By Kelly Bogard
In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson declared Mother’s Day an official national holiday. From that point on, the second Sunday in May has been set aside to honor mothers and motherhood.This  Mother’s Day, I am submitting Chunky Monkey Bread for your tasting pleasure. This kid-friendly twist on classic Monkey Bread is easy to put together, and the kids will have a blast making it for a special Mother’s Day breakfast.

First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Mix ½ cup of granulated sugar with 3 teaspoons of cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside. Next, mix together 1 cup of granulated sugar with 1 package of softened cream cheese until it’s light and fluffy. I prefer to use my stand mixer for this, but you can also use a hand mixer. At this point, go ahead and spray your pan with cream cheese filling
non-stick cooking spray. For Monkey Bread, you can either use a Bundt pan or an angel food cake pan. Just make sure that you use a pan with a center hole so that the bread bakes evenly.

Here’s the one step that should only be done by an adult. Place 1 stick of butter and 1 cup of packed brown sugar in a small sauce pan. Heat on low until the sugar is dissolved, boiling brown sugarstirring well to make sure it doesn’t burn. Once everything is melted, set it aside to cool a bit. Now you can call the kids back in to help finish up.

Flatten each biscuit with your fingers and place about a teaspoon of the cream cheese mixture in each one. Wrap the biscuit around the cream cheese and pinch the edges to seal. Once you have all the biscuits filled, roll them in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Save the leftover cinnamon sugar.

uncooked monkey breadSprinkle the bottom of the cake pan with 1/3 cup chopped pecans and 1/3 cup golden raisins. You can use regular raisins if you like. Add half of the prepared biscuits to the pan. Be careful not to press them down into the pan as it will not allow them to cook evenly. Dust with cinnamon sugar and pour half of the melted butter mixture over the dough in the pan. Repeat all of these steps–starting with the pecans and raisins–one more time.

baking monkey breadTop your bread with the remaining pecans and raisins and then it’s ready for the oven. Bake for 1 hour or until golden brown. Once it is finished baking, remove it from the oven and let it cool for five minutes. Once it has cooled, place a plate on top of the pan, turn it over and remove the cake pan. You will have a wonderful, sweet breakfast treat worthy of any mom. I hope you all enjoy making and eating this bread. And from all of us at Texas Table Top, have a Happy Mother’s Day!

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Recipe: Chunky Monkey Bread

finished monkey bread

Summary: Classic monkey bread with a cream cheese twist

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 3 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 cans (12-oz., 10 count) refrigerated biscuits
  • 1 cup golden raisins
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

    • Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Mix ½ cup granulated sugar and 3 teaspoons cinnamon in small bowl; set aside.
  • Blend together 1 cup sugar and 1 package softened cream cheese until light and fluffy.
  • Spray Bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray.
  • In a sauce pan, melt 1 stick of butter and 1 cup of brown sugar over low heat, stirring well; set aside.
  • Flatten the biscuits out with your fingers.
  • Place 1 teaspoon of cream cheese mixture in the center of each biscuit; seal the dough around the cream cheese.
  • Roll each biscuit in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Save any remaining mixture.
  • Sprinkle 1/3 cup chopped pecans and 1/3 cup raisins into the bottom of the Bundt pan.
  • Place half of the prepared biscuits in the pan.
  • Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
  • Pour half of the melted butter mixture over the biscuits.
  • Sprinkle on 1/3 cup pecans and 1/3 cup raisins.
  • Layer the remaining biscuits on top.
  • Sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar.
  • Pour the remaining butter mixture over the biscuits.
  • Sprinkle with remaining pecans and raisins.
  • Bake for 1 hour.
  • Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes.
  • Place a plate on top and invert.

    • Cooking time (duration): 1 hour, 30 minutes

    Number of servings (yield): 8

    Meal type: breakfast

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