How did Monkey Bread get its name anyway? Was the inventor a woman named Sally Monkey? Is it because monkeys go gaga for the stuff? Is it because it was originally shaped to look like a monkey? I have no idea – I can make up a story about it, but that’s not really necessary. Once you have overnight monkey bread, you adore monkey bread. And you don’t really care WHY it’s called monkey bread. You’ll bake it. You’ll love the way it makes your house smell. You’ll love the way it makes your taste buds tingle. You’ll love the way it makes your stomach happy. You’ll love the way it says “Hey, I really like you” to whomever you’re serving it to. It’s just good stuff!
How to Prep Monkey Bread in Advance
Now, Monkey Bread isn’t complicated to make. There’s only five ingredients, but when I make it for a breakfast (like a holiday or a birthday morning!), I like to do as much as I can the night before to prepare. So that I don’t have to do as much in the morning. Less dishes that way! That’s what I’ve done here – re-done the instructions so that you can do some of the prep work the night before, and then just a little bit in the morning. But if that doesn’t appeal to you, no worries! Just do it all right then and bake it right away!
If you prep this the night before and cook it from cold, the monkey bread need a few extra minutes of baking time. When the top turns a dark brown (but not burnt), it is done.
(Overnight) Monkey Bread
Ingredients
- 3 cans buttermilk biscuits (the non-flaky ones) – If you get the jumbo biscuits, you can get by with only 2 cans.
- 1 cup sugar
- 2-3 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 sticks butter
- 1/2 cups brown sugar
Instructions
The night before (if desired):
- In a gallon zip lock bag (or a really big bowl with a lid), combine the sugar with the cinnamon. Mix it all up.
- Open the biscuits and cut each biscuit into 4 quarters. Drop the biscuits into the bag.
- When all are in there, seal and shake. Shake. Shake. Shake what your momma gave you. Shake some more.
- Put the yummy biscuits into a big bundt pan. (No mini-bundt pans here!)
- Spread these nuggets out evenly in the bundt pan. Refrigerate if you’re going to bake it later.
- In a sauce pan, combine the butter & brown sugar. Let sit on the stove (covered) or in the fridge for tomorrow morning.
When ready to bake:
- Take bundt pan out of the fridge and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Turn on the stove top to melt the butter and sugar. Melt on medium heat. Stir until its all 1 color.
- Pour over the biscuits.
- Bake for about 30-40 minutes if it wasn’t refrigerated overnight. Bake a little longer if it started out cold. You can tell it’s done because it’ll be dark brown on top.
- Let sit for about 15 minutes (or longer) before flipping over on top of a plate. I dare you not to eat a piece! Or 5.
Jayme is a wife to 1 and a mother to three little boys (soon to be 4 this summer!). She coupons, but isn’t super extreme about it. She price matches and loves it! While she likes to cook, she’s in the stage of life where simple is usually better! She never knows how many hands she’ll have free at dinner time! You can find her at No Regrets Living
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What would you suggest if I don’t have a bundt pan?
I’ve actually made it in a bread loaf pan before — but you’ll want to cut the recipe in at least 1/2 because of the size difference. And it will take less time to bake – I’d check it starting at 15 minutes, then every 5 minutes after that.
Thank you Jayme, can always count on you to respond to comments- – love your site. Thanks again.
I have been making this for thirty years. I had no idea I could prep the night before! Thank you for that little tip! I sprinkle chopped pecans in the bottom of the pan. Yummy.
Sounds delicious!
I make Monkey Muffins. They only take 15-20 minutes to bake and they are pre-portioned. I also don’t make the buttery stuff. I dip each piece in butter before shaking it in the cinnamon sugar and they are plenty gooey and rich. This is a wiw-win for this mom.
Thanks for the idea on how to make it the night before.
As for the name, I heard it was originally called “Monkey See, Monkey Do” bread because you originally only take a few pieces, and as you keep seeing others take another piece, you always want just one more, and then someone else wants one more, and so on and so on.
I am wondering when I make them in muffin pans could I freeze the leftovers cuz I live on my own and not married yet and have no kids yet