Mini Monkey Bread

 

Monkey bread is one of those foods that is super fun to eat. you get to pull apart gooey, sugary pieces of bread and eat them with your fingers.... what's not to love?

I am calling this mini monkey bread because it's not made in one large pan, instead, it is made in muffin tins. These could also be called individual monkey breads as they are the perfect size for one person. 

I made these in jumbo muffin tins but you could certainly use smaller muffin tins, you would just need to make the balls a bit smaller and you would get more than 12. 

Mini Monkey Bread

Ingredients

Dough

1 1/2 cups warm milk

2 1/4 tsp yeast

1/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/3 cup butter, melted

1 tsp salt

4+ cups flour

Coating

1 1/4 cup sugar

1 Tbsp cinnamon

2/3 cup butter, melted

Optional**

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Optional** 

1/2 cup icing sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 Tbsp milk (approx)

Instructions

Prepare dough - stir warm milk, yeast, and 1/4 cup sugar together. Let sit for about 5 minutes to activate yeast. 

In another bowl, whisk together eggs, butter, salt, and 1 cup of flour. Stir in the activated yeast mixture. Add remaining flour in, about a cup at a time, until soft - but not sticky - dough forms. Knead for 2 minutes on floured surface. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel, and place somewhere warm to rise for an hour. 

Prepare coating by mixing sugar and cinnamon together. Set aside until ready to coat balls. 

Line 12 extra large muffin cups with paper liners, set side. 

After dough has risen for an hour, punch dough down and place on lightly floured surface. Divide dough into 48 equal sized pieces. 

Roll each piece into a ball. Dip each ball into the melted butter and then roll in the cinnamon sugar. Repeat with all 48 pieces. Place 4 balls into each muffin cup. 

After all balls have been placed in cups, drizzle with any remaining melted butter and sprinkle each with a tsp of the cinnamon sugar. **If you'd like to sprinkle on a few nuts, do so now. 

Cover with a tea towel and let rise somewhere warm for another hour. 

After an hour, preheat oven to 350. Bake mini monkey bread until tops are golden brown and dough is fairly firm - about 20 minutes, rotating pans at 10 minutes. 

Let cool at least 15 minutes before attempting to remove from pans. They will fall apart if you try to take them out to soon. 

The papers will peel off easily. 

I served them in bowls to ensure they didn't pull apart on their own. 

I also drizzled them with a little glaze - this is completely optional and not at all necessary. I just thought it looked pretty! 

You can make this recipe in a Bundt pan for more traditional monkey bread. It will take a much longer time to cook though. The walnuts and drizzle are optional. You can change up this recipe pretty easily if you like. Make a caramel or chocolate glaze, leave it completely plain, add more cinnamon if you really like cinnamon, sprinkle with Skor bits or chocolate chips...

These make a good additional to a continental breakfast bar, great after school snacks, are perfect for holiday entertaining, will sell well at a bake sell... the possibilities are endless!