Monkey Bread

When I bake or cook with my friends, I have a tendency to keep things simple.  Even though it is, most of the time, me just cooking with my friends around me watching, I don't like making things unnecessarily complicated, should someone want to help out.  Hence, our desserts together are often from cake mix, which I spice up a little bit with espresso powder, cocoa powder, cinnamon, or rum (among other things).  This time, I decided to go with an incredibly easy childhood classic: monkey bread.

For those of you that never had monkey bread growing up, it's like cinnamon buns, but easier.  In other words, this stuff is sweet, addictive, unhealthy, and will make your house (or apartment) smell like heaven.  It is everything you shouldn't eat, combined together, and baked to form a gooey, buttery, fluffy mess.

I learned this recipe from my cousin, who got it from her school, which was the only school in our county that still taught Home Ec. when we were growing up.  We used to make it during sleepovers.  Eating it the other night brought back great memories of my middle school days.

Warm monkey bread, a glass of cold milk, and a couple great friends: happiness can be so simple.

Monkey Bread
adapted from an old recipe


12 tbsp salted butter (1 ½ sticks)
1 ¼ cup lightly packed brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract (or powder)
2 tbsp rum (optional)
2 cans of Pillsbury refrigerated biscuits

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Pull apart the biscuits, quarter them, and roll them into little balls.
Melt the butter and combine with brown sugar and cinnamon.  This can be done in a microwave.  Stir well to combine.  Allow to cool.
Add in vanilla and rum.
Dip each ball into the butter mixture to coat, then arrange in a 13 x 9 inch cake pan. Pour any of the remaining butter mixture on top.
Bake for 35 minutes.
Try not to devour the entire thing in one day.
Also, I recommend you pull the monkey bread out of the pan after it is cool and store it in an airtight container lined with parchment.  If you leave the monkey bread in the pan, the caramelized brown sugar can become very difficult to remove.