Ina Garten's Cinnamon Rolls with Puff Pastry

Spray muffin tin, then press the butter/brown sugar mixture in pan, and top with chopped pecans.

On a floured surface, lay out the puff pastry sheet, with folds left to right. Then brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon, and raisins. Then roll tightly, discarding the ends. Cut into 6 sections and put in the muffin tin on top of the butter, brown sugar, pecan mixture. 

I've wanted to make these for awhile, but never had a chance to until now! They are simple to assemble and delicious, but do take 40 min to thaw the puff pastry, time to assemble, and then 30 min to bake. Think these are worth it though! Easier than making cinnamon buns.

Here is what I did:
1) Thaw 1 package of puff pastry for 40 min at room temperature; also set 12 tablespoons of unsalted butter at room temperature
2) Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2) Made the butter/brown sugar mixture. Sprayed a muffin tin and patted the mixture down into the pan. Then topped with chopped pecans.
3) After puff pastry is thawed, lay on floured surfaced with the folds from left to right (meaning the longer side towards you). Brush olive oil on sheet, leaving 1 inch border. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup of brown sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon, and 1/2 cup of raisins. Roll tightly, starting with the side closest to you. End with the seam at the bottom. Cut the ends off and discard. Cut into 6 sections. Then put on top of the butter/brown sugar/pecan topping with the swirls on top.
4) Repeat step 3 with the 2nd sheet of puff pastry
5) Bake for 30 min. Only allow it to cool for 5 min, and then invert! then sprinkle the pecan topping on top.

Food network has a video of Ina Garten making these: 

Watch how to make this recipe.

Easy Stick Buns (~from Ina Garten's Back to Basics)

Ingredients

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

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. 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 1 sheet of puff pastry with the folds going left to right. Brush the whole sheet with 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. Be careful - they're hot! 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.