These muffins are quite possibly the best thing I’ve ever eaten!… Did I really just say that? Yes, I did! These are without a doubt a-maz-ing! I need a moment to pause life and take in everything this muffin has to offer while I pull apart one of it’s delicate, tender, fluffy, buttery, crystallized sugar and cinnamon coated pieces and gently bite into it. =)
I created these muffins because sadly I don’t even own a bundt pan. I know many monkey bread recipes use store-bought biscuit dough but I wanted these to be from scratch, isn’t everything that much better when it’s made from scratch? For the dough base I started a very similar dough to the one I used for my 15 Minute Donuts from Scratch.
I won’t lie, when I first pulled these out of the oven the presentation wasn’t what I was looking for. For me presentation is an important part of good food, so I thought, hmm what can I do to make them pretty? Ah, yes indeed, glaze. It adds a delicate touch to these delightful muffins. Enjoy, try not to eat the whole pan at once =).
PS don’t wash your muffin pan until you’ve eaten all those delicious cinnamon sugar chips off of it, yum!
Ingredients
- 2 cups + 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 3 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter. melted
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 3/4 cup firmly packed light-brown sugar
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 Tbsp milk
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a muffin tin, set aside. In a large mixing bowl whisk together flour, 3 Tbsp granulated sugar, baking powder and salt. Pour buttermilk, 1/3 cup milk and melted butter into flour mixture. Stir with a fork or clean hands just until mixture comes together (don't overmix, key to fluffy muffins).
- Pour 1/2 cup granulated sugar into a medium container that has a lid to cover. Scoop dough out 1 even teaspoon at a time and drop into container in an even layer, working in batches (I fit 18 dough balls in at a time). Then cover container with a lid and shake to coat. Drop 6 sugar coated dough balls into each muffin cup. Repeat this process until all muffin cups are filled.
- Whisk together 6 Tbsp melted butter, brown sugar and cinnamon until well combine. Pour about 1 scant Tbsp brown sugar mixture evenly over each muffin. Place muffin tin on a cookie sheet and Bake 18-19 minutes until golden. Allow to cool 5 minutes in muffin tin before removing muffins (I lifted mine out with a fork).
- In a mixing bowl whisk together powdered sugar and 1 Tbsp milk until well blended. Pour mixture into a piping bag or ziploc bag, snip a small tip off the end of the bag and drizzle glaze over each muffin.
Tina: I know how big the standard monkey bread can be and it is way too much for my small family! The smaller muffins, however, are perfect. I am sure they have the same delicious cinnamony flavor and fluffy texture that their larger cousin does-yum! Your pictures sure do tempt. February 9, 2012 at 2:28pm
Amalia: I don’t know why I haven’t made monkey bread yet, seriously, what’s wrong with me?? These look so amazing! I love the little size, that means no sharing :) I love that you made homemade dough from scratch, it makes everything better! February 9, 2012 at 6:41pm
Lannie: looks so delicious!! February 11, 2012 at 4:01pm
Kas: Can’t wait to try these tonight! I’ll let you know how it goes. February 16, 2012 at 2:19pm
Melissa @ Bless This Mess: Jaclyn- I made these and they are SO good. I even took some pictures and posted the recipe too with a shout-out for your blog (because it’s great!) Thanks for the great ideas. Those cookie bars are next on my list, but I’m nervous I’ll love them and eat them all! April 4, 2012 at 10:10am
Jaclyn: Melissa – I love the re-post and I love your blog! You really have done a great job! Thanks so much for your comment! Have a great day! April 4, 2012 at 1:30pm
Jessica: Ok so I’m going to be the too-busy, corner-cutting mom here. How do I make them without doing dough from scratch? Any thoughts? jw0180742@students.mclennan.edu September 4, 2012 at 2:55pm
Jaclyn: Jessica – I think you could easily make these with the refrigerated biscuits from the grocery store. I’ve seen many recipes that do so. You simply dice the dough into pieces then toss in them in sugar then pour over the melted butter cinnamon sugar mixture as directed. I have to be honest though, I’ve never bought the refrigerated biscuits so if they aren’t moist enough for the sugar to stick you may want to dip them in a little melted butter before shaking them in the granulated sugar. Hope that helps =). I may have to try that method myself when I want a quicker version. September 4, 2012 at 3:46pm
Anonymous: Jessica, try using frozen yeast bread dough; just thaw according to package directions and voila! September 4, 2012 at 3:55pm
Anonymous: I would never have the time or go to the trouble of dough from scratch. When I do monkey bread I usually do it in a loaf pan with refridg biscuits and I dip each little dough ball in OJ and then sugar/cinn mixture. Works great and less fat! September 4, 2012 at 7:32pm
Anonymous: It really does not take very long to make the dough yourself. September 5, 2012 at 4:49pm
Joann: I have been making this for years, I use the store bought biscuits, cut into quarters then i mix the cinnamon and sugar together in a zip lock bag, put the biscuit quarters in a few at a time shake to coat then place in a bundt pan. Then i pour the remaining cinnamon/sugar mixture into the melted butter mix well then pour over the top of the biscuits then bake. September 6, 2012 at 6:44pm
ZsMomma: Thank you for a no-rise version of monkey bread! My youngest saw a picture of this treat and asked me to make it for breakfast tomorrow. Now, I don’t have to get up an hour early on a Saturday to give my sons a special breakfast treat! God bless! October 19, 2012 at 9:14pm
Gale: No vanilla? November 2, 2012 at 4:29am
Jaclyn: I didn’t use it but you could most definitely add it to either the dough batter or the glaze. November 2, 2012 at 10:54am
Anonymous: How do you print the recipe ? I don’t see a link for that November 25, 2012 at 7:00pm
Jaclyn: Yes I know my blog is old school and I need many things updated, so I am in the process of switching over to wordpress and it will have a print friendly button right along with the recipe. For now the best thing to do is copy and paste to word, sorry for the hassle but watch for the new site =)! November 27, 2012 at 11:53pm
Leslie: I have rolled these in raspberry jello as well as cinnamon and sugar and they give them a little different taste. We love them. January 11, 2013 at 9:47am
Jaclyn: Leslie – that sounds delicious!! I LOVE raspberry anything so I need to try that, thanks for the idea! January 13, 2013 at 7:40pm
Karen: Calls for a little more time but absolutely worth it: using refrigerated dough, flatten each piece into a disk. Cut a package of cold cream cheese into small cubes. Dip each cube into a mixture of granulated sugar and cinnamon, place on dough, and gather edges up to form into a ball. Follow recipe as above (add any leftover cinnamon sugar to the melted butter- yum!) Drizzle with glaze when done. Amazing! March 2, 2013 at 2:48pm
Jaclyn: Karen – the cream cheese addition sounds delicious thanks for the tip and your comment! March 3, 2013 at 3:28pm
Hayley Ray: I literally just made these, and while I suspect that mine may be slightly undercooked, they’re still damn good. Definitely worth the half hour drive to get butter! April 22, 2013 at 1:40pm
Jaclyn: Awesome to hear! I’m so glad you liked these Hayley Ray and that’s also great you thought they were worth the half hour drive to get butter :). Thanks for your comment! April 23, 2013 at 7:54pm