No TWD today.....but I will give you a late Barefoot Bloggers

Because I'm here....

....and I have more pressing things to do today.  Like lay on my ass by the pool, read a book, nap, make margaritas....you know, important things.

But, I will make the Fresh Ginger and Chocolate Gingerbread that was the choice of Heather over at Sherry Trifle when I get home.  Because I love gingerbread and it sounds delish.

I will, however, give you last week's Barefoot Blogger assignment.....Easy Sticky Buns....which I made for Charlotte last week before I left town.

These definitely lived up to the "easy" in the title.  No dough to make and only butter, brown sugar and cinnamon to deal with.  Can't get any easier than that.

They didn't quite live up to my sticky bun expectations, however.  I like mine doughy and soft and these were more crisp and crunchy.  And I didn't even bake them for the complete 30 minutes....more like 20.

Plus, these puppies are not savers.  They were hard as rocks by the next morning.  Definitely should be eaten within a couple hours of baking.  

All of that sounds like they were horrible and they weren't.  How can butter, brown sugar and cinnamon be bad, right?  I think if you need to throw together a quick cinnamon roll that will get eaten right away, this is your guy.

Here's the recipe....

Easy Sticky Buns

Barefoot Contessa "Back to Basics"

Makes 12

We used to make really delicious sticky buns at Barefoot Contessa, but they took two days to make because the yeast dough needed to rise overnight in the refrigerator. I was dying to find a way to make them easier, so I decided to try baking them with Pepperidge Farm puff pastry dough, instead. OMG are they good … and they’re really easy to make! Light, flaky dough filled with brown sugar, toasted pecans, and sweet raisins — my friends go crazy when I make these.

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup pecans, chopped in very large pieces
1 package (17.3 ounces/2 sheets) frozen puff pastry, defrosted for the filling
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup raisins

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place a 12-cup standard muffin tin on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the 12 tablespoons butter and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Place 1 rounded tablespoon of the mixture in each of the 12 muffin cups. Distribute the pecans evenly among the 12 muffin cups on top of the butter and sugar mixture.

Lightly flour a wooden board or stone surface. Unfold one sheet of puff pastry with the folds going left to right. Brush the whole sheet with half of the melted butter. Leaving a 1-inch border on the puff pastry, sprinkle each sheet with 1/3 cup of the brown sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the cinnamon, and 1/2 cup of the raisins. Starting with the end nearest you, roll the pastry up snugly like a jelly roll around the filling, finishing the roll with the seam side down.

Trim the ends of the roll about 1/2 inch and discard. Slice the roll in 6 equal pieces, each about 1 1/2 inches wide. Place each piece, spiral side up, in 6 of the muffin cups. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry to make 12 sticky buns.

Bake for 30 minutes, until the sticky buns are golden to dark brown on top and firm to the touch. Allow to cool for 5 minutes only, invert the buns onto the parchment paper (ease the filling and pecans out onto the buns with a spoon), and cool completely.

Thanks to Made by Melissa for choosing this.