Monkey bread was the main dish of our Easter breakfast this year. I should really make it more often!
Monkey bread, also known as pull-apart bread, is a simple baked sweet dough recipe. Small bites of dough are coated in butter, cinnamon, and sugar. They then layered in a bundt pan. Once baked, the dough balls puff and are held together by the sugar, cinnamon, and butter that has turned into a gooey sauce!
The name “monkey bread” has unknown origins for sure, but there are some speculations. Because it is meant to be eaten with your hands, picking apart this bread is similar to how a monkey would handle its food. Some say that once baked, the monkey bread resembles the zig-zag bark pattern of the monkey puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana or Chilean pine).
Monkey bread most likely relates back to Hungarian immigrants who brought to America in the late 1800s a similar dish called “arany galuska” (or golden dumpling.)
Nancy Reagan served monkey bread at Christmas time in the White House during the presidency of her husband, Ronald.
To me, it was like a giant pull-apart sticky bun. Here is our recipe that we used:
The Pink Lily Pad and Two Tadpoles 