This monkey bread is easy to make in a Bundt pan with biscuit dough, cinnamon, butter, and brown sugar for a scrumptious treat. My 7-year-old daughter, Leah, loves pulling apart her monkey bread. Enjoy!
This sweet, sticky, gooey pull-apart bread, whimsically called "monkey bread," is a popular sharable treat for breakfasts, desserts, and snacks.
Tasting like pull-apart sticky buns, monkey bread is easy to make with everyday pantry ingredients, and can be customized with add-ins like dried fruits, nuts, and spices to suit your tastes. And with thousands of ratings and reviews, this is one of our best monkey bread recipes of all time.
What Is Monkey Bread?
Monkey bread is a pull-apart bread made with bite-size pieces of dough coated with sugar and spice and baked with a buttery brown sugar sauce in a tube or Bundt pan. To serve monkey bread, invert it onto a large plate and let everyone pull it apart into individual pieces with their fingers or forks.
Why Is It Called Monkey Bread?
That's a good question without a definitive answer. Some say it's called monkey bread because you pick the bread apart with your fingers as though you're eating like a monkey, and some say it's because the baked monkey bread resembles the zigzag pattern of a monkey puzzle tree (Chilean pine).
More: Our Best Monkey Bread Recipes of All Time
Monkey Bread Ingredients
These are the ingredients you'll need for this monkey bread recipe:
- Biscuit dough: This recipe uses cut-up pieces of canned biscuit dough as a convenient shortcut ingredient.
- Sugar and cinnamon: Used to coat biscuit dough pieces both for flavor and to make them easier to pull apart after baking. You can substitute other ground spices such as cardamom or a pumpkin spice blend.
- Walnuts (optional): You could substitute pecans or leave out the nuts altogether.
- Raisins (optional): You could substitute dried cranberries or other small bits of dried fruit.
- Margarine and brown sugar: Combined and briefly boiled to create the sweet caramel-like sauce that holds the monkey bread together. Many reviewers use butter instead of margarine. Be sure to pack down the brown sugar firmly into the measuring cup to get the correct amount. Some home cooks recommend adding about ¼ cup cream or milk to help keep the sauce soft even after it cools.
How to Make Monkey Bread
You'll find the full, step-by-step recipe below — but here's a brief overview of what you can expect when you make this top-rated monkey bread:
- Cut the biscuits into quarters and coat in cinnamon-sugar.
- Arrange the pieces in the pan. Add the raisins and nuts among the pieces if you're using them.
- Boil the brown sugar and margarine, then pour over the biscuits.
- Bake the monkey bread in the preheated oven.
Get more tips for How to Make Monkey Bread.
How to Serve Monkey Bread
Monkey bread is meant to be pulled apart and eaten with fingers or forks. There's no need to cut and slice. It's best when served warm and the sauce is still soft and sticky, but it's good eaten cold as well.
How to Store Monkey Bread
Monkey bread can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for three or four days. You can wrap and freeze baked monkey bread for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Cookdap Community Tips and Praise
“Fun to make & delicious to eat! I cut the recipe into ? and only used 1 can of biscuits in an 8″ round cake pan. Cooked for about 20 minutes. My 2½-year-old enjoyed helping me roll the balls. Also, previous reviewer suggested using a pizza cutter to cut the biscuits —great shortcut,” says Cookdap home cook BBURG_HOKIES.
Reviewer Stephanie C offers this tip: “Scrumptious! I used frozen yeast roll dough to get a more homemade yeast bread flavor and the results were outstanding! You can make it the night before this way: Thaw 18 golf ball-size raw yeast rolls over about an hour. Once thawed, cut each in half. Follow the recipe for coating and layering. After pouring the brown sugar mixture over dough, place in cold oven overnight to rise. Follow baking instructions in the morning. Absolutely perfect! The entire extended family loved it!”
“The only tips I could offer would be to make sure you don’t press down on the dough balls once you get them in the pan, or else the sauce won’t make it all the way through the loaf and get it all gooey and delicious on the inside. Also, I’d make about 50 percent more sauce than the recipe calls for, because people seem to go for the parts that have the most sauce,” says reviewer JenniJ3333.
Ingredients
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 3 (12 ounce) packages refrigerated biscuit dough
- ½ cup chopped walnuts (Optional)
- ½ cup raisins (Optional)
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup butter or margarine
Directions
Step 1
Gather all ingredients.
Step 2
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease one 9- or 10-inch tube or Bundt pan.
Step 3
Mix white sugar and cinnamon in a plastic bag. Cut biscuits into quarters. Shake 6 to 8 biscuit pieces in the sugar-cinnamon mix.
Step 4
Arrange pieces in the bottom of the prepared pan. Continue until all biscuits are coated and placed in the pan. If using walnuts and raisins, arrange in and among the biscuit pieces as you go along.
Step 5
Melt butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Boil for 1 minute; pour over biscuits.
Step 6
Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes. Let bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a plate and let everyone pull it apart.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
Nutrition Facts | |
---|---|
Servings Per Recipe 15 | |
Calories 378 | |
% Daily Value * | |
Total Fat15g | 19% |
Saturated Fat3g | 17% |
Cholesterol1mg | 0% |
Sodium746mg | 32% |
Total Carbohydrate57g | 21% |
Dietary Fiber1g | 2% |
Protein5g | |
Calcium52mg | 4% |
Iron2mg | 10% |
Potassium133mg | 3% |
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
**Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient.If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.
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source by allrecipe
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- by: Eskmom
- 23 years ago
This was better than the recipe my mom used (and I loved) when I was a kid! I incurred a problem though when I filled the fluted pan and the loaf pan too full; the caramel spilled over onto the bottom of the oven. The loaf pan should only be about half full, 2/3 for the Bundt pan. The dough seemed to double in size! WONDERFUL breakfast treat for my family and I!!!
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- by: Eskmom
- 23 years ago
This was better than the recipe my mom used (and I loved) when I was a kid! I incurred a problem though when I filled the fluted pan and the loaf pan too full; the caramel spilled over onto the bottom of the oven. The loaf pan should only be about half full, 2/3 for the Bundt pan. The dough seemed to double in size! WONDERFUL breakfast treat for my family and I!!!
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- by: LISNLAUREN
- 22 years ago
I made this today. First of all, I don’t have a tube pan so I put them in an 8″ cake pan. I didn’t have enough room to use all 3 biscuit tubes, only 1 1/2. I left out the walnuts and raisens as I am not fond of them. I overcooked it a little but otherwise it turned out ok. I will make it again after fine tuning a bit.
My 3 y/o daughter enjoyed helping me coat the peices with the cinnamin/sugar mixture.
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- by: LISNLAUREN
- 22 years ago
I made this today. First of all, I don’t have a tube pan so I put them in an 8″ cake pan. I didn’t have enough room to use all 3 biscuit tubes, only 1 1/2. I left out the walnuts and raisens as I am not fond of them. I overcooked it a little but otherwise it turned out ok. I will make it again after fine tuning a bit.
My 3 y/o daughter enjoyed helping me coat the peices with the cinnamin/sugar mixture.
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- by: CFLOWRY
- 22 years ago
To make this recipe even quicker, use a pizza cutter to cut up the biscuits. Add a tsp of lecithin, (full recipe) with the butter, to keep the butter from separating from the caramel. I reduced the recipe to one tube of biscuits and baked it in a 8 in round pan. They were done in 12 min. A quick addition to a any breakfast.
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- by: CFLOWRY
- 22 years ago
To make this recipe even quicker, use a pizza cutter to cut up the biscuits. Add a tsp of lecithin, (full recipe) with the butter, to keep the butter from separating from the caramel. I reduced the recipe to one tube of biscuits and baked it in a 8 in round pan. They were done in 12 min. A quick addition to a any breakfast.
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- by: JENNIFER72_00
- 22 years ago
I had 1 container of the pillsbury cinnamon bun dough in my fridge and figured I would use that instead of the regular biscuit dough. I was worried that the rolled bun shapes would fall apart when I cut them into quarters but they didn’t at all. I think the secret is to do it when the dough is really cold and then once they’re coated in the sugar/cinnamon mixture it keeps each piece together. I cut the rest of the recipe into 1/3 except I used a little less brown sugar in the glaze because I figured there was enough in the dough already. I also used a bundt pan, and omitted the raisins because we don’t like them. It took 25 minutes to cook. My boyfriend LOVED this. I made it for breakfast and the two of us finished it off. He said I definitely had to give this one 5 stars. Great recipe.
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- by: JENNIFER72_00
- 22 years ago
I had 1 container of the pillsbury cinnamon bun dough in my fridge and figured I would use that instead of the regular biscuit dough. I was worried that the rolled bun shapes would fall apart when I cut them into quarters but they didn’t at all. I think the secret is to do it when the dough is really cold and then once they’re coated in the sugar/cinnamon mixture it keeps each piece together. I cut the rest of the recipe into 1/3 except I used a little less brown sugar in the glaze because I figured there was enough in the dough already. I also used a bundt pan, and omitted the raisins because we don’t like them. It took 25 minutes to cook. My boyfriend LOVED this. I made it for breakfast and the two of us finished it off. He said I definitely had to give this one 5 stars. Great recipe.
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- by: BBURG_HOKIES
- 22 years ago
Fun to make & Delicious to eat! I cut the recipe into 1/3 and only used 1 can of biscuits in an 8″ round cake pan. Cooked for about 20 minutes. My 2 & 1/2 year old enjoyed helping me roll the balls. Also, previous reviewer suggested using a pizza cutter to cut the biscuits–great shortcut!
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- by: Cookdap Member
- 22 years ago
This is a winner!!! I have made it for several years and am ALWAYS asked for the recipe. You couldn’t ask for an easier, more delicious breakfast treat. My husband has to bring a treat for a weekly morning meeting about every 6 weeks and everyone loves when it is his turn because they know I will be making this. I am going to have to start making two.
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- by: LISRROSS
- 22 years ago
I used the Hungry Jack cinanmon and sugar biscuits. Because everyone wanted a “sweet roll”, I still (lightly) rolled them in 1/2 the sugar-cinnamon mixture. Since my bundt pan was a 12-cup, and the Hungry Jack biscuits come in 10 ounce quantity, I used 4 cans. It was the hit of Christmas morning!
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- by: LISRROSS
- 22 years ago
I used the Hungry Jack cinanmon and sugar biscuits. Because everyone wanted a “sweet roll”, I still (lightly) rolled them in 1/2 the sugar-cinnamon mixture. Since my bundt pan was a 12-cup, and the Hungry Jack biscuits come in 10 ounce quantity, I used 4 cans. It was the hit of Christmas morning!
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- by: Carol Trowbridge
- 22 years ago
This Monkey Bread was out of control! Excellent. I brought it to a Christmas party and everyone loved it. I did not have a bundt pan so I used two cake pans and it came out very good. Although, I had a lot of biscuit dough leftover (because of the lack of a bundt pan) so I doubled up the dough on one pan and it actually came out better because it was more moist inside.
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- by: Carol Trowbridge
- 22 years ago
This Monkey Bread was out of control! Excellent. I brought it to a Christmas party and everyone loved it. I did not have a bundt pan so I used two cake pans and it came out very good. Although, I had a lot of biscuit dough leftover (because of the lack of a bundt pan) so I doubled up the dough on one pan and it actually came out better because it was more moist inside.
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- by: Tara Owens
- 21 years ago
The taste was great, but pouring the sauce over it made all the sauce sink to the bottom. After it cooled the top of the bread was too chewy to eat. My father used to make it and he would dip each piece into the butter and cinnamon/sugar. I think it might come out better that way.
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- by: Tara Owens
- 21 years ago
The taste was great, but pouring the sauce over it made all the sauce sink to the bottom. After it cooled the top of the bread was too chewy to eat. My father used to make it and he would dip each piece into the butter and cinnamon/sugar. I think it might come out better that way.
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- by: Teri Keas Monical
- 21 years ago
I was trying to find a recipe like my grandmother used to make. This sounded similiar. It was easy to make and my kids enjoyed cutting up the biscuits and shaking in the bag of sugar and cinnamon. We really didn’t like the finished bread. It was too sticky and too sweet. It was more like caramel rolls not cinnamon rolls.
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- by: Teri Keas Monical
- 21 years ago
I was trying to find a recipe like my grandmother used to make. This sounded similiar. It was easy to make and my kids enjoyed cutting up the biscuits and shaking in the bag of sugar and cinnamon. We really didn’t like the finished bread. It was too sticky and too sweet. It was more like caramel rolls not cinnamon rolls.
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- by: VEDA MAY
- 21 years ago
I didn’t know my son had recently made these in his home economics class at school. When he walked into the kitchen he said, “These are AWESOME!” I used a bundt pan with 3 7.5 oz. cans of biscuts and didn’t use the nuts or raisins. I filled the bundt pan about 2/3 full and it came out perfect with a very nice presentation.
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- by: VEDA MAY
- 21 years ago
I didn’t know my son had recently made these in his home economics class at school. When he walked into the kitchen he said, “These are AWESOME!” I used a bundt pan with 3 7.5 oz. cans of biscuts and didn’t use the nuts or raisins. I filled the bundt pan about 2/3 full and it came out perfect with a very nice presentation.
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- by: JENL173
- 21 years ago
This bread is amazing! I made it for Mother’s Day, and everyone in my family loved it. My mom tells everyone about it. I didn’t change the amount of any ingredients, but I did cut the rolls into quarters which made them bite size. I rolled them in butter, and then the brown sugar mixture. It took a little longer, but it’s worth it.
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- by: JENL173
- 21 years ago
This bread is amazing! I made it for Mother’s Day, and everyone in my family loved it. My mom tells everyone about it. I didn’t change the amount of any ingredients, but I did cut the rolls into quarters which made them bite size. I rolled them in butter, and then the brown sugar mixture. It took a little longer, but it’s worth it.
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- by: TRUEGRITEXAS
- 21 years ago
This is good stuff – but I simplified it a bit. I don’t like to dirty too many pans! I reduced the sugar to about 2/3 cup, and coated the biscuits in sugar and cinnamon before I snipped them into fourths with my kitchen shears, letting the pieces fall back into the sugar mixture to coat them a little more. I put them into my bundt pan and poured melted butter over the top. Worked like a charm! And the reduced sugar worked out better for my hypoglycemic sweet-toothed friend.
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- by: TRUEGRITEXAS
- 21 years ago
This is good stuff – but I simplified it a bit. I don’t like to dirty too many pans! I reduced the sugar to about 2/3 cup, and coated the biscuits in sugar and cinnamon before I snipped them into fourths with my kitchen shears, letting the pieces fall back into the sugar mixture to coat them a little more. I put them into my bundt pan and poured melted butter over the top. Worked like a charm! And the reduced sugar worked out better for my hypoglycemic sweet-toothed friend.
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- by: SOUTHPHIL
- 21 years ago
the second time I made the bread i used a bundt pan. in my first attempt to make the monkey bread i set my oven on fire and had to call the fire dept. I didn’t realize that the butter and sugar mixture leaked out of the tube pan (it’s a two piece)and most of it was on the bottom tray of the oven. the oven was hot so i figured it was a good time to clean the oven. i have a gas self-cleaner. i was out on my patio enjoying reading when i smelled something burning. when i went into the kitchen the flames were a foot high in the oven and the smoke was pouring out of it. i couldn’t open the oven door because it was in the lock mode. we called the fire dept but by the time they came the fire burned itself out. i was very lucky i didn’t ruin my oven and there wasn’t more damage done. so please be careful when you make this in a two piece tube pan. if it does leak clean the bottom tray before self cleaning or better yet place a piece of foil on the bottom. i learned that the hard way.
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- by: SOUTHPHIL
- 21 years ago
the second time I made the bread i used a bundt pan. in my first attempt to make the monkey bread i set my oven on fire and had to call the fire dept. I didn’t realize that the butter and sugar mixture leaked out of the tube pan (it’s a two piece)and most of it was on the bottom tray of the oven. the oven was hot so i figured it was a good time to clean the oven. i have a gas self-cleaner. i was out on my patio enjoying reading when i smelled something burning. when i went into the kitchen the flames were a foot high in the oven and the smoke was pouring out of it. i couldn’t open the oven door because it was in the lock mode. we called the fire dept but by the time they came the fire burned itself out. i was very lucky i didn’t ruin my oven and there wasn’t more damage done. so please be careful when you make this in a two piece tube pan. if it does leak clean the bottom tray before self cleaning or better yet place a piece of foil on the bottom. i learned that the hard way.
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- by: Soonee
- 21 years ago
I absolutely love this recipe. I find it works best in a bundt pan – less chance of spilling over. I also like to mix the sugar in a bowl instead of a bag – it’s less mess and easier for my daughter to help. Try pouring the brown sugar and butter mixture throughout as you layer that way all pieces get coated evenly. This one is a definite keeper. Thanks LuAnn!!
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- by: Soonee
- 21 years ago
I absolutely love this recipe. I find it works best in a bundt pan – less chance of spilling over. I also like to mix the sugar in a bowl instead of a bag – it’s less mess and easier for my daughter to help. Try pouring the brown sugar and butter mixture throughout as you layer that way all pieces get coated evenly. This one is a definite keeper. Thanks LuAnn!!
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- by: Sarahiswright
- 21 years ago
This recipe is fantastic! Quick, easy, and delicious, it brought me back to my childhood when I would look forward to eating Monkey Bread at my aunt’s house. The only change I made was the fact that I used pecans instead of walnuts. The second time I made this, I substituted all of the butter for sweetened applesauce. The result was fantastic, with much less guilt. Yummy!
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- by: Sarahiswright
- 21 years ago
This recipe is fantastic! Quick, easy, and delicious, it brought me back to my childhood when I would look forward to eating Monkey Bread at my aunt’s house. The only change I made was the fact that I used pecans instead of walnuts. The second time I made this, I substituted all of the butter for sweetened applesauce. The result was fantastic, with much less guilt. Yummy!
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- by: ICOOKALOT
- 21 years ago
Fabulous recipe! Super easy and quick! My 2-year old daughter LOVED helping roll the dough in the sugar. I didnt have a bundt pan the first time I made this, so I used a Pyrex bowl, and it worked just fine. The second time I used a bundt pan and it was just as good, only a little prettier!
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- by: ICOOKALOT
- 21 years ago
Fabulous recipe! Super easy and quick! My 2-year old daughter LOVED helping roll the dough in the sugar. I didnt have a bundt pan the first time I made this, so I used a Pyrex bowl, and it worked just fine. The second time I used a bundt pan and it was just as good, only a little prettier!
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- by: Amy Michele Robinson
- 21 years ago
This is a great recipe. I have never had problems with it sticking to the pan because I use no stick spray instead of grease or butter (it works perfectly)Also instead of blending the nuts and raisins with the dough, put them on the bottom of the lpan before you put the dough in. I use scissors to cut the dough. I also substituted pecans in the place of walnuts. It is fabulous!
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- by: Amy Michele Robinson
- 21 years ago
This is a great recipe. I have never had problems with it sticking to the pan because I use no stick spray instead of grease or butter (it works perfectly)Also instead of blending the nuts and raisins with the dough, put them on the bottom of the lpan before you put the dough in. I use scissors to cut the dough. I also substituted pecans in the place of walnuts. It is fabulous!
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- by: Holly Rader
- 21 years ago
This was not as sweet as I had anticipated. I used Pam in my bundt pan and only 3 pieces stuck in the bottom. Next time I would make more of the brown sugar and butter syrup as my family did not feel there was enough. I did find that eating it hot was best since it became hard when it cooled.
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- by: Holly Rader
- 21 years ago
This was not as sweet as I had anticipated. I used Pam in my bundt pan and only 3 pieces stuck in the bottom. Next time I would make more of the brown sugar and butter syrup as my family did not feel there was enough. I did find that eating it hot was best since it became hard when it cooled.
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- by: Cookdap Member
- 21 years ago
Yummy! I made this bread on Christmas morning having never made it before. I found it to be very easy to make. It tasted wonderful and will become a traditional Christmas breakfast item in our home. We were still picking at it throughout the day because it was so delicious! Thanks for the recipe.
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- by: MSALLIED
- 20 years ago
If you want a real scrumptious treat, flatten out the pieces of biscuit and wrap them around a cube of cream cheese, before you toss them in the cinnamon and sugar. WOW!
This recipe is incredible and so easy to make! I used my Bundt pan and 2 cans of Grands buttermilk biscuits. I cut the biscuits into 6ths instead of 4ths and it cooked for the same time as regular biscuits. I also added some vanilla extract to the butter/sugar topping and made the sauce in the microwave instead of on the stovetop.
I found shaking the cinnamon/sugar with the biscuit pieces to be really easy and even a little fun, as it brought out a little of the kid in me. 🙂
Absolutely delicious!
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- by: MSALLIED
- 20 years ago
If you want a real scrumptious treat, flatten out the pieces of biscuit and wrap them around a cube of cream cheese, before you toss them in the cinnamon and sugar. WOW!
This recipe is incredible and so easy to make! I used my Bundt pan and 2 cans of Grands buttermilk biscuits. I cut the biscuits into 6ths instead of 4ths and it cooked for the same time as regular biscuits. I also added some vanilla extract to the butter/sugar topping and made the sauce in the microwave instead of on the stovetop.
I found shaking the cinnamon/sugar with the biscuit pieces to be really easy and even a little fun, as it brought out a little of the kid in me. 🙂
Absolutely delicious!
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- by: CHICA3578
- 20 years ago
This recipe was scrumptious. I only used 2 cans of 10 count butter flavored biscuits. I flattened them out very gently by pulling rather than pressing down, wrapped each one up with a small cube of cream cheese and a half ts of cinn sugar in the middle. After tossing each ball in the cinn sugar mix, I sprinkled the remaining sugar on top of each of the balls after placing in pan. Made it a lot more caramely and gooey. Yummm…
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- by: CHICA3578
- 20 years ago
This recipe was scrumptious. I only used 2 cans of 10 count butter flavored biscuits. I flattened them out very gently by pulling rather than pressing down, wrapped each one up with a small cube of cream cheese and a half ts of cinn sugar in the middle. After tossing each ball in the cinn sugar mix, I sprinkled the remaining sugar on top of each of the balls after placing in pan. Made it a lot more caramely and gooey. Yummm…
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- by: Cookdap Member
- 20 years ago
I, too, filled the biscuit pieces with cream cheese (I used a lite cream cheese spread), plus instead of raisins or nuts (yuck) I sprinkled chocolate and peanut butter chips throughout the pan. The result was delicious. I was afraid the cream cheese would make the flavor bland, but it didn’t. In fact, it added a wonderful texture (like a filled donut, only less sweet). I’ll probably never make monkey bread without cream cheese again!
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