Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread

What happens when you attempt to make homemade cinnamon rolls and they completely fall apart on you? You make Monkey Bread! That’s exactly what happened when I came up with this recipe. I set out to make homemade cinnamon rolls but when I started rolling up the dough, it fell apart. Instead of scrapping the whole recipe and pulling out a box of cereal, I made it work for me. Traditionally, Monkey Bread is torn biscuits with a cinnamon sugar coating that pulls apart to eat. This cinnamon roll disaster turned into a really delicious breakfast item that would be great for a brunch or a Sunday morning treat. This recipe is proof that you don't have to give up on a recipe that doesn't turn out exactly how you expected!


Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread with Buttermilk Frosting

6Tbs. butter, melted, divided (this is used to grease the pan, for the filling, dough, and brushing on top. Just less than one stick will be used for the entire recipe)

Cinnamon-Sugar mixture:
¾ C. packed brown sugar
¼ C. granulated sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/8 tsp. salt

Dough:
2 ½ C. all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 Tbs. granulated sugar
1 ¼ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 ¼ C. buttermilk

Icing:
2 Tbs. cream cheese, softened
2 Tbs. buttermilk
1 C. powdered sugar, sifted

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Pour 1 Tbs. of the melted butter into a 9-inch cake pan and brush to coat. Set aside.

For the Cinnamon-Sugar mixture: Combine the sugars, cinnamon, cloves, and salt in a small bowl. Add 1 Tbs. of the melted butter and mix with a fork until it resembles coarse, wet sand. Place in a Ziplock bag and set aside.

For the dough: Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk the buttermilk and 2 Tbs. of melted butter in a measuring cup or small bowl. Add to the dry ingredients. Mix with a wooden spoon just until the liquid is absorbed.

Dust your work surface and hands with flour. Put dough on the work surface and knead about 30 seconds until the dough looks smooth.

Working in batches, take about 1 Tbs. of dough, roll into a ball and place into the ziplock with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Shake until the dough balls are coated. Drop the dough into the cake pan. Once all of the dough has been coated and put into the pan, pour any remaining cinnamon sugar mixture over the dough. Brush with 2 Tbs. melted butter.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the dough is cooked through. Remove from oven and cool slightly.

For the icing: While the Monkey Bread is cooling, begin making the icing. Whisk the cream cheese and buttermilk in a small bowl until smooth and creamy. Slowly add the powdered sugar, whisking as you add it. Whisk until the icing is smooth and there are no lumps. Pour over the bread and smooth evenly. Cut into wedges and serve.

The Monkey Bread goes great with a tall glass of ice-cold milk!