Description
This Easy Monkey Bread recipe features soft, fluffy biscuit dough coated in a spiced cinnamon-sugar blend and layered with pecans, then baked with a buttery caramel sauce for a delicious pull-apart treat perfect for breakfast or dessert.
Ingredients
Scale
Pan Preparation
- 1 1/2 tablespoons butter for greasing
Dough and Coating
- 2 16 oz. packages refrigerated biscuit dough (Pillsbury Grand's Buttermilk Biscuits - do NOT use flaky layers)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
- 1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
Caramel Sauce
- 16 tablespoons unsalted butter (or salted butter and omit added salt)
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Grease the Pan: Preheat your oven to 350°F. Heavily grease a 12-cup Bundt pan with softened butter using a pastry brush or a piece of crumpled wax/parchment paper to coat all the nooks and crannies. Sprinkle the bottom of the pan with ½ cup of pecans and set aside.
- Prep the Biscuits: Cut each refrigerated biscuit into 4 quarters using a pizza cutter or knife. Roll each quarter into a ball to create fluffier, more uniform pieces, although this step is optional.
- Coating and Layering: In a large freezer-size plastic bag, whisk together the granulated sugar, ground cinnamon, and cardamom. Working in batches of about 12 balls, add them to the bag and shake to coat evenly. Layer the coated dough balls in the Bundt pan, adding chopped pecans between layers and offsetting the pieces so they are not stacked directly on top of each other. Retain any leftover cinnamon-sugar mixture.
- Caramel-Like Sauce: In a small saucepan, combine half a cup of the remaining cinnamon-sugar mixture, brown sugar, butter, and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the butter melts and the mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat immediately and stir in the vanilla extract, continuing to stir until the sugars are fully dissolved.
- Drizzle the Sauce: Evenly pour the caramel sauce over the dough balls in the Bundt pan, stopping occasionally to shake and tilt the pan to ensure the sauce distributes evenly and reaches the bottom.
- Bake the Monkey Bread: Place the pan in the center of the oven and bake at 350°F for 35 minutes until the dough is cooked through. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the biscuits should register between 190°F and 200°F when done.
- Cool and Invert: Allow the monkey bread to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then invert it onto a large plate to remove it. If any caramel sauce remains in the pan, brush or spoon it over the top of the bread. Serve warm for best taste.
Notes
- Use Pillsbury Grand's traditional buttermilk biscuits that do not have flaky layers to ensure the dough holds together well.
- If you don’t have pecans or prefer nut-free, you can omit them or substitute with walnuts or skip altogether.
- Use a 12-cup Bundt pan as it is ideal for this recipe to create the characteristic monkey bread shape.
- Using a pizza wheel or cutter makes cutting biscuits into quarters quick and easy.
- Roll dough pieces into balls for a fluffier texture and prettier appearance but this step is optional.
- The caramel sauce can burn quickly once boiling; remove from heat immediately to avoid bitterness.
- Serve warm and freshly baked for the best flavor and texture. Leftovers can be reheated gently in the oven.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 450 kcal
- Sugar: 32 g
- Sodium: 400 mg
- Fat: 25 g
- Saturated Fat: 13 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10 g
- Trans Fat: 0.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 50 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Cholesterol: 45 mg
