Monkey Muffins

Now, I know that monkey bread is no new concept, but monkey muffins? I thought it was genius! My favorite part of the monkey bread is the outside. It is the best part because it has this crunchy, gooeyness to it. So what usually happens is all of the outside of the bread is eaten and then the inside is left to harden and then be thrown away. What a waste! I suspected that these monkey muffins would have this crunchy gooeyness with every bite, and I was elated to find my suspicions were confirmed. Since they are smaller, every piece is an outside piece! Absolutely Genius! For those of you who aren't familiar with monkey bread, it is usually baked in a large tube or bundt pan and served by pulling off a "lump"of bread at a time.

I found this recipe in Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood. Go ahead and make fun, but this is a darn good cookbook! And no, I'm not a crazy Trisha Yearwood fan who collects all of her memorabilia. I just happened to come upon it one day as I was browsing the book section at Sam's. I am however an avid collector of good cookbooks and would like to think I know a good one when I see it, and I might also be a bit of an impulse buyer. But, nonetheless I don't regret buying it. So I'm posting the recipe for anyone who cares to try them.



This recipe calls for combining maple syrup with the butter. This is the first monkey recipe I have seen that does this and you could definitely make them without it. Real maple syrup isn't the easiest ingredient to come by, at least in these parts, but fortunately I had some, thanks to Billy and P.C.'s trip to Canada. For that matter, you could use any monkey bread recipe to make these muffins. This monkey is flexible.

A great recipe to get your kids involved in the kitchen! Davis had fun helping quarter the biscuits. I tried to get Wilson to help, but he was too busy shooting me with his invisible fire laser.

My monkey muffins

Monkey Bread Muffins

1 12 oz. can biscuits (10 in each can)

3 T Hot Maple Syrup

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted

2/3 cup sugar

1 T ground cinnamon

1/2 cup freshly chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place cupcake liners in 12 muffin cups. With kitchen shears, cut each biscuit into 4 pieces. In a small bowl, mix the sugar, cinnamon, and chopped pecans. Dip each biscuit piece into the maple butter, and roll in the sugar mixture. Place 3 or 4 coated pieces in each muffin cup, pressing to compact. Bake the muffins for 15 to 17 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks. Serve warm.