Cinnamon monkey bread with cinnamon maple icing is one of the best treats for the colder weather ahead! Monkey bread packs all of the delicious flavor and gooey texture of cinnamon rolls but is served in fun pull apart style. This beautiful yeast dough is perfectly soft and fluffy with ooey bites of cinnamon sugar and all tied together with more cinnamon and maple flavored icing!
what makes this monkey bread so good?
- sweet, sticky, gooey goodness! This is PACKED with sweet, gooey deliciousness in every bite.
- super fun to eat: pull apart style is my favorite bread eating style!
- pillowy soft dough: seriously, so fluffy!
- maple cinnamon glaze: this may officially be my new favorite glaze I've ever had and it pairs beaaautifffuulllyy with the monkey bread!
butter + sugar
This is a sticky, gooey, rich, and dreamy pull apart style bread. Soooo it's NOT skimpy on the butter and sugar. It's going to seem like a lot, like waaaay too much, but it's the key to a beautifully ooey treat! It's about on par with Cinnabon in terms of sweetness and richness - so it's definitely delicious but NOT diet friendly!
easier way to coat monkey dough
If you've made a traditional monkey bread before, you may know that the dough balls are usually portioned out, then dipped into melted butter and rolled in cinnamon sugar one at a time. That's crazy time consuming and tedious - and not even necessary!
An easier way to coat the monkey bread dough is to just toss the dough balls into a bowl, then pour the butter and sprinkle sugar and cinnamon over. Use your hands to toss it all together and coat the dough in all the toppings before arranging into your Bundt pan! The dough may get a tiny bit squished in the process, but it all bakes up perfectly normal!
how to make cinnamon monkey bread with cinnamon maple icing
Make the monkey bread dough:
1. Proof yeast, sugar, and milk. After sitting for 5 to 10 minutes, the mixture should be bubbly and foamy on top. If it's not foamy on the surface of the milk, it means the milk was probably too hot or the yeast is expired. In either case, you would need to start over with a new mixture!
2. Whisk egg into the yeast mixture, then add in remaining ingredients.
3. Mix together dough ingredients until you get a rough shaggy dough.
4. Knead dough until smooth and tacky. You can do this by hand on a lightly floured work surface or using an electric mixer. The dough should feel slightly tacky if you poke it with your finger but none of the dough should actually stick to your fingers.
5. Lightly oil the top of the dough and set aside to rise. The oil will help keep the top from forming a skin! After the rise, the dough should about double in size. This will take around an hour (sometimes more or less depending on how cool your home is).
6. Portion dough into tablespoon sized balls.
7. Add dough portions to a large bowl and top with butter, cinnamon and sugar. Toss to evenly coat the balls in the mixture.
8. Add the dough balls to a buttered Bundt pan.
9. Set aside to rise again until about doubled in size. This second rise will be a bit quicker then the first rise (taking about 45 minutes) but again it can change depending on the temperature in your home.
10. Bake until puffed and golden brown on top.
11. While the monkey bread is warm, flip onto a rimmed plate. It's best to use a rimmed serving plate to catch any possible drips from the melty sugar and icing!
12. Whisk together icing ingredients & pour over the warm monkey bread before serving.
how to prevent sticking
Monkey bread is usually baked in a Bundt pan, which means you can't really line the pan with parchment paper. This dough isn't super prone to sticking, but there are a few steps you should take just to make sure it pops out of the pan perfectly and in one piece!
- Don't use an intricate pan. There are some really pretty Bundt pans out there, but now is not the time to pull them out! Try to use a relatively simple pan with a moderate amount of nooks and crannies. The monkey bread isn't really going to hold the design of the pan either way. A simple angle food cake pan also works great!
- Butter the Bundt pan. Be generous! You can use some of the butter you melted for the coating and just slather it on the bottom, middle and up the sides of the pan!
- Turn the monkey bread out of the pan while it's still fresh and warm. The sugar will still be melty and soft - making it extra easy to get out of the pan!
how to test the milk temperature
One of the most important points in the recipe is proofing the yeast in milk - it's a great way to test if the yeast is active! That being said, the temperature of the milk can make a huge difference!
Milk that's too cold (although not the end of the world), won't proof the yeast as quickly. Cold milk will mean your dough will take longer to rise, but it will eventually rise as long as the yeast is good!
Milk that's too hot is make or break! Hot milk can kill the yeast and the dough will not rise or puff up at all as a result.
The perfect temperature for milk is lukewarm - or around 110°F if you want to get technical. If you don't have a thermometer, you can test the temperature of the milk just by dipping your finger into it - the milk should be body temperature so you shouldn't really feel a shift in temperature when you dip your finger in.
When in doubt, room temperature milk works perfectly fine (although it will still be slightly cooler). Slightly cold milk is better than overly hot milk.
storage & how to serve monkey bread
Monkey bread is best served warm and fresh for that perfectly gooey sugar and soft and fluffy bread! But that being said, monkey bread will keep for up to 2 days at room temperature or around 4 days in the fridge. I'd recommend reheating the bread before serving for the best gooey texture - and try to avoid icing until right before serving so it's easier to reheat as needed!
a fun little game to end off this post!
Sooo as far as I know, I haven't seen this done before. So I'm going to say I made this game up - but if someone has done it before, please let me know and I'll update this!
Buuuuut I think I invented a new game! If you're making monkey bread for a gathering, wrap one of the dough portions around a piece of chocolate (or something similar), and seal well (to make sure it doesn't spill out while it bakes).
Bake the monkey bread and drizzle over icing as per usual. Theeeen whoever pulls the chocolate filled ball is either the winner or loser (depending on what you decide to make the game about!)
So you could say that whoever gets the chocolate filled bite has to do the dishes, they have to treat everyone to a pizza, or they get to choose who hosts the next get together! You could make up any rule you'd like!
Ok, got that off my chest lol I just think this would be so fun.
check out these other recipes!
• Moist Sour Cream Apple Bread
• Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake
• Cinnamon Roll Gooey Butter Cake
• No Knead Croissant Cinnamon Rolls
Cinnamon Monkey Bread with Cinnamon Maple Icing Recipe
Ingredients
for the monkey bread dough:
- ¾ cup (180mL) lukewarm milk, around 110°F *see notes
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 & ¼ teaspoons (1 package) instant or active dry yeast
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 2 & ¾ cups (330g) all-purpose flour, spoon and leveled, plus more for kneading and shaping
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup (½ stick / 60g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, or your choice of oil / butter
for the gooey cinnamon sugar:
- 10 tablespoon (150g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 & ¼ cups (250g) packed brown sugar, light or dark
- 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
for the cinnamon maple icing:
- 1 cup (130g) powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
Instructions
- Make the monkey bread dough: In a large bowl, combine milk, sugar, and yeast. Whisk to combine and set aside for 5 to 10 minutes to proof. The surface of the milk should be bubbly and foamy after this proof time - that means the yeast is active!¾ cup (180mL) lukewarm milk,, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, 2 & ¼ teaspoons (1 package) instant or active dry yeast
- Whisk the egg into the milk mixture to combine.1 large egg,
- Add your flour, salt, and butter. Using a wooden spoon or an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, mix together until you get a rough shaggy dough. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 5 to 10 minutes, adding flour if needed to keep the dough from sticking, until the dough is smooth and slightly tacky. If using an electric mixer, you can knead the dough with the mixer set to medium speed.2 & ¾ cups (330g) all-purpose flour,, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ cup (½ stick / 60g) unsalted butter,
- Place the dough back into the large bowl and lightly oil the top. Cover and set aside in a draft free place for 1 hour or until about doubled in size. The amount of time will vary depending on how cool your home is.1 tablespoon vegetable oil,
- Generously butter the bottom and sides of a 9 inch Bundt pan, and set aside.
- Uncover and punch down the risen dough. Portion out the dough into roughly 1 tablespoon sized portions and roll into smooth balls.
- Coat in the gooey cinnamon sugar: In a large bowl, combine the dough balls, melted butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Gently toss together to coat the dough in the butter / sugar mixture. Take care not to crush the dough balls or press them into one another too much.10 tablespoon (150g) unsalted butter,, 1 & ¼ cups (250g) packed brown sugar,, 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- Arrange the coated balls of dough in an even layer in your buttered Bundt pan. Cover and set aside for to rise again for 45 minutes, or until about doubled in size.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Uncover the risen dough and place the Bundt pan onto a larger foil lined baking sheet to catch any drips as it bakes. Bake in the center of your preheated 350°F oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until puffed and golden brown on top.
- Allow the baked monkey bread to cool for about 5 minutes in the pan. While it's still hot, place an inverted rimmed plate on top of the Bundt pan and carefully flip the bread onto the plate. It's best to do this when the bread is fresh from the oven so the sugar is still soft and liquid. If it cools in the pan, it'll be more prone to sticking!
- Make the cinnamon maple icing: In a medium bowl, whisk together icing ingredients until smooth and combined. If the icing is too thick, you can thin it out to your desired consistency with 1 to 2 tablespoons of water.1 cup (130g) powdered sugar, ¼ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- Drizzle the icing over the monkey bread before serving. This bread is best served fresh and warm!
Notes
Enjoy!
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