Homemade Monkey Bread!

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This classic Homemade Monkey Bread is perfect for this time of year! Pull-apart sweet dough that’s been rolled in cinnamon and sugar, baked to perfection, and drizzled with powdered sugar glaze. Try it out for Christmas morning breakfast this year or even gift it to a friend!

Tips and Variations For This Recipe

Make it ahead of time! If you’re short on time, prepare the recipe all the way until you’re ready to bake it, and stick it in the fridge instead. When you’re ready to bake, set it out on the counter for 30 minutes, then bake!
Sticky buns! If you prefer a caramel roll or “sticky bun” rather than a traditional recipe, try this. Stir together one cup of brown sugar and ½ stick of melted butter, pour the mixture evenly on the ready-to-bake monkey bread, bake according to the instructions below, and you’ve got caramel monkey bread!
Add fruit or nuts. Add chopped pecans or walnuts, dried fruit, or even fresh berries. The opportunities are endless!

What You Will Need

Bread

1½ C. warm milk
1 pkt (2¼ tsp.) active dry yeast
¼ C. granulated sugar
2 eggs, beaten
¼ C. butter, softened
1 tsp. salt
4½-4¾ C. all purpose flour

Sugar Coating

¼ C. butter, melted

1 C. granulated sugar

1½ Tbsp. ground cinnamon

Powdered Sugar Glaze

¾ C. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2-3 Tbsp. milk

How To Make Monkey Bread

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the warm milk, yeast, and sugar. Whisk together until combined and let sit for 5-10 minutes to get bubbly.

Fit your mixer with the dough hook and add two beaten eggs, ½ stick of softened butter, 1 tsp. salt, and 4 C. of all purpose flour. Mix until incorporated, then add in more flour ¼ C. at a time until the dough pulls away from the edges of the bowl. It should be stretchy, but not stick to your fingers. Knead on low speed for 5-6 minutes. Remove the bowl from the mixer and cover with a tea towel to rise for two hours or until the dough is double in size.

Grease a bundt cake pan. You can also use a loaf pan or even an 8″x8″ baking dish, but the bake times will vary. Once the dough has risen, punch it down in the center to let the air out, and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pinch off small pieces of dough, and roll into balls, approximately 1-1½ in. in size. You should end up with 40-45 balls of dough total.
Melt ½ a stick of butter. Then, stir together 1 cup of sugar and 1½ Tbsp. of cinnamon in a small bowl. Dip each dough ball into the butter, then roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture until well coated. Arrange in the greased bundt cake pan as you coat each piece of dough.

Preheat oven to 350℉. Let the monkey bread rest on the counter while the oven preheats. It will puff up slightly. Bake for 28-30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then dump it upside down on a wire rack to finish cooling.

Glaze

To make the powdered sugar glaze, stir together the powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk. Add a little more milk at a time until it’s the desired consistency. Drizzle the glaze over the warm monkey bread. Store in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days.