If you like sticky, caramel/toffee desserts, you’ll appreciate these.  I’ve made them for my family and for a dinner party and everyone loved them.  They are easy to make and since there are no rising periods, this is a relatively quick recipe.  They taste best fresh out of the oven as the toffee hardens when it cools.  But you can warm them up again in the microwave.  Also, keep in mind that these biscuits make a heavy treat.  Luckily, I discovered that they freeze well and can be re-heated in the microwave.

See the original recipe and a photo of these biscuits from the cookbook here.

Quicky Sticky Biscuits

makes 12 biscuits; adapted from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey by Jill O’Connor

for the sauce:
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup dark corn syrup
3/4 cup salted butter
1 1/2 cups chopped toasted pecans

for the biscuits:
4 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup very cold or frozen unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon sized pieces
2 cups cold buttermilk  (I used 2 tbsp lemon juice topped up to 2 cups of cold milk and I let it sit in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before using.)

for assembly:
scant 1/2 cup granulated white sugar mixed with 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 stick unsalted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 425 F with the rack positioned in the middle.  Grease a 9″ by 13″ pan well.  I used a metal, non stick pan.  Lightly flour a clean work surface.

To make the sauce:  In a heavy bottomed sauce pot, combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, and butter.  Melt over low heat.  Then increase to high heat and bring to a gentle boil.  Cook, uncovered, until the mixture thickens, stirring occasionally, about 3 to 5 minutes.  (Meanwhile, make the biscuits (see below).)  Stir in the chopped nuts and pour into the prepared pan.  Working quickly, use a rubber spatula to spread out the sauce evenly.  Set aside.

To make the biscuits:  In the bowl of a food processor, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Add the cold butter and blend until most of the mixture looks like coarse crumbs or grated parmesan cheese with small pea sized bits of butter.  Then with the food processor running, pour in 1 1/2 cups of the cold buttermilk.  The dough should come together nicely when pressed in your hands.  If the dough seems too dry, add the remaining buttermilk, 1/4 cup at a time, and pulse.   Pour the dough out onto your floured surface and use your hands to knead the dough a few times to bring it all together.  You should have a soft dough.  Pat the dough into a 3/4 inch thick rectangle that is smaller than the size of your baking pan.  Use a sharp, lightly greased, knife to cut the dough into 12 square biscuits.

For assembly:  Brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.  Place the biscuits cinnamon sugared side down in the sauce lined pan.  Then brush the tops (once the bottoms) of the biscuits with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Bake until the biscuits are golden brown and puffy and the sticky pecan sauce is bubbling around them, 15 to 17 minutes.  Place the pan on a wire rack to cool slightly, about 5 minutes.  Then place a large plate over the top of the pan (so that you’re looking at the bottom of the plate).  Holding the plate and the pan tightly together (with oven mitts on!), move quickly to flip them over so that the biscuits come out of the pan and onto your serving plate.  Hold the pan above the plate and use a rubber spatula to scrape any remaining pecan sauce off of the pan and back onto the biscuits.  Serve immediately.

Note that the sauce hardens when the biscuits cool.  So be sure to reheat them briefly in the microwave before enjoying.  Also, once cool, these can be wrapped individually with plastic wrap and frozen.  Reheat in the microwave after defrosting or directly from frozen.