Cinnamon Rolls and Monkey Bread

This is my own recipe.  Others will be similar, but this one will serve your well.  The batter is the same.  The difference is how the bread is assembled.  The first ten steps are the same.  The difference starts at Step Seven.

Monkey Bread allegedly gets its name because monkeys tend to clump together at night, so all you see are the tops of little monkey heads. Anyway, that’s my story, and I’m stickin’ to it.

YEAST SPONGE

• 3 TBL honey – optional:  granulated sugar
• 2 TBL yeast
• ½ C warm water – more or less

DRY INGREDIENTS

• 2 C AP flour
• 1 C whole wheat flour
• 1/3 C granulated sugar
• 1 tsp salt

1 extra C AP flour for Step 4 –  Set aside

WET INGREDIENTS

• 1 C warm lowfat milk – more or less
• 1 TBL
• 2 TBL Grandpa’s CinnaSugar®
• 2 TBL yeast
• 6 TBL softened butter
• 2 egg yolks
  
• Egg white set aside for later use

FILLING

• 1/3 C granulated sugar
• 1/3 C dark brown sugar
• 1/2 C heavy cream
• 1/4 C Grandpa’s CinnaSugar®
• 3 TBL softened butter
• OPTIONAL:  Crushed Pecans
• OPTIONAL:  3/4 C raisins or Craisins

FROSTING – OPTIONAL

• 2.5 C confectioner sugar
• 2 TBL softened butter
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp orange zest
• whole milk – 1 tsp at a time

Alternately, you can use Pillsbury biscuit dough and cut each biscuit in quarters (half and then half again)

STEP BY STEP

1. PREPARE YOUR SPONGE IN A SMALL GLASS BOWL
   • Combine sugar, yeast and warm water
   • Set aside for 15 minutes
   • If it does not get puffy and bubbly, throw it out.  Your yeast is too old.
2. COMBINE DRY INGREDIENTS FOR DOUGH
   • Mix 3 C of your flours
3. INITIAL COMBINATION OF WET AND DRY
   • Add your sponge and wet ingredients to the dry ingredients
   • Mix to combine
4. SPOON IN DRY INGREDIENTS
   • Add your reserved flour spoon by spoon until the ball is formed and firm or until all the flour is gone.   The ball should be a little on the wet side
   • Add pecans or raisins – refrain from adding both
   • Knead by hand for 5-7 minutes more
   • Shape and put into greased bowl.  Cover bowl with plastic, and let dough rise for 30 minutes
5. REFRIGERATE OVERNIGHT
   • This gives a chance for all of the flavors to completed combine
   • Alternately, let rise 4 hours on the counter
6. NEXT MORNING PREPARE YOUR FILLING
   1. In Bowl #1 combine half your sugars plus half your CinnaSugar plus 1 stick melted butter.  This should be very wet.
   2. In Bowl #2 combine the rest of your sugar, and CinnaSugar  – leave dry – do not add melted butter
7. DECIDE WHAT YOU WANT TO CREATE
   1. Decide if you want MONKEY BREAD or CINNAMON ROLLS

STEP BY STEP FOR MONKEY BREAD

The first SEVEN STEPS are the same for both recipes.

8. Roll dough into a long tube
9. Put the melted butter solution into a large mixing bowl.
10. Put the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a paper bag.
11. Cut off pieces of the tube and roll them in a ball so that you have a ball just about the size of a really big grape… you know the kind.
12. Put the balls into the butter bowl
13. Once all balls are cut, toss them to coat all balls evenly.
14. Drop into the bag containing your cinnamon mixture and mix to cover
15. Prepare 1 shallow VERY WELL GREASED baking pan.
    • Ideally a bundt pan is used, but not everyone has one of those handy.  You don’t want to use a deep baking dish though, or they will not cook all the way through.
16. For an extra coating, melt together ½ C brown sugar, 2 tsp cinnamon, and 2 TBL butter
17. Pour evenly over into bottom of your pan.  Sprinkle crushed pecans
    
18. Put the balls into the pan
19. Spoon half remaining wet mixture over top
20. Sprinkle half dry mixture over top as well
21. Squish the balls a bit to make sure they are all evenly distributed
22. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place or the warming tray of your oven until doubled in size (about an hour)
23. Preheat oven to 350º and bake 30 minutes
24. Spoon remaining wet mixture over top
25. Sprinkle dry mixture over top as well
26. Bake another 10-20 minutes – or 190º internal temperature
    • pull out if top starts to blacken
27. Invert onto a serving plate and let cool 10 minutes.  Serve with forks

STEP BY STEP FOR CINNAMON ROLLS

The first SEVEN STEPS are the same for both recipes.

8. On a floured surface, roll dough into a kind of flat rectangle
9. Fold the rounded sides toward the center, and roll again
10. Repeat one more time.  You should now have a nearly perfect rectangle.
11. In Step 6 above, combine both mixtures into a single mixture.
12. Spread mixture over your rectangle leaving about 1/2 inch dry edge
13. Roll into a tube starting with the side opposite the dry edge.  Roll as tightly as possible 
14. Use egg wash on the unbuttered edge to seal the roll
15. Using dental floss, cut the tips off
16. Cut into half, then half again
17. At this point, you will have four rolls. Estimate thirds and cut each of the four rolls into thirds – so you have twelve equal pieces
18. Place (cut side down) into a well-greased 9×12 baking dish
19. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place or the warming tray of your oven until doubled in size (about an hour)
20. Preheat oven to 350º and bake 15 minutes
21. Remove and sprinkle CinnaSugar over top
22. Bake another 10-20 minutes – or 190º internal temperature
    • pull out if top starts to blacken
23. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes.  Serve frosted or not
24. OPTIONAL:  FROST THE CINNAMON ROLLS
    1. Combine sugar, butter, vanilla and orange zest
    2. Add milk ONLY until consistency will spread easily
    3. Spread over each roll and serve warm

FROSTING

• 2.5 C confectioner sugar
• 2 TBL softened butter
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp orange zest
• whole milk – 1 tsp at a time