Monkey Bread Recipe (in a muffin pan) - Dessert for Two (2024)

Monkey bread recipe, made entirely from scratch! It's a small batch recipe baked in a muffin pan to make monkey bread muffins instead of a bundt pan.

I promised you lots of purple, green, and yellow sprinkles, and today, I'm delivering. If you're not as jazzed about Mardi Gras as I am, then you can certainly leave off the sprinkles. They're more for panache than actual flavor.

Monkey bread recipe is the first recipe I ever made by myself. I made it in home economics in middle school. In Texas, everyone (boys and girls) takes home ec. one semester, and then wood working the next semester. If I remember correctly, everyone liked home ec. better---even the boys. The reason is probably this monkey bread. Would you rather have splinters or monkey bread? The answer to that question is always sugar, isn't it?

This might be the world’s most perfect recipe: biscuits doused in butter, sugar and cinnamon, and then baked. You can’t mess this one up.

Monkey bread recipe:

However, most of the time, a monkey bread recipe calls for canned biscuit dough, and it makes a giant bundt pan-sized dessert. It's a delicious dessert, or even a great make-ahead brunch item, but I want to cure the monkey bread craving even without canned biscuits. If I cure a craving for something sweet and avoid making a giant batch, it's even better for me!

This recipe makes 4 monkey bread muffins in a muffin pan instead of a bundt pan. This is the small muffin pan I use now that has 6 cups. Personally, I can eat two muffins on my own, and my husband doesn't have any problems with the other two, ever.

I made homemade biscuit dough for this monkey bread recipe. There's hardly a store-bought biscuit package small enough to serve two, but also: homemade is always better, always. You can quote me on that.

I rolled the dough into twelve balls, each slightly smaller than a ping pong ball, doused them in cinnamon sugar, and popped 3 into each muffin cup. The recipe for the brown sugar butter sauce came to me in a dream one night, and it was destiny that they topped these cinnamon biscuit bites.

Monkey Bread Recipe

Monkey bread recipe from scratch, baked in a muffin pan.

Ingredients

5 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening, cold
1 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
⅓ cup milk (I use 2%)

For the syrup:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Optional topping:

¼ cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons milk
purple, green and yellow sprinkles

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375, and lightly grease 4 cups in a muffin pan.*
In a shallow dish, stir together the granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, and set aside.
Next, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Next, add the shortening and butter, and cut it into the flour with your finger tips or a pastry cutter. The fats should be evenly distributed throughout the flour, and no large pieces should be visible. We're essentially making biscuits.
Next, stir in the milk until a dough forms. Don't over work the dough; stir until it just comes together.
Divide the dough into 4 pieces (press it flat in the bowl, then score it with your hands into four pieces). Divide each piece into 3 balls. Roll the dough balls between your hands, then roll them in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Repeat for all of the dough.
Place 3 dough balls in each muffin cup. If there is any sugar-cinnamon mixture left, sprinkle it over the muffins.
Next, make the syrup by melting the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon together. You can do this in the microwave or a small pan. Pour the mixture evenly over the 4 muffins, then bake for 14 minutes.
Finally, whisk together the optional topping (if using): whisk powdered sugar and milk together, and drizzle over the freshly cooked muffins. Top with colorful sprinkles and serve.

Notes

*See below for a small muffin pan.

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Monkey Bread Recipe (in a muffin pan) - Dessert for Two (2024)

Monkey bread recipe:

Monkey Bread Recipe

Ingredients

For the syrup:

Optional topping:

Instructions

Notes

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

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