Delicious but a bit too much burnt sugar on the bottom

These were really good! However, two question to make them even better: I would have liked these fluffier. I did not line the pan with flour, I just used a PAM sprayed piece of parchment paper as my work surface (and then used it to line my pan). Would hand kneading make a big difference? While the buns rose, a lot of the filling dripped out and then burned in the oven. A little of this was good and sticky, but I would like to reduce it. Would sticking them straight in the oven, or only after a few minutes, keep them from rising properly? Is there any other way to prevent so much dripping?