Chunky Monkey Bread

When I was little, my mom would always make us monkey bread. Especially when I would have a sleep over with all my friends in lower & middle school, we would always wake up to smell of cinnamon and sugar wafting through the air. It always hit the spot. I then graduated and started making it for my college friends when we were... well, hungover. It was the best hangover cure. Loads of carbs & sugar, it just always helped us rebound for the next night :) But after I got sick all of last year, I forgot about monkey bread & all of its' gloriousness. So, I decided that monkey bread needed a makeover. And that is how "Chunky Monkey Bread" was born. Chunky Monkey Bread uses croissant dough instead of biscuit dough.  Then, the croissant dough is glazed with sweetened, condensed milk and stuffed with roasted bananas and dark chocolate chunks. The stuffed dough is tucked into big rolled balls and placed into a bundt pan. I poured a salted caramel sauce all over the top of the croissant balls and baked it in the oven until the croissant were hot & flaky and the caramel sauce was caramelized & gooey. I then flipped the Chunky Monkey out onto a plate and glazed it with a Peanut Butter-Cream Cheese Glaze. This breakfast is easy to assemble and feeds a whole bunch of people! Enjoy :)

Chunky Monkey Bread with Peanut Butter-Cream Cheese Glaze

Chunky Monkey Bread is Cut & Ready to be Eaten

Look at Those Layers of Roasted Bananas, Chocolate Chunks, and Salted Caramel Sauce

For the Roasted Bananas:

4 Ripe Bananas, Cut into Slices

4T Butter, Cut into Small Cubes

¼C Brown Sugar

For the Cinnamon Sugar:

3T Sugar

1t Cinnamon

For the Salted Caramel:

½C Brown Sugar

4T Unsalted Butter

Sea Salt (to your liking)

For the Gorilla Bread Filling:

Prepared Roasted Bananas

2C Dark Chocolate Chunks

3T Sweetened, Condensed Milk

For the Peanut Butter-Cream Cheese Glaze:

4oz Cream Cheese, Softened

4oz Creamy Peanut Butter

4-6T Powdered Sugar

¼C Milk

½t Vanilla

 

For the Gorilla Bread:

2 12oz Cans of Refrigerated Crescent Roll Dough

Prepared Filling

Prepared Cinnamon Sugar

Prepared Caramel

Prepared Peanut Butter-Cream Cheese Glaze

Directions:

1. To Make the Roasted Bananas: Preheat the oven to 425. Place the sliced bananas and cubed butter into a baking dish, then sprinkle over the brown sugar. Bake this for about 25 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Remove from the oven and let it cool for about 10 minutes. Then, smash the roasted bananas. Set them aside to cool completely.

2. For the Cinnamon Sugar: Mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and set it aside until you’re ready to roll the gorilla balls in it.

3. For the Caramel: In a small saucepan, melt the brown sugar with the butter over low heat until the brown sugar has completely dissolved and it has slightly thickened. Sprinkle with sea salt and keep over low heat until you’re ready to use it.

4. To Make the Gorilla Bread Balls: Break open the crescent roll packages and separate the triangles of dough. Brush each triangle with the sweetened, condensed milk, and then spread or spoon on 1-2T of the roasted banana mixture. Sprinkle some dark chocolate chunks on top of the bananas. Fold the edges of the triangle together and seal. Once you have sealed them, roll the gorilla bread balls into the cinnamon sugar until they are lightly coated. Repeat until all of the crescent roll dough has been used.

5. Assembling the Gorilla Bread: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a bundt pan with Pam. Place half of the gorilla bread balls into the prepared pan, and then pour half of the caramel mixture over the dough. Repeat with the remaining ingredients. Bake the gorilla bread for 1 hour or until puffed, golden brown, & firm to the touch. Transfer the pan to a rack and allow it to cool for 10-15 minutes. Place a platter on top of the pan and invert.

6. To Make the Peanut Butter-Cream Cheese Glaze: Beat the cream cheese & peanut butter together in a mixing bowl until well combined. Add in the powdered sugar and beat until smooth and light. Add the milk and vanilla to the consistency of your liking. Drizzle the glaze over the warm gorilla bread, letting it run over the top and down the sides of the bread.

*Check out Sweets for a Saturday for this recipe, as well as many others!!