Have you ever made monkey bread? I honestly and truly believe it may be the first thing I ever baked- seventh grade- home ec. class and a can of biscuit dough. I’m also pretty sure we “baked” them in the microwave? It’s possible. Not familiar with monkey bread? I’ve decided t’s basically like the inside of a cinnamon roll. Rounds of soft dough are dunked in butter and rolled in cinnamon sugar and then baked together. I mean sound’s pretty similar right? I’ve been thinking that I needed to make a for-scratch version of this for ages and thought a muffin-sized version would be fun. (Normally it’s made in a bundt pan but the muffin tins were cute as can be!)
Now if you follow me on instagram you know this- but I actually posted a funny picture of these before and after baking. I may have stuffed a few too many dough balls into each muffin well which resulted in over-flowing monkey bread madness. I edited the recipe accordingly (and may have just eaten all the extra pieces that didn’t fit in!) What I love about these is that while they stick together like muffins should- each little bubble of cinnamon sugary goodness can be picked off one at a time, making it really easy to have “just one more.”
The texture of each little bite of dough was soft and almost doughnut-like covered in a perfectly sweet cinnamon sugar crust. Caramel sauce would have been delicious over these, but I opted for a simple vanilla glaze. Wouldn’t these be a perfect addition to a Mother’s Day brunch spread? I actually really longed for little ones to help me make these as it’s the perfect process to have a helper for. You know some little hands to dunk the dough in butter and roll in in cinnamon sugar? Wouldn’t that be cute?? …. Ok I digress. :)
- ¾ cup milk
- ¼ cup butter
- 3¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 (.25 ounce) package instant yeast
- ¼ cup white sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup water
- 1 egg
- ¾ cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 6 tablespoons butter, melted
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-4 tablespoons of milk
- Warm the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles (or the microwave), then remove from heat. Mix in butter; stir until melted. Let cool until lukewarm.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine 2¼ cup flour, yeast, sugar and salt; whisk together. Add water, egg and the (cooled) milk mixture; beat well with an electric mixer. Add the remaining flour, ½ cup at a time, using a wooden spoon to stir well after each addition. (dough will be too thick and sticky to use the mixers at this point.)
- When the dough has just pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes. (dough will spring back when lightly pressed.)
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let proof for 45-60 minutes in a warm place- until doubled in size.
- Grease or spray 12 muffin tins- set aside. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
- When dough has proofed, transfer it to a lightly floured surface and use your hands to spread it out into a large rectangle. Use a pizza cutter or bench scraper to cut the dough into 1-inch squares.
- Form each little square into a ball-like shape by pinching the four corners under tightly. Dunk each one in the butter and then roll it in the cinnamon-sugar. (If you don't have a helper for this step- I found that using one hand for the butter and one for the dry mixture helped keep them separate.)
- Fill each muffin well with about 6 dough balls- pressing them together slightly as you go. Cover prepared muffin tins with a clean dish towel and for a little more proofing- 20-30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375F. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until puffy and golden. Cool on a wire rack until ready to glaze.
- In a small bowl whisk the glaze ingredients together, starting with 1 tablespoon of milk and adding more as needed for your desired glaze consistency. Drizzle over the warm muffins and enjoy!!
Recipe adapted from my favorite 90-minute Cinnamon Rolls
ashley - baker by nature says
I’ve somehow gone 25 years and never have baked monkey bread… yeah, this has gotta get fixed asap.
Tracey says
Monkey bread is the best!! i so rarely make it because I have zero self control around it though. Maybe making it in muffin form would help – individual portions and all…. :)
Joanne says
Haha some little ones would DEFINITELY be cute to help with these! Maybe i need to make some and then drop some hints to the.boy that they would taste better if I had a baby to help me with them lol.
Rachel @ Baked by Rachel says
I want them all!
Melgie says
I never made monkey bread before, this is AWESOME! I wish I can have some right now. Gonna try soon, Thanks for sharing this recipe:)
Elisa @ Insalata di Sillabe says
OMG…these are so adorable! Actually I’ve never made monkey bread in my life before, despite all my U.S. friends told me it’s delicious, so I guess now I simply have to try this funny version!
xo, Elisa
Kelly Senyei | Just a Taste says
Genius! Just pure, absolute genius. What I’d give for one of these with my coffee this a.m.!
Erica says
Babies on the brain! Your secret is out ;)
Cassie | Bake Your Day says
These are awesome, Audra! No such thing as an over-stuffed monkey bread muffin. The more the better!
Mimi says
I love pull-apart bread! I’ve only tried the savory kind with garlic and herbs—mmm fabulous!
tara says
Those look so delicious! I’ve never made monkey bread, but I should. And monkey bread muffins look so fun!
p.s. ummm do you have baby fever? :)
Kayle (The Cooking Actress) says
I grew up loooving when my aunt would make monkey bread and i love your version even better! The muffin tin lil guys are so cute and it;s homemade (not pillsbury dough) so obviously, better.
[email protected] says
These muffins are such a fun way to make monkey bread!
Georgia @ The Comfort of Cooking says
Whhhhaaaaattt. Never made monkey bread here, but now I know what must be done… These look amazing, Audra!
Karen says
I can’t wait to try these. I love the built-in portion control. Thanks!
Lauren at Keep It Sweet says
Yes, these need to happen.
Stephie @ eat your heart out says
Uh oh, warn Andy: Audra has a tiny case of baby fever thanks to monkey bread! Haha. Although you’re totally right – little kidlets would be the perfect helpers for making these!
Ps, I love your perfectly drizzled glaze! Pretty.
ari @ theafterschoolchef says
These look so amazing…
DessertForTwo says
Yes! We made this in Home Ec class in 7th grade, too. What ever happened to Home Ec class?! Women don’t know how to cook, sew or manage a budget these days. We need to bring it back! Sorry for getting all political!
Stephanie @ Eat. Drink. Love. says
I say the more dough balls, the better!
Elizabeth @ Confessions of a Baking Queen says
I actually never had monkey bread until about 2 years ago! Crazy- but I think in those 2 years I made up for all those lost years! I wish I could have some muffins right now!!
Becca from cookie jar treats says
I love monkey bread! But the fact that it’s so easy to pull apart makes it really hard to control myself around a giant loaf :P I like the idea of these muffins though. Maybe i will be a tad easier to control myself around the cinnamony goodness of these :)
Jennie @themessybakerblog says
Monkey bread is the first thing we made in home-ec when I was in middle school. I kind of like the sound of overflowing monkey madness–it sounds fun! These look so good.
David @ Spiced says
Ummm…these look amazing! 30 minutes prep and 20 minutes to bake? I think I can have a batch ready by Second Breakfast time!
[email protected] says
I’ve been wanting to try monkey bread, and the muffin version is going to be the first one I try! These look terrific.
Julie @ Table for Two says
these look so mouthwatering good!! i love those huge dough balls just sitting on top! these would be devoured almost instantaneously.
Obsessive Compulsive Baking Disorder says
Woww! Never seen anything like these before but they look absolutely delicious, you sure have sold them to me!
Thanks for the recipe, will definitely give this a go!
Leah x
Pamela @ Brooklyn Farm Girl says
This looks like the most magical recipe – ever. Swooning at the pictures, belly is rumbling! Pinning now, have to try this! Thanks!
Laura Dembowski says
Love this idea! They’d be great for a big brunch party. I can’t believe you baked monkey bread in the microwave! I might have to try that!
Sara says
I just made this, and they were absolutely delicious! So fluffy, cinnamony (I added one more tablespoon), and yummy. I like cheese cream icing better which I use for cinnamon rolls, so maybe next time I’ll use that. These are definitely becoming part of my recipe box though!
Dave @ Fit Chef Chicago says
Great photos – looks and sounds delicious!
Safa says
These are so delicious, the recipe so easy to follow. I’ve made them so many times. Last week I made them three times in two days! Everyone waits by the muffin tin until they cool off just enough to eat and then they are gone in minutes! Thank you for sharing this great recipe!
Audra says
Thank you so much for letting me know how you liked it! :)
Charlotte says
I live in England and I love this blog its my favourite I have made a lot of your recipes but I think that this is by far my favourite and my families we were all eating it warm out of the oven its so good thank you. I had search the web for an easy recipe for monkey bread and this is simple and fun to make. I think I will be making it over christmas.
Audra says
Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed it :)
Pamela Grow says
NOM! These look amazing. If ever you’re in Panera, pick up one of their Cobblestones. Ah-mazing!