Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Sprinkle yeast and sugar over warm water;let stand about 5 minutes until foamy.
  2. Stir together proofed yeast mixture, egg, coconut milk, butter, sugar, salt, and 1-2 cups of the flour; gradually stir in remaining flour (a KitchenAid stand mixer or bread machine may be used) until a very soft and somewhat sticky dough comes together;add additional flour a tablespoon at a time if necessary to preclude excess stickiness, but be careful not to add too much.
  3. Knead (a KitchenAid stand mixer or bread machine may be used) about 8 minutes until dough is smooth and still soft.
  4. Place dough into oiled bowl; cover bowl and put in a warm place; allow dough to rise about 1 1/4 hours until doubled.
  5. Meanwhile, cream together butter, brown sugar, orange zest, and orange juice to make the glaze; spread glaze evenly across the bottom of a 9x13" baking pan.
  6. Combine pecans, coconut, apricots, orange zest, sugar, and cinnamon (save the melted butter for later) to make the filling; stir and toss to mix well.
  7. Measure out 1 cup of the filling and sprinkle it evenly over the glaze already in the baking pan; set remainder aside.
  8. Once dough has doubled; punch it down then turn out onto a lightly floured surface such as a large cutting board or clean countertop; roll or pat the dough into a 12x18" rectangle.
  9. Brush dough rectangle with 2 tablespoons melted butter; sprinkle remaining filling evenly over the dough, leaving a 1" margin along one of the long sides.
  10. Roll the dough up jelly-roll-style,beginning with the long side without a margin, into a tight cylinder, ending at the long side with the margin; pinch along the long seam and at the ends to seal the roll shut.
  11. Cut (see the NOTE below for a very easy cutting method) the roll into 12 even pieces, each about 1 1/2" wide; arrange the cut pieces, pretty-side down, on top of the glaze in the baking pan.
  12. Cover the pan and allow the buns to rise about 45 minutes or until once-again doubled.
  13. Bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes until the buns are golden-brown with sugar bubbling up between them; cool in baking pan 5 minutes, then invert onto a baking sheet; continue to cool a few minutes longer then pull apart the sticky buns; serve while still warm or cool completely.
  14. NOTE: Using both hands, slide a two-foot length of plain dental floss under the dough roll; bring the ends of the floss up and across each other at the place you want to cut; pull the floss tight to make a very clean cut straight through the dough.