Grands!™ Monkey Bread

Prep 25 min
Total 1 hr 5 min
Ingredients 7
Servings 12

If you’re looking for a classic, kitchen-tested, Doughboy-approved monkey bread recipe, this is it. Toss Pillsbury™ biscuits with cinnamon-sugar, pour in a brown sugar-butter mixture and bake in a bundt pan until golden brown. The result is a warm, gooey, buttery, comforting and delicious pull-apart—just the thing you’d want to eat for breakfast or dessert (or both!).

By Pillsbury Kitchens

Updated November 5, 2019

Make with

Pillsbury Biscuits

Ingredients

1/2

cup granulated sugar
1

teaspoon cinnamon
2

cans (16.3 oz each) Pillsbury™ Grands!™ Flaky Layers refrigerated Original biscuits
1/2

cup chopped walnuts, if desired
1/2

cup raisins, if desired
1

cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4

cup butter or margarine, melted

Steps

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1

Heat oven to 350°F. Generously grease 12-cup fluted tube pan with shortening or cooking spray. In large 1-gallon plastic food storage bag, mix granulated sugar and cinnamon.
2

Separate dough into 16 biscuits; cut each into quarters. Shake in bag to coat. Arrange in pan, adding walnuts and raisins among the biscuit pieces. Sprinkle any remaining sugar over biscuits.
3

In small bowl, mix brown sugar and butter; pour over biscuit pieces.
4

Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown and no longer doughy in center. Loosen edges of pan with metal spatula. Cool in pan 5 minutes. Turn upside down onto serving plate; replacing any biscuit pieces and caramel from pan. Pull apart to serve. Serve warm.

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Basically a pull-apart bread, monkey-style breads are an ideal way to use refrigerated flaky biscuits. Work quickly with the refrigerated dough, because it will rise better if it’s still cool when the pan goes into the oven.
Large fluted tube pans come in a lot of designs—the most classic “bundt” pan has rounded sides which works best in this recipe. Be sure the pan can hold 12 cups (pour measured cups of water into it to check the volume), so there’s room for the spiced dough to rise up without overflowing. Greasing the inside well, getting into all the nooks and crannies, guarantees that the sticky bread will unmold easily.
A fragrant ground cinnamon sugar to coat the dough is a favorite, but try a blend like pumpkin spice (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves) or a blend of ground cardamom and freshly grated nutmeg. Switch up the dried fruit and nuts too, if you’d like. Golden raisins, dried cherries, chopped pecans, or cashews—any combo is delicious. But the essential ingredients that create that ooey gooey factor is the brown sugar-butter mixture that melds the rich dough together.
To Make Ahead: Shake biscuits in cinnamon-sugar mixture as directed in recipe. Arrange biscuits in pan. DO NOT ADD WALNUTS AND RAISINS. Tightly cover with foil. Refrigerate up to 1 hour. To bake, remove foil. Sprinkle with walnut and raisins. Prepare butter and brown sugar mixture; pour evenly over biscuits. Bake as directed in recipe.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 Serving

Calories: 440
Calories from Fat: 180

% Daily Value

Total Fat: 20g; 30%
Saturated Fat 11g 53% Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol: 30mg; 10%
Sodium: 700mg; 29%
Potassium: 30mg; 1%
Total Carbohydrate: 61g; 20%
Dietary Fiber 0g 0% Sugars 33g
Protein: 5g

% Daily Value*:

Vitamin A: 8%; 8%
Vitamin C: 0%; 0%
Calcium: 2%; 2%
Iron: 8%; 8%

Exchanges:

1 1/2 Starch; 0 Fruit; 2 1/2 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Skim Milk; 0 Low-Fat Milk; 0 Milk; 0 Vegetable; 0 Very Lean Meat; 0 Lean Meat; 0 High-Fat Meat; 4 Fat;

Carbohydrate Choice

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Ever wonder how monkey bread was named? There are several theories, including one that says the loaf resembles the monkey puzzle tree, a relative of the Norfolk Island Pine. Another theory is simply that the pastry is eaten by picking apart the bread as a monkey would. In 1982, former First Lady Nancy Reagan commented to White House Staff that monkey bread was named as such “because when you make it, you have to monkey around with it.” However monkey bread was named and came to be, we are happy that it did. To make it even better, we’ve cut the monkey business down by using just a few simple ingredients and completing the recipe in four easy-to-follow steps. Combining the comfort food taste of Pillsbury biscuits with the sweet taste of warm caramel and cinnamon, this no-fail monkey bread recipe makes 12 servings. Add a glass of milk or serve with coffee and chances of any leftovers are significantly low. Once you’ve mastered this monkey bread, we’ve got more flavours for you to try out, from sweet s’mores to savory buffalo chicken.