Monkey Bread

Lately I've been hearing people talk about Monkey Bread.  How great it is, how simple it is to make, the family traditions behind it, and also some critical remarks about making it with premade dough.

I found a recipe that was rated five out of five stars and used premade biscuits.  I figured if over 200 people raved about this recipe it was worth a try.  And making it for the 9am Husky basketball playoff game was a perfect reason.  And, we were going to watch it with our friends Jenny and JP at their gorgeous Tacoma home.  Butter and sugar is a great addition to any meal, especially when there are five kids and four adults all huddled around a television.

The best part of this recipe is that I finished most of the tasks the night before (don't pour butter-sugar mixture over dough until next morning), covered it with saran wrap and stored in the fridge.  I took it out of the fridge in the morning and let sit out for about an hour to take the chill off.  Then I poured the sugar-butter mixture over the biscuits and then baked in the oven.  Because we were traveling to Tacoma to eat breakfast, I kept the Monkey Bread in the bundt pan until we arrived at the house to keep it warm. 

I will for sure make this again!  YUM!  Oh, and be warned.  You'll eat more than you plan.

Monkey Bread, courtesy of Pillsbury

1/2 c. granulated sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

2 cans Pillsbury® Grands!® Homestyle refrigerated buttermilk biscuits

1/2 c. chopped walnuts (I didn't use since I was serving to kids)

1/2 c. raisins (gross! I didn't use raisins in mine)

1 c. firmly packed brown sugar

3/4 c. butter, melted

Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease 12-cup bundt pan with shortening or cooking spray.

In large Ziplock bag, mix granulated sugar and cinnamon. Separate dough into 16 biscuits; cut each into quarters. Shake in bag to coat.  Arrange in pan, adding walnuts and raisins among the biscuit pieces.

In small bowl, mix brown sugar and butter; pour over biscuit pieces.

Bake 28 to 32 minutes or until golden brown and no longer doughy in center. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Turn upside down onto serving plate; pull apart to serve. Serve warm.
 

*Watch out for the hot sugar syrup when placing on to serving plate.

TIPS: I've learned that next time I'll probably cut each biscuit in to 6 pieces instead of 4.  They'll cook faster and more evenly.

Also, after filling the pan with half the dough, drizzle about 1/3 of the butter-sugar mixture, and then stack the rest of the dough on top and pour remaining butter-sugar mixture on top.  This way each piece has equal buttery sugary goodness.