Honey Butter Booty Buns
Want a delicious little giggle? These Honey Butter Booty Buns are everything you love about homemade dinner rolls, with a cheeky little twist! Soft, fluffy, and brushed with sweet honey butter, these adorable pull-apart buns are made by placing two small balls of dough side by side in a muffin tin. As they bake, they rise into perfectly golden little booty-shaped rolls that are almost too cute to eat. Almost.
Whether you're bringing homemade dinner rolls to Thanksgiving, hosting Friendsgiving, or just looking for a fun bread recipe to make your family laugh, these Honey Butter Booty Buns are guaranteed to get some attention. They're buttery, slightly sweet, easy to pull apart, and perfect for soaking up every last drop of Thanksgiving gravy.
And yes, you should absolutely tell everyone you're bringing the buns this year!
Why You'll Love These Honey Butter Booty Buns
There are a few reasons these might become your new favorite dinner rolls.
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They're incredibly soft and fluffy. The enriched dough creates a tender, pillowy texture.
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They're made with sourdough discard. A great way to use leftover starter without a long fermentation.
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The honey butter topping is delicious. Brushing the warm rolls with melted honey butter gives them a beautiful golden finish.
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They're easy to shape. No complicated braiding, twisting, or fancy bread techniques required.
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They're perfect for Thanksgiving. A funny little addition to a traditional holiday dinner.
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They're great for beginners. The recipe uses commercial yeast for a predictable rise.
And let's be serious.
They're shaped like little butts.
The Secret to Perfectly Shaped Booty Buns
Okay, let's talk about the most important part of this entire recipe. The shape! The good news is that you don't need any special tools or complicated shaping techniques to make these rolls. All you need is a muffin tin and two small balls of dough.
But there are a few things that will help you get that perfect little shape.
1. Use Two Equal-Sized Dough Balls
This is probably the most important tip.
If one dough ball is noticeably larger than the other, your finished roll may look a little lopsided. But for evenly shaped rolls, I recommend weighing your dough pieces. Aim for approximately 40–42 g per piece. That gives you two evenly sized halves for each bun.
2. Shape the Dough Balls Tightly
When shaping each piece, gently pull the outer edges toward the bottom and pinch them together. This creates surface tension and helps the dough hold a nice rounded shape. Place the smooth side facing upward in the muffin tin. The smoother and rounder your dough balls are before baking, the more defined the finished buns will look.
3. Don't Squish Them Together
You want the two dough balls to sit snugly beside each other, but don't smash them together. As they rise, they'll naturally expand and press against one another. This creates the little seam that gives the rolls their signature shape.
4. Use a Standard Muffin Tin
A standard 12-cup muffin tin works perfectly for this recipe. The individual muffin cups help the dough rise upward instead of spreading outward. That's what creates those cute, rounded little buns. A jumbo muffin tin will produce a different shape unless you increase the amount of dough per cup.
5. Don't Overproof the Dough
You want the buns to be puffy before baking, but not so over-proofed that they lose their structure. If the dough rises too much, the two halves may blend together and look more like a traditional dinner roll.
Still delicious. Just slightly less cheeky.
Can I Make Honey Butter Booty Buns Ahead of Thanksgiving?
Absolutely! And honestly, anything you can prepare ahead of Thanksgiving dinner is a win in my book.
There are a couple of ways to make these ahead of time.
Option 1: Refrigerate the Shaped Rolls Overnight
Prepare the dough and allow it to complete its first rise.
Shape the 24 dough balls and place them into the greased muffin tin, two per cup. Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight. The following day, remove the pan from the refrigerator and allow the buns to finish rising at room temperature until noticeably puffy. This may take approximately 45–90 minutes or longer, depending on how cold the dough is. Bake as directed.
Option 2: Bake and Freeze
You can also bake the buns completely ahead of time. Allow them to cool, then place them in an airtight freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to 2 months for best quality. When you're ready to serve, thaw the rolls and warm them in a 300°F oven until heated through. Brush with fresh honey butter before serving. They'll taste almost as good as the day you baked them!
Can I Make These with Active Sourdough Starter Instead?
You can use active starter in place of the discard while keeping the commercial yeast in the recipe.
If you want to make these with sourdough starter as the only leavening agent, you'll need to adjust the fermentation schedule and allow significantly more time for the dough to rise.
Because this is an enriched dough containing butter, milk, honey, and egg, naturally leavened fermentation can take longer than a traditional artisan sourdough loaf.
What to Serve with Honey Butter Booty Buns
These little buns are practically begging to be served at Thanksgiving dinner.
They're delicious alongside:
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Roasted turkey
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Mashed potatoes and gravy
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Green bean casserole
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Homemade stuffing
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Sweet potato casserole
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Cranberry sauce
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Honey butter or cinnamon butter!
How to Store Leftover Honey Butter Buns
Room Temperature: Store completely cooled rolls in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Refrigerator: You can refrigerate the rolls for up to 4 days, although refrigeration may make them firm faster.
Freezer: Freeze completely cooled rolls in a freezer-safe bag or container for up to 2 months for best quality.
Reheating: Warm in a 300°F oven for approximately 5–10 minutes or until heated through.
Brush with a little melted butter or honey butter before serving to bring back that fresh-baked softness.
Honey Butter Buns
12
20 minutes
28 minutes
283
The secret? Instead of shaping each dinner roll into one round ball, we're placing two smaller dough balls side by side in a muffin tin. As they rise and bake, they puff up together into the cutest little buns that are delicious and the whole family will love.
Ingredients
Dough
- 4 cups all-purpose flour (500 grams)
- ½ cup sourdough discard (100 grams)
- ¾ cup milk (190 grams)
- 2½ tablespoons honey (50 grams)
- 3 tbs melted and cooled butter (60 grams)
- 1 large egg
- 2 ¼ tsp instant yeast
- 1 tsp salt
Honey Butter Topping
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons honey
- Pinch of flaky sea salt, (optional)
Directions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the warm milk, honey, sourdough discard, egg, and melted butter. Mix until mostly combined.
- Add the flour, instant yeast, and salt. Using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until a shaggy dough forms. Increase to medium-low speed and knead for approximately 6–8 minutes, until the dough becomes smooth, elastic, and slightly tacky.
- If kneading by hand, this may take approximately 10–12 minutes. The dough should feel soft and supple, but it shouldn't be so sticky that you can't handle it. Try not to add too much extra flour. A slightly tacky dough will give you softer dinner rolls.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl. Cover with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap and allow it to rise in a warm place until doubled in size. This typically takes approximately 60–90 minutes, depending on your kitchen temperature. You want the dough to look noticeably puffy and airy before moving on to shaping!
- Once the dough has doubled in size, gently turn it onto a clean work surface. Divide the dough into 24 equal pieces. Each piece should weigh approximately 40–42 g.
- Remember, we're making 12 dinner rolls, but each roll needs TWO dough balls to create that signature shape :)
- Lightly grease a standard 12-cup muffin tin. Take one piece of dough and gently pull the edges underneath, pinching them together to create a smooth, round ball. Repeat with a second piece. Place the two dough balls side by side inside one muffin cup, with the smooth sides facing upward. The dough balls should be touching but still have a visible seam between them.
- Repeat with the remaining dough until all 12 muffin cups contain two little dough balls. And just like that, you've got a whole pan of tiny bread booties. Important shaping tip: Don't press the dough balls together too firmly. You want them to rise and bake against each other while keeping that little line down the middle.
- Loosely cover the muffin tin with lightly greased plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the buns to rise for approximately 30–60 minutes, until noticeably puffy. The two dough balls should expand and gently press against one another.
- Preheat your oven to 375°F. Once the buns have finished rising, place the muffin tin on the center rack. Bake for approximately 15–20 minutes, or until the tops are beautifully golden brown. The rolls should be baked through, with an internal temperature of approximately 190–195°F. If the tops begin browning too quickly, loosely tent the pan with aluminum foil.
- While the buns are baking, combine the melted butter and honey in a small bowl. As soon as the rolls come out of the oven, brush the tops generously with the warm honey butter mixture. This gives them that beautiful glossy finish and adds a little extra sweetness. For a sweet-and-salty finish, sprinkle with a tiny pinch of flaky sea salt.
- Allow the rolls to rest in the muffin tin for approximately 5 minutes before carefully removing them. Serve warm and enjoy!
