Remember how I’ve told you that Meeker doesn’t really like sweets?

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That’s not entirely true. He likes chocolate chip cookies. He likes melty ice cream. And he likes the inside of cinnamon rolls. Oh and gooey brownies. Remember all of those brownies?!

And since I don’t think I’ve ever met a sweet thing that I didn’t like – I’m always up for baking something I think he’ll enjoy.

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Like monkey bread. Which is basically a big cake that tastes like the inside of a cinnamon roll.

Saturday morning I woke up with a mission – I wanted to make monkey bread from scratch. So, I laced up my tennis shoes, popped Baby Bonkers in the running stroller, and jogged to the grocery store for a few ingredients (a preemptive strike against all of those delicious calories I was about to bury my face into).

Then I headed home, and spent the rest of the morning up to my elbows in dough and sugar.

Mmm…dough and sugar.

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After mixing and waiting, and kneading and waiting…

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This beauty was born. And we ate at least one fourth of the danged thing for lunch.

Oh happy day.

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Vegan Monkey Bread

adapted from Recipe Girl

THE DOUGH:
1 c almond milk
1/3 c warm water
2 T vegan margarine, melted (I used Earth Balance)
1/4 c granulated sugar
1 T yeast
3 1/2 c all-purpose flour, plus extra for surface work
2 t salt

THE GOO:
1 1/4 c brown sugar, packed
2 t cinnamon
1  c vegan margarine, melted

THE GLAZE:
3/4 c powdered sugar
2 T almond milk

Combine the almond milk, water, margarine, and sugar in a microwave bowl and warm/melt for about a minute. Then add the yeast and stir until it and the sugar are dissolved. Set aside.

Combine the flour and salt in a stand mixer and combine using the dough hook. With the mixer on low, slowly add the warm milk mixture. Then turn up the mixer until a shiny dough is formed. (You may need to add more flour if it is too sticky)

Knead the dough on a floured surface, then put into a greased bowl, cover with a kitchen towel, and set in a warm place to rise for 45 – 50 minutes.

When the dough is almost done rising, melt the margarine for the goo in one bowl, and whisk the brown sugar and cinnamon together in another bowl.

Dump the risen dough onto a flour surface and pat into a rectangle. Then cut into 64 pieces (I used my pizza cutter) by splitting it into 4 sections, then splitting each of those into 16 pieces.

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Next, roll each little piece into a ball, drop it in the butter, and roll it in the sugar/cinnamon mix. Then drop it into a greased bundt pan – layering the balls as it get’s full.

Cover the bundt pan with the kitchen towel again, then let it rise for another 45 – 50 minutes and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. When the monkey dough has risen again (the bundt pan will look full to the brim!) bake it for 20 – 25 minutes.

When it’s finished, let it sit for a minute or two, then dump it out on a a plate and spoon the glaze over the warm, gooey goodness. Then pull apart with your fingers and enjoy!

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