Holiday Monkey Bread

Monkey bread is one of our all-time favourite treats, and once you try it, it's sure to become one of your favourites too. This holiday-themed version is a delectable spin on a classic recipe that's perfect to serve on a chilly winter morning to friends and family. You can even do some of the steps the night before to save time in the morning. Simply follow the instructions up to Step 7, then wrap the bundt pan tightly with plastic wrap before placing in the fridge overnight. In the morning, take the pan out of the fridge and let the dough finish rising for about 20-30 minutes before baking.

Categories:

Breads, Muffins & Scones

Desserts

Snacks

Christmas

Granulated Sugar

Ingredients

For the Dough:

2 tbsp (28 g) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup (250 mL) milk, warm (around 110F)
1/3 cup (75 mL) water, warm (around 110F)
1/4 cup (50 g) Redpath Granulated Sugar
1 package or 2 1/4 tsp (7.5 g) instant yeast
3 1/4 cups (405 g) all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading
2 tsp (8 g) salt

For the Sugar Coating:

1 cup (220 g) Redpath Golden Yellow Sugar
zest of 1 orange
2 tsp (10 g) ground cinnamon
1 tsp (5 g) ground ginger
1/2 tsp (2 g) ground cloves
1/4 tsp (1 g) ground nutmeg
1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup (48 g) pecan halves (optional)
1/2 cup (70 g) dried cranberries (optional)

For the Cream Cheese Glaze:

1/2 cup (4 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup (30 g) Redpath Icing Sugar
2 - 4 tbsp (30 - 60 mL) freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 tsp (2 g) cinnamon

Instructions

How to prepare:

1. Grease a bundt pan with butter and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, mix together milk, water, melted butter, sugar, and yeast. Set aside.

2. Add sugar to milk and butter

1. Making dough for holiday monkey bread

3. Add yeast

5. Yeast mixture

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.

4. Whisk together dry ingredients

4. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the yeast mixture, stirring until an elastic type dough forms (It may be a bit sticky). Once the dough has formed, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead with your hands, incorporating any loose scraps of dough. Knead until the dough is smooth and supple, then shape into a ball. 6. Stir flour into yeast mixture

7. Stirring flour into yeast mixture

8. Stirring more flour into wet ingredients

9. Use your hands to bring dough together

10. Knead dough until smooth and supple

11. Monkey bread dough

5. Pour a little oil into a large bowl, then add the dough, making sure to coat the dough with oil on both sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or with a damp towel, then place in a warm spot to let the dough rise until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour.

6. While your dough is rising, make the sugar coating. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the brown sugar, orange zest, and spices until well combined. Set aside. 14. Grate zest into sugar

15. Stir spices into sugar

7. Once the dough has risen, punch it down and turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about a minute. Roll out into a large rectangle, about 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick. Use a sharp knife to slice the dough into approximately 64 pieces. 12. Risen dough

13. Punch down dough

16. Roll dough out into rectangle

17. Cut dough into small pieces

8. Roll each piece of dough into a ball. Working one at a time, dip each ball into the melted butter, then toss in the sugar coating. Layer in the prepared bundt pan, sprinkling in pecans and cranberries as you go, if so desired.

18. Dip dough pieces in butter

19. Toss dough in sugar mixture

9. Cover bundt pan with a damp towel or plastic wrap and leave in a warm spot to let the dough rise until doubled in size, 50 - 70 minutes.

20. Layer in bundt pan with cranberries and pecans

10. Heat oven to 350F (175C). When the dough has risen, bake in the oven until the top is a deep golden brown, 30 - 45 minutes. Cool in pan for 5 - 10 minutes, then turn out onto a platter and allow to cool slightly, about 10 minutes. 21. Fresh baked monkey bread