Ok, so I have forgotten how good Monkey Bread is over the years….I have not had it in AGES…but, I came across it via Pinterest (love that!) and decided I would try my hand at making it! I am definitely no cook, I probably set the smoke alarm off at least twice a month, but hey, I give myself props for trying. And yes, this photography is the final product of my first attempt, and I must say it came out delicious!! I found a great recipe and then did some tweaking to it to make it my own (I know, I know, I am sure that I added several hundred more calories, but I promise it is WORTH the extra working out to try it my way!) And the best part about the whole thing??? It is easy super easy.
First things First- the ingredients:
2 sticks of butter (1 cup), plus an extra tablespoon or two to grease up the pan- i like to be very liberal with my butter so it slides out easier later!
1/2 cup whipping cream (heavy is best!)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 2/3 cup brown sugar
2 cans of biscuits- 16 oz. each (I prefer Pillsbury buttermilk biscuits for this)
1 heaping teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts- optional of course, but I love a little crunch on top!
Okay, so you have your ingredients ready? Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees (unless you have my ridiculous oven that cooks as though you are cooking in the middle of the sun in which case you may need to adjust hehehehe) and taking that extra tablespoon or two of butter and liberally coating the entire bundt shaped pan.
Next, pull out your biscuits and break each one into three or four smaller pieces, rolling them into loose balls as you go.
Once your dough rolls are ready, place the 2/3 c of brown sugar into a ziploc baggie with the cinnamon and nutmeg. Zip up the bag and mix the spices with the brown sugar thoroughly, making sure to break up and squish it all together.
After you have your sugar mix ready in your bag, start placing the balls of dough (a few at a time) in the bag and roll around until fully coated. Remove from the bag and arrange in the pan. Continue until all of the dough is arranged in the pan. Now- I like to poor whatever is left of the sugar over the top of the arranged dough because it gives the bottom edge a little bit of a crisp after it is cooked, but that is completely optional and up to you! It could also just be because I like the extra sugar. No judgements.
**OPTIONAL- you can add some of the chopped nuts throughout the arrangement of the dough to give it a crunch from the inside!
Now take the remaining 2 cups of brown sugar, the butter, the cream, and the vanilla and warm them up in a sauce pan. Simmer until fully melted and combined to create a thick, delicious, piece-of-heaven sauce and poor about HALF of this mixture over the dough in the pan.
Place into the oven and bake for 30 minutes. you will know when it is done because the biscuits will be clearly golden and the tips and edges will have started to brown a little!
Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes- then empty onto a plate for serving. I might highly recommend a plate larger than your actual bundt pan in circumference- when I dumped mine out, some of the ooey-gooey delicious syrup decided to drip all over the sides of the plate to entice my counters, drawer, and floor with its deliciousness too- which is just annoying.
Once you have placed the monkey bread onto a dish for serving, spoon out the rest of the sauce and smother the bread. Top it off with the chopped nuts (if desired) and get ready to go to heaven!