Monkey Bread Minis

mmmmmm

I wish alarm clocks had built-in smell alarms. Why haven’t we figured this out yet?! Imagine the possibilities!! You wouldn’t have a problem getting up for a 6am flight if the smell of these cinnamony Monkey Bread Minis assaulted you. Now to think of it…the 13 year old Tracy would have set my brother’s alarm clock to rotten farts at 4am.

OK we NEED to make this happen.

If you are familiar with monkey bread, then you should know that this recipe doesn’t produce a doughy/yeasty pull apart roll. It’s like a hybrid of a cinnamon roll (taste wise) and an old fashion donut (texturally). Yes. DONUT.  The best part is that there’s no yeast stress involved. Yup, yeast stresses me out when I’m not properly caffeinated. There I said it. I think little hands would love dipping dough into butter & cinnamon sugar. When I get over my fears of Cooper’s messy sticky cinnamon fingers on our micro suede couch, I’ll totally do it. For sure!

You’ll enjoy putting every last piece into your mouth hole. I know I did.


Let’s get started!

Butter goes in the food processor with sugar, baking powder & flour. Pulse!

butter flour

Here’s the part where I realized I didn’t have buttermilk. Cue the Joy’s Buttermilk Substitution Post.

Thank god for smart phones in the kitchen. This is my old phone–before I ran over it with MY CAR.

Nuff said.

I used the lemon juice & milk trick to make buttermilk. Thank heavens for that cheat.

checking out joy's buttermilk substitutes

Spew the dough out onto your counter with flour.

DOUGH

Cut up your pieces to roll into balls.

little bits

Drop each round into the maple syrup & butter mixture.

butter!

Roll it in cinnamon sugar and press each ball into the muffin pan.

cinnamon sugar

Your kitchen will be filled with balls. (ha!) I put about 5-6 in each muffin mold.

smoosh

Off it goes into the oven.

ready to oven

And here it comes out. Look at that sugary crust!

YUUUUUUUM

Let the monkey bread minis cool. Then chisel them out. Use a non stick pan. Don’t be like me.

This process was tough because I didn’t use my non stick pan….

Don’t worry, I didn’t waste all those crumbs!

chiseling

Make your glaze. Look down- you see that little muffin? That’s one of my *samples* I dunked it in that bowl.

glazing

Then you drizzle the glaze on top of your monkey bread.

monkey bread minis

I had a difficult time with a few so I piled the crumbs on a plate….

a pile of yum

and dug right in!

Monkey Bread Minis

(recipe from Rachael Ray Magazine)

  • 1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, chilled
  • 3 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk, chilled

For the Drizzle:

  • 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  1. Position a rack in the bottom third of the oven and preheat to 425°. In a small bowl, microwave 4 tablespoons butter and the maple syrup at high power until melted, 30 seconds; stir. In a small bowl, stir together 1/3 cup granulated sugar, the brown sugar and the cinnamon.
  2. In a food processor, combine the flour, baking powder, the remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and the salt; pulse to combine. Cut the remaining 1 stick chilled butter into small pieces and pulse with the flour mixture until coarse crumbs form. Pulse in the buttermilk until the dough just comes together. Transfer to a lightly floured work surface; pat into a 10-inch square (the dough will be sticky). Quarter the dough, then cut each quarter into 16 equal pieces; roll into balls.
  3. Dip each ball in the maple butter, then coat with the sugar mixture. Place 5 to 6 coated balls into each muffin cup and press to compact.
  4. Bake until cooked through and golden, 15 to 17 minutes (tent with foil if the tops darken too quickly). Transfer the muffin pan to a rack and cool for 10 minutes. Using a knife, loosen the sides of the monkey bread; invert onto a platter, then turn right side up. Mix confectioners’ sugar with milk and drizzle over the bread as it cools. Serve warm.

USE A NON STICK PAN!

  • Hannah

    Oh they look delish!

    Never heard of this recipe before and I can’t wait to try.

  • Felicity

    Your alarm clock idea is brilliant, seriously! I would go file a patent ASAP!

  • Katrina

    I looooove monkey bread. This looks spectacular.

  • Erica

    These look so good! My kids are a huge fan on Monkey Bread, and its cousin “Gorilla Bread” (Monkey Bread stuffed with cream cheese:)) I love that these are individually portioned. I have always made it in my bundt pan. This spares me the mess of pulling it apart:) Good idea!

  • Michelle

    Ooooh… I don’t think I’d mind my early mornings if these babies greeted me when I walked in the kitchen. Yum!

  • Megan Gordon

    Whoa. We may be long-lost soul sisters. I heart monkey bread, big time. I actually have this old, weird, big pan that makes a large heaping pile of it 🙂 Love the post and the photos! Impressed you got one up so soon after the madness of IFBC. Am SO HAPPY I had a chance to chat and hang with you this weekend. I have a few photos I’ll post to FB or send along when I get organized. Happy Wednesday. xoxoox

  • Jessica

    Mmmm, I love when butter, cinnamon, sugar, and dough hang out! I’ve always thought smellovision would be a great, yet terrible idea. Love your alarm clock one!

  • Delishhh

    I just came across your site and i think it is great. I have heard tons about this monkey bread and i love the mini idea. Thanks for sharing. You have a new follower.

  • michelle @ The Domestic Mama

    Oh I love that-yum. You should work on that smell-o-alarm. 🙂 I will buy one!

  • Patricia Scarpin

    Wanna help with those crumbs, Tracy? 😉
    These are too cute!

  • hannah

    YUM-baking these this weekend! Woohoo! Thanks;)

  • Natasha @ Saved by the Egg Timer

    These are cute and look delicious. Perfect classic made new, thanks! We will be trying these out soon.

  • Carra young

    Cannot wait to try these!!

    Growing up, I would wake up to the delicous aroma of monkey bread everytime I visited my grandmother in Oregon. I haven’t smelled or tasted it once since she’s passed away-but I’ve certainly day dreamed about it!! Thanks for a recipe that will surely remind me of happy times when I whip it up this weekend!!

    • Tracy

      ahhh yes…happy times! there’s just something about cinnamon & sugar that makes me wanna curl up in a fetal position and coo.

  • Lacey

    Yummmmmmmmm! Just got home from vacation and I am so excited to see some new recipes from some of my old favorites. I’m gonna make these ASAP. Thanks for the welcome home with recipes for new delicious treats 🙂

  • mary graves

    hi there,
    i just wanted to let you know i’ve made your monkey bread mini’s about three times now in the past week. the first was an experiment to see if the kids would like it. of course they did as did my husband. they’re pretty easy to make and i baked one ball without the sugar or maple syrup (not a fan of it) and put some jelly on it, delicious. thank you. the only thing i usually take note of is the nutrition information. is it available anywhere?
    thank you

Leave a Comment