This Cranberry Apple Pull-Apart Monkey Bread is the perfect easy make-ahead breakfast, brunch or dessert recipe for holiday entertaining. Its one of my go-to recipes during the crazy holiday season.
I totally feel like we’re in holiday overdrive around here. That’s not a
complaint exactly…everything that we’re doing has been super fun but, man, am I
tired. Plus I feel like the more I get done, the longer my holiday to-do list
seems to get and the tired-er? I am.
complaint exactly…everything that we’re doing has been super fun but, man, am I
tired. Plus I feel like the more I get done, the longer my holiday to-do list
seems to get and the tired-er? I am.
In the last week we’ve:
- Hosted a holiday potluck dinner for some of the families from JiT’s office
- Took Lilly to Macy’s Santaland to meet Santa. She was SO excited, right up
until it was time to sit on his lap. Cue the freak out.
- Developed, baked, refined and photographed (and ate and ate and ate) four batches of this incredible, ridiculously amazing pull-apart bread for PAM
- Started and finished all of our holiday shopping. Its done. Its mostly
here. It still needs to be wrapped. - Organized and lead the craft for Lillian’s playschool holiday party (super
easy cottonball snowflakes, if you’re looking for a fun
toddler activity, btw) - Shot photographs, ordered, received and mailed our holiday cards. OMG
Hallelujiah! (this is not the final card that’s in the mail since I didn’t want
to spoil it for those who get our snail mail, but it’s a close approximation)
Jeez, I’m tired just reading through that list, though I’m sure
everyone else has one that looks similar or longer. What is it about this time
of year that makes us all need to just do EVERYTHING? All of it! Now!
everyone else has one that looks similar or longer. What is it about this time
of year that makes us all need to just do EVERYTHING? All of it! Now!
The good news is, enormous mountain of unwrapped gifts aside, I
can almost see the light at the end of the proverbial holiday fun tunnel. We’re
celebrating with my family this year and its going to be intentionally low-key,
so once the weekend hits I think we’ll be able to relax a little and just focus
on being together, celebrating the season and eating too much.
can almost see the light at the end of the proverbial holiday fun tunnel. We’re
celebrating with my family this year and its going to be intentionally low-key,
so once the weekend hits I think we’ll be able to relax a little and just focus
on being together, celebrating the season and eating too much.
Speaking of eating, lets talk pull-apart bread. This is the recipe
I’ve been working on for PAM Baking Spray. When they approached me
about creating an easy-to-make holiday baking recipe this was the very first
thing that popped into my mind.
I’ve been working on for PAM Baking Spray. When they approached me
about creating an easy-to-make holiday baking recipe this was the very first
thing that popped into my mind.
Pull-apart bread (also known as “monkey bread” or “sticky bread”)
is actually a long-standing tradition in my family. When I was a child my mom
always, always ordered these amazing caramel pecan rolls from a local bakery as
part of our traditional Christmas Eve dinner. Then one year she completely
forgot to place the order until it was too late. So to make up for the mistake,
she tried her hand at making monkey bread using cans of refrigerated biscuit
dough as a base. The results were so incredibly delicious that we never ordered
the bakery rolls again.
is actually a long-standing tradition in my family. When I was a child my mom
always, always ordered these amazing caramel pecan rolls from a local bakery as
part of our traditional Christmas Eve dinner. Then one year she completely
forgot to place the order until it was too late. So to make up for the mistake,
she tried her hand at making monkey bread using cans of refrigerated biscuit
dough as a base. The results were so incredibly delicious that we never ordered
the bakery rolls again.
For my family, it’s not Christmas without pull-apart bread. If you’ve never had it, its basically pieces of biscuit dough that have been rolled in cinnamon sugar, then smothered in a buttery caramel sauce and baked in a fluted (bundt) pan. The result is gooey, sticky, decadent, cinnamon-caramel goodness.
It also seemed like the absolute perfect recipe for using PAM Baking Spray. The caramel is so sticky-gooey and it’s baked in a fluted pan that you need to flip onto a plate for presentation (no pressure there, PAM peeps). So you really, really want it to come out clean. And it did! Each batch I prepared came out perfectly with very little caramel residue left behind in the pan for cleanup.
The recipe my mom always makes is a simple caramel pecan version, but I wanted to make mine really special and different for the holidays. So instead of nuts, I studded my bread with festive-looking dried cranberries and pieces of apple. The apple pieces meld with the caramel sauce during baking to give every bite a really distinctive caramel apple flavor. Its SO good!
Keeping with my Mom’s tradition (and my vow to go easy on myself a bit this holiday season), I stuck with the store-bought biscuit dough, but if you really feel like going the extra mile, you could swap in homemade cinnamon roll dough. For me though, the beauty of this recipe is in its crowd-pleasing simplicity during a season that’s already jam-packed and overcomplicated.
As I said, my family expects pull-apart bread on Christmas Eve, but if you’re hosting overnight guests this is an absolutely perfect addition to a breakfast or brunch table (not to mention a dessert buffet).
No matter what you do to celebrate, I wish you a very Merry Christmas (and other holidays too!) from The Andexlers!
Cranberry Caramel Apple Pull-Apart Bread
Servings:12
servings
servings
INGREDIENTS:
PAM® Baking Spray
1 cup granny
smith apples (about 1 medium), peeled, cored and finely diced
smith apples (about 1 medium), peeled, cored and finely diced
1/4 cup dried
cranberries
cranberries
1/2 cup granulated
sugar
sugar
1 teaspoon ground
cinnamon
cinnamon
2 cans (16.3 oz each) refrigerated
buttermilk biscuit dough
buttermilk biscuit dough
1/2 cup
(1 stick) margarine
or butter
(1 stick) margarine
or butter
1 cup light
brown sugar
brown sugar
3 Tablespoons heavy
cream
cream
1/4 teaspoon ground
cinnamon
cinnamon
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray a 9.5 inch fluted pan with baking
spray. Set aside.
spray. Set aside.
2. Combine granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon in a large
(1-gallon), zip- top plastic food storage bag. Shake bag to mix and set aside.
(1-gallon), zip- top plastic food storage bag. Shake bag to mix and set aside.
3. Separate biscuit dough into pieces and cut each biscuit into
quarters. Working in batches, drop biscuit dough pieces into plastic bag, seal
top and shake to evenly coat dough in the cinnamon/sugar mixture.
quarters. Working in batches, drop biscuit dough pieces into plastic bag, seal
top and shake to evenly coat dough in the cinnamon/sugar mixture.
4. Sprinkle a thin layer of dried cranberries and apples in the
bottom of baking pan. Arrange a layer of biscuit dough pieces over top and
continue adding apple, cranberries and biscuit pieces until none remain.
Sprinkle any remaining cinnamon sugar mixture from the plastic bag over top of
the dough. Set pan aside.
bottom of baking pan. Arrange a layer of biscuit dough pieces over top and
continue adding apple, cranberries and biscuit pieces until none remain.
Sprinkle any remaining cinnamon sugar mixture from the plastic bag over top of
the dough. Set pan aside.
5. Place margarine or butter in a medium saucepan and melt over
medium heat. Add brown sugar and stir with a whisk until sugar dissolves.
Continue stirring mixture over medium heat until mixture begins to bubble and
thicken, about 5 minutes.
medium heat. Add brown sugar and stir with a whisk until sugar dissolves.
Continue stirring mixture over medium heat until mixture begins to bubble and
thicken, about 5 minutes.
6. Remove brown sugar mixture from heat and immediately add heavy
cream and ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon. Stir until caramel is smooth.
cream and ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon. Stir until caramel is smooth.
7. Pour caramel evenly over the top of the biscuit pieces.
8. Place prepared pan on a rimmed cookie sheet or pizza pan then bake
in the center of oven for 40 minutes or until golden brown and no longer doughy
in the center.
in the center of oven for 40 minutes or until golden brown and no longer doughy
in the center.
9. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Turn upside down onto serving platter.
Serve warm.
Serve warm.
Note: PAM Baking is a freelance client. I receive compensation from them as a consultant but all of the thoughts and opinions included in this post are my own.
