When we were in Hawaii we fell in love with Lava Java, a coffee shop/restaurant on the south end of town, where we spent the mornings drinking great coffee and eating the plate-sized sticky buns.
I talk about them often in class, and two years ago a student, Jeri, noted that we had some freshly made brioche dough, some sugar and pecans. She asked if she could try to recreate them and I immediately took her up on the offer. I knew they would be good only because Jeri is about the best baker I have ever met.
The resulting sticky buns were as good if not better than those at Lava Java. They were sweet, bready, sticky and messy and had loads of buttery flavor and cinnamon.  
Going through some sites this week, Jeri ran across an article in the Kona Historical Society’s recipe section that covered Portuguese Sweet Bread or Pao Doce. Noting that this somewhat resembles Brioche, the Mad Baker went to work in her lab, recreating a spot-on version of Lava Java’s delectable buns. The earlier effort was fantastic, but this version was completely on the money. It was Jeri for the win.
As I go through the recipe, I am in awe at how simple the dough is. Of course, if you have never made bread before, then it may not be perfect. I can bake bread now, but it took a lot of practice. You have to get used to the smells and feel of the dough. Once you get that down you will be on your way.
In my music room I have a couple of ukuleles that we bought in Hawaii, and we learned while we were on the island that the Portuguese were responsible for bringing these with them in the 19th century at the same time that they brought their bread-making knowledge.
Travelling to the south end of the Big Island, there is a bakery that specializes in Hawaiian sweet bread, and I never put it together that this was a gift from the Portuguese until Jeri and I started talking about it, but it makes complete sense. And it definitely makes sense that the newly revised sticky bun recipe is so reminiscent of those buns of vacations past.
Since we are moving into the chilly months, this is an unbelievably warming way to wake up in the morning. Of course you will not find these in anywhere on your diet list, so just get that out of your mind right now. And don’t you dare try to replace the Magic Goo with some mystery sweeteners; there are rules and should be laws about it.
Just make sure that you have plenty of ice-cold milk and coffee on hand. As I have a monstrous sweet tooth, I tend to eat a lot of these, and nothing goes with sticky buns like whole milk, and if you happen to know a dairy farmer, all the better!
I have a feeling that once you know how to make these rolls, they will find a permanent place in your kitchen. Just using them may be the key to getting people out of bed in the morning. And should you ever make your way to Hawaii, make it a point to explore the sweet bread that the Portuguese were so kind to bring with them.