Beginning in December 2006, our first Christmas with children, we started a Christmas morning tradition in our household.  Each Christmas morning, after all of the gifts have been unwrapped, we indulge in a gooey and glorious breakfast: monkey bread.  I have been making little adjustments to my recipe each year, and I think this year I have finally perfected it.  This year’s monkey bread came out with the perfect balance of butter and sugar, wonderfully flakey yet still sticky, and dripping with the perfect amount of sweet glaze.  I hope your family enjoys this recipe as much as mine.

Christmas Morning Monkey Bread

(I normally do the following the day before I plan to serve the monkey bread.)

Dissolve 2 tablespoons dry yeast in 1 1/4 cup warm milk.

Beat two eggs in a large bowl, and then add milk/yeast mixture to the beaten eggs.  Next add 3 tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, and 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour.

Then cut up 6 ounces of softened butter and add it to the bowl.  Using your hands, work the butter into the above mixture of ingredients.

Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with a damp dish towel and allow it to rest until double in size.

After the dough has risen, melt one stick of butter and place the butter into a shallow dish.  In another shallow dish, mix together 1 cup brown sugar and 1 tablespoon cinnamon.  Roll the dough into 2 tablespoon-sized balls.  Dip each ball in the melted butter, then into the sugar and cinnamon mixture.  Then place the buttered and sugared balls into a greased and floured bunt pan.  Once all the dough balls are in the bunt pan, cover with a damp dish towel and allow to rise until double in size.

(On the day you plan to serve the monkey bread.)

Bake your monkey bread in a 350 degree oven for about 35 minutes.  (The time will vary slightly depending on whether or not you are using a ceramic or metal bunt pan.)

While the bread is baking, heat 4 tablespoons butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup real maple syrup, 1 tablespoon water and 1 teaspoon cinnamon in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Bring the mixture to a boil and allow to boil for one minute.  Remove from the heat.

Once you remove the monkey bread from the oven, allow it to cool for about 5 minutes.  Then invert the pan onto a serving plate to remove the monkey bread.  Pour the glaze over the bread.  Serve warm.  Enjoy!

*A note about all my recipes:  I use all organic ingredients, local when available.  I use non-homogenized milk, and all of the dairy we use is from animals raised on pasture. I also use oils that are non-GMO verified.  All our meat is raised locally on organic feed, and our beef is grass-fed, grass-finished.  All our spices and cane sugar are fair-trade certified and purchased through a cooperative.