Grab Bag Friday: Monkey Bread

Okay, so this image has nothing to do with monkey bread. It's a glimpse of the cute fabrics you could win if you head over to my friend Amy Schimler's blog before Monday. Hurry, go! And when you finish entering the contest, then you should make some monkey bread!

A student recently gave me this recipe and my sister and I tried it out last weekend. We can report that it is super fun to make (anything that gets rolled into balls then coated in butter and sugar is right up my alley) and it tastes delicious. Imagine a sticky bun, only slightly less sweet.

We decided it's a great rainy day activity (especially good for kids to help with) and a perfect treat to bring to a potluck!

Tajuana's Monkey Bread

1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
3 cups flour
1 pkg yeast
1/3 cup raisins
1 egg
1 cup warm water
2 tsp butter
Flour
¼ cup butter
1 banana – diced
Finely chopped walnuts
Bundt pan

1. Add sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon in bowl. Mix together. Set aside until step 14.
2. Place flour and yeast in bowl.
3. Add raisins, walnuts, and banana. Stir in.
4. Add egg to flour mix.
5. Add water and 2 tsp butter. Stir until dough pulls from side of bowl.
6. Put dough on floured surface.
7. Shape into giant ball.
8. Knead for 5 minutes or until smooth (if you add banana, it will still be sticky even after kneading.)
9. Cover dough with bowl for 5 minutes.
10. Grease pan while dough is rising (butter works best).
11. Melt ¼ cup butter. Save until step 14.
12. With knife, cut dough into 4 pieces. Cut each piece into 8 pieces. If you feel these are too large, you may want to cut them smaller.
13. Form each piece into a ball.
14. Dip in butter. Roll in sugar mix. Put in pan. Sprinkle any remaining sugar mixture on top.
15. Cover dough with plastic wrap and cloth towel.
16. Place pan in warm place and let dough rise for 30 minutes.
17. Heat oven to 375.
18. After 30 minutes, remove dough coverings.
19. Bake bread for 25 minutes or until brown.
20. Take out of oven. Immediately turn upside down onto serving plate. Serve warm or cool.

*If you put the plate on top of the pan and then flip them both over, there is less of a chance that it will fall apart.