Sticky Bun Monkey Bread

This Sticky Bun Monkey Bread is the ultimate sweet indulgence! You’ll love how this cinnamony pull apart bread is as fun to make as it is to eat. Using canned biscuits makes it super easy.

The biscuits take a dip in cinnamon sugar and are then drenched in a brown sugar butter sauce. Even better than sticky buns!

I went to college in the best town in America – State College, PA. There was a popular diner there that made the most incredible sticky buns. When you ordered them, they’d throw them onto the grill to warm them up, and deliver them to your table all ooey gooey and warm.

Grilled Stickies were so popular, in fact, that you could buy them pre-wrapped at the counter to take home. And I would never dare go home for a weekend visit without some Grilled Stickies for my parents!

This Sticky Bun Monkey Bread reminds me of our beloved Grilled Stickies from my Penn State years.

What you need to make Sticky Bun Monkey Bread

The list of ingredients here is short and sweet (pun intended):

• Canned biscuit dough (I recommend using Pillsbury Grands)
• Unsalted butter
• Brown sugar
• Granulated sugar
• Raisins
• Chopped pecans
• Cinnamon

It’s important to get a large kind of biscuit dough for this recipe, which is why I recommend Grands. Also, don’t get the buttermilk kind. Regular biscuits – large ones – are the right answer.

How to make Sticky Bun Monkey Bread

It couldn’t be easier to put this Sticky Bun Monkey Bread together, and it’s totally customizable. The base is simply balls of canned biscuit dough rolled in a cinnamon-sugar mixture.

Just cut the biscuits into quarters, roll them into balls, dip them into the cinnamon-sugar mixture and arrange them in a bundt pan. Then, pour your melted butter and brown sugar mixture over top.

Why is it called monkey bread?

Monkey Bread gets its name because of the way it is eaten. You pick off the sweet little balls of dough and it resembles how a monkey looks when he is grooming his friend or mate.

If you’ve ever watched Animal Planet or visited a zoo, you know what I’m talking about. Kind of weird to name a food after this, but also kind of funny.

What if you don’t have a bundt pan?

While a bundt pan isn’t necessarily required to make this Sticky Bun Monkey Bread, it’s traditional to use one. Other pans you could try are standard loaf pans, round cake pans or tube pans.

I have not tested this recipe in anything but a bundt pan, so I cannot guarantee your results. If you’re trying this recipe in another type of pan, my advice would be to half the measurements, just to be sure that all of the biscuits will cook through.

Customizing this monkey bread

In terms of toppings, the options are endless. I am a purist and I like it just the way it was served at that old college diner – with lots of raisins and pecans. (They actually served theirs with walnuts, but the Big Guy is allergic to walnuts. So, pecans.)

But if you’re not a fan of one or both, throw some chocolate chips in there instead. Or, if you want to take the cinnamon flavor over the top, try adding cinnamon chips. Or substitute walnuts for pecans.

And it’s fun to make, with or without kids (but if you have kids, definitely put them to work).

Although this Sticky Bun Monkey Bread won’t last very long, if you happen to have any left over, it will keep on the countertop, wrapped in foil, for a few days. After that, pop it in the fridge. You can easily reheat it in the oven or microwave.

So pour yourself a hot cup of coffee and treat yourself to this indulgent weekend breakfast – you deserve it.

And when you make this Sticky Bun Monkey Bread, I’d love to hear about it! Drop a rating or leave a comment below. Enjoy!

For more easy bakes, try these:

• Chocolate Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread
• Easy Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
• Apple Butter Baked Brie Puff Pastry Twists

For more sweet breakfast treats, try these:

• Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes
• Homemade Cherry Danish
• Classic Cinnamon Rolls with Vanilla Frosting

Sticky Bun Monkey Bread with Canned Biscuits (Pull Apart Bread)

Easy recipe for pull-apart bread using canned biscuits, raisins and pecans smothered in cinnamon & brown sugar

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 25 mins

Cook Time 1 hr

Total Time 1 hr 25 mins

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 1 bundt

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 3 tubes large biscuit dough not buttermilk
• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 6 oz. raisins
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 Tbsp. cinnamon

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line the pan with half of the pecans and half of the raisins.
• In a bowl, combine the granulated sugar and cinnamon. Cut each biscuit into quarters. Roll biscuit pieces into balls and dip in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
• Place half of the biscuit balls into the bundt pan evenly. Repeat with another layer of raisins, pecans and dough.
• In a small saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar together and whisk to combine. Pour evenly over the dough. Place a baking sheet on the rack underneath the bundt pan to catch any drips. Bake for 1 hour. Allow to cool before turning out of the pan.

Keyword brunch, dessert, easy

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