Drunken Monkey Bread Recipe
There’s nothing quite like sticky gooey Monkey Bread Recipe to give you that early morning sugar rush and sense of satisfaction.
Christmas morning: the true story of Christmas has been read, presents are unwrapped, the kids have stars in their eyes as they flutter around trying to decide what to play with first. Dad is tenaciously assembling toys with a million pieces each, and you…
You, in your robe and new Christmas jammies, have picked up the wrapping paper and are now working on a brilliant holiday breakfast to keep the Christmas magic alive.
In planning for meals on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, I like to incorporate dishes that can be made ahead.
That way, during all the excitement, I’m not tucked away in the kitchen, missing out on memory-making moments.
My Drunken Monkey Bread Recipe is a dish I make only on very special occasions.
It’s rich, loaded with flavor, and ultra sweet. So much so, I’d feel bad serving it to my kids on regular mornings, then sending them off for teachers to manage.
Christmas morning is different, though.
The little nippers are so hyped-up on Christmas magic, a bit of sugar isn’t going to make much of a difference.
I first remember eating Monkey Bread at my Aunt Millie’s house, as a little girl.
Aunt Millie had a strong personality, an infectious laugh, and whole lot of spunk. I could count on her to have sticky-sweet Monkey Bread, hot and ready for the holidays, and a big smile and joke for her nieces and nephews.
This Drunken Monkey Bread Recipe is in honor of Aunt Millie, who I’m certain did not liquor-up her version, but would have loved it all the same.
Adding a little booze to your monkey bread recipe, is strictly about flavor.
Along with the butter, sugar, and orange zest, a nip of your favorite liquor will saturate the dough, and leave a rich undertone that makes monkey bread just as exciting for the grownups as the kids.
Most of the alcohol evaporates while the bread is baking, so I’m comfortable serving it to the entire family.
This particular monkey bread recipe is a quickie version, incorporating frozen bread dough, to decrease your time in the kitchen.
You can make it “ahead” in two different ways.
1. One day ahead, let the dough rise according to package instructions. Then cut and sugar the dough, place it in a bundt pan, and pop it in the fridge. On Christmas morning simply whisk together the syrup, pour over the top, and bake.
2. Christmas Eve night, place the dough out to thaw and rise over night, covered in plastic wrap sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Christmas morning, cut and sugar the dough, place it in a bundt pan, immediately pour the syrup over the the top, and bake.
The differences in the two methods:
Method 1 needs to bake a little longer (approximately 1 hour) and creates a tender uniform loaf that you slice, but takes less of your time on Christmas morning.
Method 2 takes a little more time to put together in the morning, yet bakes faster (approximately 40 minutes) and comes out of the pan as more of a segmented pull-apart bread.
Both methods bake up a ridiculously moist and flavorful breakfast bread with a crusty exterior, that will be a hit Christmas morning.
I plan to serve Drunken Monkey Bread Recipe with spinach artichoke breakfast bake and fresh berries, a meal my family will certainly remember.
Other Christmas Morning Breakfast Ideas:
Corned Beef Hash with Creamy Horseradish Sauce
Wild Mushroom and Goat Cheee Frittata
Boston Cream Pie Pancakes ~ Country Clever
Egg Nog French Toast Bake ~ Domestic Fits
Drunken Monkey Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 pounds frozen bread dough or rolls, not the partially baked varieties (Rhodes)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin spice spice
- 2 1/2 sticks melted butter (1 1/4 cups)
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup bourbon, amaretto, cognac, or brandy
- Zest of 1 orange
Instructions
- Place the frozen dough on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Spray a large sheet of plastic wrap with non-stick cooking spray and cover the dough. Allow the dough to thaw and rise for 3-5 hours, according to package instructions.
- Once the dough has doubled or tripled in size, butter (or spray with cooking spray) a large 12-15 cup capacity bundt pan. Mix the granulated sugar and pumpkin pie spice in a medium bowl. Then use kitchen shears to snip the dough into 1- to 1 1/2-inch chunks. Dust the dough chunks with the sugar mixture and place in the bundt pan. *At this point, you can cover the top and refrigerate overnight.
- Move the oven rack to the bottom position and take out the other racks to give the monkey bread room to rise. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, liquor, and orange zest together in a large microwave safe bowl. Bring the mixture to a boil in the microwave, about 2 minutes. Then pour over the monkey bread dough and place in the oven.
- Bake for 40-60 minutes, until the top is brown, crusty, and rising over the top of the pan. Cool for 5-10 minutes, then flip out onto a platter and serve warm.
Momma/Aunt Millie would have loved the twist on her famous Monkey Bread. We still make it every holiday for breakfast and it is a family favorite. I will definitely try the drunken monkey bread recipe- looks delicious! ❤️😊
Woow!! this looks awesome recipe. And your pictures are delicious. I’ve always wanted to try and make my own, that’s why I always used my bread maker to prepare the dough. Thanks, for sharing this recipe.
Delicious and easy. Very decadent.
Do NOT put the thawing bread on wax paper. I just spent the last half hour picking it off and wasted a lot of dough.
I’d also like to add, be careful when pouring the butter/sugar mixture over the top. Do it slowly and give it time to settle into the cracks, you may even need to push the dough aside a little bit to get the liquid to go under.
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Hi Mandy, Sorry about that! Yes, I’d love to see the size of your bundt pan. That was probably the culprit.
I’ll try to get a picture of it. It’s painted red, metal, with fluted edges. The picture of yours in your recipe looks much bigger than mine. Thank you for replying. I’ll try recipe again once I get a bigger pan.
Sommer,
My Mom, Aka Aunt Millie, would have LOVED it! She would have thought it to be sinfull sweet!
Thank you for this ! I was missing her today & you made my day brighter with her memory!
You are the bomb, Sommer!
jana
Looks delicious. Will it be as moist if baked without the alcohol?
Wow! Just when I thought monkey bread couldn’t get any better… Fantastic idea!
Doesnt get any better than this! :)
Hmmmm. how did I miss this! YUM YUM YUM
Oh my goodness – this looks absolutely sinful! I want to eat every last bite of this! And no, I won’t be sharing :)
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Your version looks wonderful.