
• Zest of 2 lemons
• 1 tsp ground cardamom

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The Official Instructions:

my go to instructions are at the end (it’s foolproof!)

1. Make the dough:
   • In a large bowl or stand mixer, mix warm milk and yeast. Let it sit for 5–10 mins until foamy.
   • Add sugar, egg, softened butter, flour, cardamom, and salt.
   • Mix and knead (about 7–10 mins) until the dough is smooth and elastic.
   • Cover and let it rise until doubled, ~1 to 1.5 hours.
2. Prepare the filling:
   • Mix softened butter, sugar, lemon zest, cardamom, and lemon juice until creamy.
3. Assemble the buns:
   • Roll dough into a rectangle (~12×16 inches).
   • Spread the filling evenly.
   • Roll up from the long edge into a tight log. Slice into 12 pieces.
   • Place into a greased baking dish or lined tray. Cover and let rise another 30–45 mins.
4. Bake:
   • Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
   • Bake 20–25 mins, or until lightly golden and cooked through.

note: I usually assemble ALL the dough in one go and just knead really really well, it always works. But if you are a stickler for the rules, you can follow the steps. Same for the filling, it works perfectly fine for me!
another note: my oven is horrible, the time given is 20-25 mins but my current oven will definitely need 30.

Glaze

If you want you can always add a glaze, but if you have doubled the filling you absolutely do not need to! It all depends, we usually make this as a nice little treat on a workday, so we often only do the filling and that’s still really tasty without it being TOO MUCH. It’s all up to your preference. A lemony cream cheese frosting would be my go to if you want to use it for a celebration or anything!

Ingredients & instructions for Lemony Cream Cheese Frosting

• 4 oz (115g) cream cheese, softened
• 2 tbsp (30g) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup (120g) powdered sugar
• 1–2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• ½ tsp lemon zest
• ½ tsp vanilla extract

Just cream the butter and cream cheese together, then slowly add in the powdered sugar until smooth and creamy. Stir in the lemon zest and juice, and add the vanilla.

I hope you enjoy these Cardamom Lemon Sticky Buns! They are a favorite in our house! 🙂

Love,
Romina