Pacific Sourdough

This week the reality of pecans hit the bakery. We make a variety of wonderful pecan treats beloved by our loyal customers but when my wholesaler quoted me the $9.00 a pound price of pecans (a 50% increase since December) I had to rethink the idea of pecan sticky buns for the farmers market this weekend. Hm...cinnamon buns, no everyone makes those, almond buns, did those last week. Then I remembered a favorite from my childhood. My mother used to make a delicious Orange Sticky bun. Now what was the recipe? I remember it had orange juice, or was that oj concentrate? Were they frosted or turned over with the sticky side up? Surely a Google search would turn up just the right recipe. Nope, nada. I wondered if my mom would remember or maybe even have the recipe somewhere?


My mom is a very organized person, " a place for everything and everything in it's place". I am sure this adage was much easier to employ after I moved out some 30-odd years ago and stopped messing things up. Her pantry is a fine example of this neatness. 25 kinds of teas, organized in sub-sets of herbal, green, black, flavored, decaf, caffeinated and specialty, each sub-set arranged alphabetically. I tease her about it mercilessly. But hey, when you need something from Mom she can usually put her finger right on it. So I picked up the phone, "hey Mom, you remember those orange buns you used to make? I think in reality she only made them a handful of times before some other goody snagged our attention and appetites. Sure enough, she remembered them and in less than 3 minutes found the cookbook with the recipe. Bingo! Orange Glory Buns from a circa 1963 Better Homes and Gardens. It sounded like just the treat to bake to brighten up a winter morning, a few tweaks, a splash of Grand Marnier in the glaze and there we are, Orange Sunshine Buns, everybody loved 'em. Thanks Mom, let's have tea.