Cream Cheese Monkey Bread
I had been thinking about doing a twist on good ol' gooey and delicious monkey bread. But what could possibly make monkey bread any better than it is? Then it occurred to me. CREAM CHEESE! It makes everything better, right? A few months after I had that thought, I saw in a magazine that someone had my same idea. I figured I had better hurry up and make it myself, so here we go!
I had been thinking about doing a twist on good ol' gooey and delicious monkey bread. But what could possibly make monkey bread any better than it is? Then it occurred to me. CREAM CHEESE! It makes everything better, right? A few months after I had that thought, I saw in a magazine that someone had my same idea. I figured I had better hurry up and make it myself, so here we go!
- Carbohydrate 259.533006686782 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 0.193440000309504 g
- Fiber 8.28359977521665 g
- Protein 0.801640000995904 g
- Saturated Fat 0.053820000086112 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Recipe (265g)
- Sodium 43.3733333358293 mg
- Sugar 251.249406911565 g
- Trans Fat 0.0906360001450176 g
- Calories 995 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 12-cup bundt pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine: 2/3 cup dark brown sugar 2/3 cup granulated sugar 1 tablespoon cinnamon Set aside.
- Cut 20 cubes into an 8-ounce block of cream cheese.
- Slice 10 discs of dough from each of two 12-ounce tubes of refrigerated flaky buttermilk biscuits. You will have 20 total dough discs. Set the discs on a flat surface and place one cube of cream cheese into the center of each piece of dough.
- Wrap the edges of the dough up and around each cube of cream cheese.
- Melt 3/4 cup of butter in a small bowl in the microwave. Set aside.
- Place 10 of the dough-wrapped cream cheese cubes, cheese-side-up, into the bottom of the prepared pan.
- Top with half of the sugar-cinnamon mixture and half of the melted butter.
- Top with the remaining dough-wrapped cream cheese cubes, cheese-side-down, and the remaining sugar mixture and butter.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes. Invert onto a serving platter and serve warm! Cover and refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days.
Operating without a standard bundt pan presents a serious geometry problem for pull-apart pastries, requiring a direct shift to a heavy-duty tube pan that maintains even heat distribution across the 12-cup capacity. Refrigerated dough behaves unpredictably if subjected to extreme temperature swings, meaning the cream cheese must remain chilled during the wrapping phase to prevent structural blowouts in the oven. Dusting the interior surfaces thoroughly with non-stick cooking spray ensures clean release when inverted at 350 degrees.
Storage and Freezing Protocols
Baked pastries containing dairy fillings require strict temperature control to prevent spoilage and maintain textural integrity. Leftovers tolerate refrigeration for up to three days when sealed inside an airtight container. Freezing the assembled, unbaked pan requires wrapping tightly in plastic wrap for up to one month, followed by an overnight thaw in the refrigerator before baking. Microwaving individual portions for 20 seconds restores softness without liquefying the interior cheese pocket.
- Dough leaking filling: Ensure the edges are pinched completely closed around the cream cheese cube before layering.
- Uneven browning: Rotate the pan halfway through the 40-minute bake time if the oven has localized hot spots.
- Soggy crust: Let the inverted pan rest for exactly 5 minutes before lifting it away to release trapped steam.
