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A monkey bread muffin with simple icing drizzled on top.

Monkey Bread Muffins

Chewy, sweet, and fun to eat, these Monkey Bread Muffins are a huge treat. A twist of the classic monkey bread that’s made by baking pieces of sweetened dough together in a Bundt pan, this recipe calls for baking in muffin tins so you get decadent individual servings of this easy monkey bread.

A pan of monkey bread muffins frosted and ready to eat.

Why I Love This Monkey Bread Muffins Recipe

What’s not to love about this sticky, sweet, and fun-to-eat homemade monkey bread recipe? Pulling apart the soft and chewy, cinnamon-sugar-sweetened dough is loads of fun and absolutely delicious. Though it may look like there are many steps to preparing these muffins, they come together easily, like other yeasted recipes, so don’t be put off.

Baking the monkey bread in a muffin tray helps me control the amount my kids eat. I dole out one monkey bread muffin per sitting and that’s it. Sometimes I’ll freeze half the batch so we aren’t tempted to eat more than one at a sitting as the muffins freeze well. This also gives us the chance to enjoy the monkey bread another time without going through the whole process of baking them from scratch.

Why Do They Call It Monkey Bread

I was curious how monkey bread got its name so I did some research. Turns out there are a few theories as to how monkey bread got its name. Some say it is because we eat this bread with our hands, some say because it resembles the monkey puzzle tree, and some say it is called such as we eat it with our hands which is how monkeys would eat it. Regardless of where the name actually came from, monkey bread just tastes great.

Tools I Recommend

For this monkey bread muffin recipe I find the following tools quite handy (Amazon affiliate links):

Tips For Making Cinnamon Sugar Monkey Bread Muffins

Use room temperature eggs and butter – Room temperature eggs will bind easier and the butter will blend easier giving your muffins a more cohesive dough and better texture.

Lightly grease the muffin tin – Spray the muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray or coat lightly with butter so the monkey bread muffins don’t stick.

Measure the flour accurately – Scoop the flour into the measuring cup and then level it off with a knife so you get the exact amount required.

Make sure the water is warm – You don’t want hot warm, just slightly warm to the touch is fine.

Before you begin to prepare the muffins – Pull out all the monkey bread ingredients to make sure you have everything you need.

Ingredients for Cinnamon Sugar Monkey Bread Muffins

  • Water: You’ll need warm water. You can microwave the water so it’s warm to the touch.
  • Sugar:  I prefer white granulated sugar to sweeten the dough instead of brown sugar.
  • Active dry yeast: You’ll need to use 1 packet of active dry yeast to get the dough to rise.
  • Egg: Any type of egg will work to help bind the dough.
  • Flour: You’ll need all-purpose flour for these muffins.
  • Salt: A pinch of salt helps bring out the flavor.
  • Butter: I used softened butter to add richness to the dough.

Cinnamon Sugar Coating

  • Brown sugar: Light or dark brown sugar, packed, will both work for the coating.
  • Cinnamon: Use good quality ground cinnamon for the best flavor.

Simple Icing

  • Powdered sugar: Also known as confectioner’s sugar, this is what gives the icing its texture and sweetness.
  • Milk: Use whatever milk you have on hand to create a smooth and creamy icing.

How To Make Monkey Bread Muffins

Activate the yeast

  • Whisk together half of the warmed water, granulated sugar, and the active dry yeast and let it sit until the yeast blooms, and becomes activated.

Mix the dough

  • Whisk the active yeast mixture, the remaining water, and the egg until fully combined.
  • Sift the all-purpose flour and salt into the mixture, stirring just until a shaggy dough forms.
  • Work in the butter by hand or with a stand mixer. Once it is fully incorporated, knead the dough using a dough hook attachment or by hand for about 5 minutes.

First rise

  • Transfer the dough to a greased bowl, cover it with a damp cloth or kitchen towel, and let it rise at a temperature of around 70°F (21°C) for 1 hour, or until it has doubled in size.

Make the muffins

  • Turn the dough out onto a clean dry work surface and use a bench scraper or non-serrated knife to cut it into 1″ sized pieces. You do not need to be exact, some variation in size is fine.
  • Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and generously coat each dough ball with this cinnamon sugar mixture.
  • Drop the coated balls into the lightly greased muffin cups. Loosely but evenly distribute about 5-8 pieces per muffin cup. Don’t overthink this step and squeeze too much dough into each cup. Too much will cause the dough to become overcrowded after the second rise, which will lead to muffins that are difficult to pull apart.

Second Rise

  • Cover the muffin tins with a kitchen towel and let the dough rise at a temperature of around 70°F (21°C) for 30 minutes, or until they become visibly poofy.

Bake and Frost

  • Preheat your oven to 350°F(175°C). Once preheated, place your muffin tin on the lower center rack and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
  • While your muffins bake, whisk together the ingredients for the simple icing.
  • Once out of the oven, allow your monkey bread muffins to cool for 10 minutes before removing them from the tray and transferring them to a cooling rack. Drizzle the tops of your muffins with the simple icing before serving.

Variations of this Monkey Bread Muffins Recipe

Though these muffins are decadent the way they are here are a few things you can add to change them up a bit:

  • Stir in some nuts: Sprinkle chopped nuts into the dough before the first rise. Or, for a nut-free option, use chopped seeds.
  • Use cocoa powder: Opt for cocoa powder instead of cinnamon or mix in chocolate chips or pieces of your favorite chocolate bar, chopped.
  • Change up the icing: Dust the muffins with a sprinkling of powdered sugar instead of the glaze. Or sweeten up the icing and add a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Or go all out and make a cream cheese frosting.
  • Try biscuit dough: You can use refrigerated store bought biscuit dough if you don’t have time to make your own monkey bread muffins from scratch.
  • Use muffin liners: If you don’t want to grease the muffin pan place a muffin liner in each muffin cup instead.
Monkey bread muffins with simple icing.

FAQs

What are monkey bread muffins?

Monkey bread muffins are muffins that pull apart, like monkey bread.

Does monkey bread have to be refrigerated?
Monkey bread does not need to be refrigerated.

How to Store Monkey Bread Muffins

Let the pull apart monkey bread muffins come to room temperature and then transfer them to an airtight container. Depending on the time of year I’ll store them on the counter or in the fridge. If it’s hot and humid the muffins will keep better in the fridge than on the counter. You can eat the monkey bread muffins straight from the fridge, at room temperature or warm. Place in the microwave for a few seconds to warm slightly.

Freeze leftovers for up to 3 months and thaw them on the kitchen counter until they are soft enough to eat.

More Muffins To Try

A pan of monkey bread muffins frosted and ready to eat.

Monkey Bread Muffins

Recipe by Samantha Citro
0.0 from 0 votes
Course: Dessert, BrunchCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Medium
Servings

18

servings
Cooking time

20

minutes
Total time

2

hours 

Chewy, sweet, and fun to eat! Monkey Bread Muffins are baked in muffin tins so you get individual servings of classic monkey bread.

Ingredients

  • Monkey Bread Dough
  • 1 cup warm water

  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar

  • 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (1 packet)

  • 1 large egg

  • 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

  • 1/2 tsp salt

  • 8 tbs butter, softened

  • Cinnamon Sugar Coating
  • 1 cup brown sugar, packed

  • 1/2 tbs ground cinnamon

  • Simple Icing
  • 1 cup powdered sugar

  • 2 tbs milk

Directions

  • Activate the Yeast
  • In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup warmed water, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, and 2 1/4 tsps of active dry yeast. Let the mixture sit for about 15 minutes, or until the yeast blooms, and becomes bubbly and activated.
  • Mix the Dough
  • In a large mixing bowl whisk together the active yeast mixture, the remaining 1/2 cup water, and one large egg until they are fully combined.
  • Sift the 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour and 1/2 tsp of salt into the mixture, stirring just until a shaggy dough forms.
  • Work in the 8 tbs of room temperature butter by hand or with a stand mixer. Once the butter is fully incorporated, knead the dough on medium speed using a dough hook attachment, or knead it by hand, for approximately 5 minutes.
  • First Rise
  • Transfer the dough to a greased bowl, and cover it with a damp cloth or kitchen towel. Let the dough rise at a temperature of around 70°F (21°C) for 1 hour, or until it has doubled in size.
  • Make the Muffins
  • Turn the dough out onto a clean dry work surface. Using a bench scraper or non-serrated knife, cut the dough into 1″ sized pieces. You do not need to be exact when cutting and some variation in size is expected.
  • In a small mixing bowl stir together the brown sugar and cinnamon. Take each ball of dough and generously coat it in by gently squeezing it in your hand with some of the brown sugar mixture.
  • Drop the coated balls of dough into a lightly greased muffin tin. Loosely but evenly distribute about 5-8 pieces per cup. Don’t over think this step and try to Tetris them into the pan. This will cause the dough to become packed and over crowded after second rise, resulting in muffins that are difficult to pull apart.
  • Second Rise
  • Cover the muffin tins with a kitchen towel and let them rise at a temperature of around 70°F (21°C) for 30 minutes, or until they become visibly poofy.
  • Bake and Frost
  • Preheat your oven to 350°F(175°C). Once preheated, place your tins on the lower center rack and bake for 20 minutes.
  • While your muffins bake, whisk together 1 cup powdered sugar and 2 tbs milk in a small bowl to make the frosting.
  • Once out of the oven, allow your monkey bread muffins to cool for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Drizzle the tops of your muffins with the simple icing before serving.

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