Want a different after school snack? Monkey Bread!!

If you haven’t yet tried out this roll recipe, you really need to! It is delicious and crazy simple! I make them about once a week. I often triple this recipe so that I can share some with a neighbor or friend that needs some home baked bread in their life–I mean, really, don’t we all need some home-baked bread in our life!?!?! And probably about half the time I’ll use some of the dough to make monkey bread with my kids. Growing up my mom always called it “pull apart bread,” and I will find myself defaulting to that label too. Regardless of what you call it, I was always SO excited when my mom made this for our family growing up! I have fond memories and am glad that I get to share that fondness with my kids now!

Jump to Recipe

Never made monkey bread? Not to worry, it is a piece of cake…or sweet bread, whatever you’re into 😉

First make the dough!!! I love that this dough recipe doesn’t call for rising before shaping the dough. Totally saves on time!! Once that dough is made, if you have helpers, make sure they wash their hands!

Then take half a stick of butter, melt it for about 15-20 seconds in the microwave and let it cool for a bit before using. Combine 1 cup of brown sugar, 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, and a couple shakes of nutmeg–I know, very exact measurement there. The nutmeg is optional, but we love it around here. If you’d prefer to have an actual measurement, go ahead and use 1/4 of a teaspoon. A little nutmeg goes a long way. If you’re not into it, no worries, just leave it out!

I will put in a plug here for a brown sugar saver. We love this terra cotta one! Just soak it in some water for 20 minutes, dry it off, and stick it in with your brown sugar container to keep it soft! It’s great!

Now it’s time to get the dough ready to roll!! A few years ago my husband asked for a dough scraper for his birthday. I thought it might be cool to have, but I had no idea that we would use it so much! We have this one and we love it! It even has measurement conversions on the back and a ruler to help measure the things you’re rolling out.

Grab a handful of dough and spread it out. We are not going for perfection here, just “about the right amount.” It’s nice to have the dough pieces about the same so that it bakes evenly, but really, you just need to make sure there isn’t any huge discrepancy in the size of the pieces.

If you don’t have a dough scraper, you can use a knife. I keep my dough sticky so that the end product is soft. So, I suggest you put some butter on the knife before cutting so it doesn’t stick too much.

Then do your best to measure about, ish, 1 inch squares, give or take a few centimeters. There is a time and place in life for perfection, but the form of monkey bread dough is not that place!

Now, dip, drip, and roll the pieces!! Dip in the butter, let the excess butter drip off, then roll it in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Drop it in a greased Bundt pan, or any loaf pan will do. My kids LOVE doing this with me. I always have to mentally prepare myself that the clean up will take a bit longer, but the memories will also last longer, so it’s totally worth it!!

Also, baking with toddlers is an act of love and patience. Both of which I’m trying to develop more. See how I’m just giving myself opportunities to grow here!?! HA!

Once it’s done, cover it with food wrap and let it rise for an hour.

Bake it for 28 to 35 min at 350 degrees. The trick of monkey bread is knowing when it’s done. The top will look done well before it is, but shouldn’t be too dark brown!

Alright, my confession here is that I took out my monkey bread and left it on the counter, and got caught up in life! Before I knew it my 13 year old was home from cross country and had eaten some right out of the Bundt pan!! HAHAHA!! So, see, it was the perfect snack!! Thankfully my littles also got some before it was gone! We generally put it upside down and take it out of the pan before consumption!!

I’m telling you, my people love monkey bread! If you’ve never made it, give it a shot! If you have, but it’s been awhile, make it today!!

Also, if you are CRUNCHED on time, you can totally buy some refrigerated cinnamon rolls dough, cut it up and use it to dip in the butter and roll in the cinnamon mixture and do that. We prefer homemade, but if we’re in a pinch and want to make some, we’ll cheat…sometimes 😉

If you want to make this more of a treat, add cream cheese frosting, smother and enjoy!!!

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