Monkeyin' Around

One of our favorite Christmas traditions is to make Monkey Bread - it's perfect because you can fix it the night before, leave it out to rise overnight, and then pop it in the oven on Christmas morning. Here's my Aunt Cathie's recipe that we love.

Ingredient Note: This recipe calls for frozen bread dough. You should be able to find this in the freezer section at your local grocery store - most often I find it in the form of dough to make dinner rolls. Just be sure you get the actual dough, not "warm and serve" rolls. If you prefer, you can always substitute hunks of home-made bread dough.

Aunt Cathie's Monkey Bread

3/4 cup chopped pecans
18-19 pieces of frozen bread dough
1 3-ounce package "cook 'n' serve" butterscotch pudding (not instant)
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon


The night before, spray a tube-pan or bundt pan with cooking spray. Then, sprinkle the bottom of the pan with pecans, spreading evenly. Arrange dough pieces evenly on top of the pecans. Sprinkle with butterscotch pudding mix. In a small bowl, combine melted butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Drizzle this mixture over the bread. Leave out to rise overnight, uncovered.

The next morning, dough should be double in size, like this:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes.

Let stand for 10 minutes before turning out onto a plate and serving.