Monkey Bread

Weekend mornings usually mean we'll have something special for breakfast. If the boys could have it their way we would eat donuts every Saturday morning, but they don't complain when I plop a plate of warm, sticky Monkey Bread in front of them instead.

Here is how I make one of our weekend favorites...

Start with enough bread dough for one loaf of bread. I simply mix together my favorite basic bread recipe in the breadmaker using the "dough" setting. To make it really easy on yourself use one loaf of frozen bread dough.

Mix and knead your bread dough {or let the machine do it... or simply thaw according to package directions}, let rise, punch down, knead until smooth, and let it rest, covered, for ten minutes.

Melt 1/4 cup of butter in a small bowl. In another small bowl mix together 1/2 cup sugar and three teaspoons of cinnamon. Now you're ready for the messy part...

Pinch off portions of dough that are slightly smaller than a golf ball, dip in the melted butter, roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture until coated, and place in a buttered, fluted cake pan. Repeat, repeat, repeat... layering as you go around. Toss in some chopped pecans along the way if you wish.

Let it rise for 30 minutes and then bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Now, lets talk about timing for a minute. If you don't want to get up at dawn on a Saturday morning {who does?!} in order to prepare this for breakfast then try one of the following options.

First option, bake it the evening before, cool completely, wrap in foil, and reheat it for 15-20 minutes at 300 just before breakfast. This bread reheats very well, probably because of all the butter!

Second option, after placing the dough in the cake pan {but before you bake it} cover the whole thing with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator to slowly rise overnight. Bake as directed in the morning... minus the plastic wrap, of course.

Serve warm, with a smile, and plenty of coffee.