Cinnamon Swirl Monkey Bread

Why This Recipe Works

Homemade dough — It sounds like extra work, like why make the dough and not use a shortcut? But trust me, making this super quick (I promise!) dough makes all the difference. It’s so fresh, so yeasty, so delicious, and without all those extra, unnecessary ingredients you may get in a tube of dough. 

Cinnamon and sugar — This probably goes without saying but cinnamon and sugar is one of my favorite flavor combinations. You cannot have this cinnamon roll monkey bread recipe without the essential monkey bread ingredients of cinnamon and sugar! Plus, it’s such an easy combo to whip up. Make extra to sprinkle on toast the next day! 

Crowd-pleaser — I make this homemade monkey bread nearly every time we have overnight guests. More often than not, I’m up early enough to prep the dough and I’ll have everything ready to go by the time breakfast or brunch rolls around. (Tip: To save extra time, you can make the dough the night before and let it rise in the fridge overnight.) 

Easy to serve — I turn this easy monkey bread upside down into a serving plate, and then pour the glaze over. You can pull it apart easily with your fingers or add a fork if you don’t want to get your hands messy. The individual rolls come apart in perfect serving sizes, plus, they’re coated on all sides for deliciousness in every bite!

Ingredients

Milk — Milk is a necessary ingredient for the dough and the glaze, whatever milk you usually buy will work fine in this easy, homemade monkey bread.

Water — Tap water is fine!

Sugar & brown sugar — You’ll need a sugar ingredient at every step of the way. What do you think makes this cinnamon roll monkey bread SO very delicious?

Instant yeast — Yeast is necessary to get  the rolls to rise. Be sure you’re using instant yeast for quicker rising.

Butter —  You’ll need melted butter for both the dough and the coating, but room temperature butter for the glaze.

Eggs — Eggs help bind the dough when used as part of the monkey bread dough mixture. 

Flour — All-purpose flour is what I use in this dough recipe. I have not tested other flours to know if they will work or not. 

Salt — A pinch of salt helps bring all the ingredients together. 

Cinnamon — Of course you need ground cinnamon as one of the monkey bread ingredients! That’s key to making this so yummy. 

Vanilla — You’ll need vanilla extract in both the coating and the glaze. I prefer natural and not artificial but you can use whatever you have. 

Cream cheese — Make sure you’ve left your cream cheese out for an hour or so to allow it to come up to room temperature for easier blending into the glaze.

Here’s How You Make It

Make the Dough

1. Combine the milk and water, then warm this mixture to 110F (I use the microwave, be careful to not make it too hot). Then, stir in the sugar and yeast into the warmed milk/water, until the sugar has dissolved. Leave this to stand for 5 minutes. (photos 1-3)
2. Meanwhile, whisk together the melted butter and eggs. (photos 4-5)
3. In the bottom of a stand mixer, whisk together 2 cups of the flour and the salt. Pour in the liquids, and use a rubber spatula to bring it together into a rough, sticky dough. Slowly add the rest of the flour to the dough, bringing everything together until it’s just combined. (photos 6-9)
4. Add the dough hook attachment to your stand mixer, and knead the dough for 5 minutes; it should be smooth, elastic, and slightly sticky. Take the bowl off the mixer and cover it, then leave it in a warm place to rise for about an 1 hour, or until the mixture has doubled in size. (photos 10-11)

Make the Coatings and Roll the Dough

1. To prepare the homemade monkey bread coatings, first combine the brown sugar, sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl, then add the melted butter and the vanilla to another bowl. (photo 12)
2. Prep a bundt pan really well using softened butter or cooking spray, and preheat the oven to 350 F. (not pictured)
3. Start to roll the dough into 1 tablespoon-sized balls and then use a fork to first dip them into the butter, then roll them around in the cinnamon/sugar mixture (being sure to coat all sides), then adding them to the bundt pan, layering them as you go. (photos 13-15)
4. Bake the cinnamon roll monkey bread for 45 minutes, covering the top with foil if the crust starts to get too caramelized/burnt. (photo 16)
5. Take the bundt pan out of the oven and leave it to cool in the pan for about 15 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack. (photo 17)

Make and Pour the Glaze

1. To make the glaze, beat together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until smooth, adding the powdered sugar a little at a time, until the mixture is thick and stiff. (photos 18-22)
2. Gradually thin the glaze with milk until you have reached the desired consistency. Drizzle it over the monkey bread once it has cooled. (photos 23-24)