Monkey Bread!

This is the ultimate comfort food, when it's cold outside eat this hot with a cup of coffee or hot chocolate and curl up by the fire.  This desert can either be quick and easy or if you want to go all out and make your own bread it can be a little tricky.  I went the quick and easy route because I was not patient and I wanted to eat this for breakfast.  My husband and I only allow ourselves these indulgences once a week and if you make your own bread it takes two days (you have to let the bread rest in the refrigerator overnight.) 

Since I have made this many people asked me why it was called monkey bread and I had no answer.  I researched this and still found no answer.  It seems that no one really knows why this bread is called monkey bread.  A lot of people seem to guess that this is called monkey bread because people gather around at it and pick at it like a bunch of monkeys but I don't know how accurate that is.  I tried to think of a rational explanation and I really couldn't think of one.  Maybe if the recipe called for bananas that would make a bit more sense, come to think of it, adding bananas is not a bad idea. 

This recipe is not very strict and you can add whatever you want to it.  My little addition was the nuts but you can add chocolate chips, pecans, raisins, bananas (if it makes you feel better to call it monkey bread if it has bananas in it) or different spices, it's up to you.

Monkey bread recipe:
recipe from Pillsbury crescent recipe creations

1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cans Pillsbury Grands Home style refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cups melted butter

Heat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Divide each biscuit into quarters and then roll the quarters into balls.  Grease a bundt pan and set to the side.  Get a zip loc bag, the easiest size to work with will be a gallon but you can improvise with smaller sizes.  Put your granulated sugar and cinnamon in the zip loc bag and make sure it is mixed.  Place your bread balls into the bag five at a time and shake them until they are evenly coated by the cinnamon-sugar mixture.  When the balls are coated remove them from the zip loc bag and start arranging them into your pan.  They don't have to be smashed together just placed next to and on top of eachother.

With each layer sprinkle some of the walnuts evenly on top and some of the cinnamon-sugar mixture.  When you are done finish of the rest of the nuts and pour the excess cinnamon-sugar mixture on top.

When you are done with all of the biscuit pieces, melt your butter and then mix it with the brown sugar.  Pour this mixture evenly over your bread.

Place in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until it is no longer doughy in the center.  If the top is browning and the middle is still not cooked you can either lower your pan so that the top is not so close to the top heat source in your oven, or you can cover the bread with tin foil.

When it is done let it cool for about 10 minutes and then loosen the sides with a spatula.  Place a plate on top of your bundt pan and then flip over.

If you want to save time and eat this for breakfast you can do all of the steps except for the butter and brown sugar step the night before.