Cheater Caramel Monkey Bread Recipes

CARAMEL APPLE MONKEY BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Spray a fluted tube pan (such as Bundt®) with cooking spray.
• Mix white sugar and cinnamon together in a medium bowl. Add apple chunks and stir to coat thoroughly. Set aside.
• Divide dough into 20 pieces. Wrap 1 piece of dough around a coated apple chunk and pinch to seal shut. Dip in melted butter, then roll in brown sugar. Arrange balls of dough in even circles in the prepared pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Carefully invert pan onto a large plate so caramel mixture runs over each piece. Cool briefly before serving.

SALTED CARAMEL MONKEY BREAD

Steps:

• For the monkey bread: Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 10- to 12-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray.
• Mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl. Add the biscuit pieces and toss to combine.
• Place the pieces in the pan, sprinkling in the dates, raisins and walnuts. Set aside.
• Add the brown sugar and butter to a large saute pan over medium heat. Cook until the butter has melted and started to bubble, then add the heavy cream and salt and whisk until thoroughly combined.
• Remove from the heat and pour over the dough pieces in the Bundt pan. Put the pan into the oven and bake until golden brown and no longer doughy in the center, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn upside down on a large platter to remove the pan.
• Slice while warm, drizzled with the salted caramel sauce and dollops of whipped cream.

CARAMEL MONKEY BREAD

Steps:

• Make the brioche: Coat a large bowl with cooking spray and set aside. Combine the flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook and mix on low speed to combine. Add the milk and eggs and mix until combined, then increase the speed to medium high and mix until the dough begins to pull away from the sides, about 5 minutes.
• Reduce the speed to medium; start adding the butter, a few pieces at a time, beating until incorporated before adding more, about 5 minutes. Increase the mixer speed to medium high and continue to mix until the dough is glossy and slightly tacky but not sticky, about 7 minutes. Transfer the dough to the prepared bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.
• Make the caramel: Combine the sugar and 1/4 cup water in a saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture starts to boil, 4 to 5 minutes. Continue cooking, swirling the pan but not stirring, until dark amber, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, heavy cream, vanilla and salt. Let cool to room temperature.
• Assemble the monkey bread: Coat a 15-cup bundt pan with cooking spray. Stir together the sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Put the butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl and melt in the microwave. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Slice the dough into 4 equal pieces and roll each into a 9- to 10-inch-long log. Slice each log into roughly 10 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball, dusting the surface with more flour as needed. Pour about half of the caramel into the bundt pan.
• Working in batches, coat 20 dough balls in the butter, letting the excess drip off, then roll in the cinnamon sugar and arrange in a single layer in the pan. Drizzle the remaining caramel on top. Repeat with the remaining 20 dough balls, melted butter and cinnamon sugar, then arrange in the bundt pan. Set aside until the dough is slightly puffed, about 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Place the bundt pan on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until the monkey bread is dark golden brown on top, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Let cool for 30 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a platter.

CHEATER CARAMEL MONKEY BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. You can use a monkey bread pan, a Bundt pan, or a coffeecake pan. Grease the pan.
• Melt the cube of butter in a small saucepan. Pour 2 Tablespoons into the bottom of your pan. Add 3 Tbsp. of the chopped nuts, sprinkled over. Set aside.
• In the saucepan with the remaining butter, put the brown sugar, the rest of the chopped nuts and 1 Tbsp of water.( I also put 1 Tbsp. of cream to make it more caramel-ish, but thats optional.) Then add your cinnamon. Melt this all together until bubbly, simmer for 1 minute, stirring.
• Open the tubes of crescent rolls. Enjoy the 'POP' of the roll as you press the spoon to the paper edge. Cut each roll in half. Then cut each half into 5 pieces. Before separating, cut the whole thing in half down the middle. Now repeat with other roll. Place 1 tube of rolls into the bottom of the pan over the butter and nuts. It might not all fit, its okay.
• Pour half the caramel sauce over the roll pieces. Lay the remaining pieces over the pan, tucking extras in with a little push. Pour the remaining sauce and nuts over, scraping the bowl with a nylon scraper. Get every last drop. Pop into the oven and set timer for 20 minutes.
• Check it, maybe rotate it. Give it another 10 minutes. It needs to be pretty dark (not burnt) on top because the rolls underneath need to bake too. Once its toasty brown, remove from oven, wait impatiently about 2-3 minutes to let it settle a bit, then invert onto a large plate or baking sheet. Carefully and slowly remove pan.