Monkey Bread

Okay I'll admit, I still get ridiculously excited on Christmas morning and tend to wake up at 6:30 or 7am to go open my stocking with my brother. Maybe slightly embarrassing, but hey, I'm not sure if the Christmas morning magic ever fades. My dad lights a fire in the fireplace, we turn the tree lights on, and take our sweet time enjoying each and every present we unwrap. 

Our beautiful Christmas tree!

Christmas loot

Continuing with the theme of tradition in the last post, our holiday breakfast tradition is to make monkey bread- a delicious twist on traditional cinnamon rolls. Of course we're all in a sugar coma by lunch time, but it's totally worth it. Again, we had never tried making this vegan before, but my mom and I made a few adjustments and everyone agreed it was actually the best we had ever made!

Monkey Bread with Caramel Glaze (adapted from the Martha Stewart Holiday Magazine 2002)

Bread:
1/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup granulated sugar, plus a pinch for the yeast
1 package yeast
2 tbsp earth balance
3/4 cup soy milk, warmed
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup applesauce or 1 egg replacer
3 1/4 cups flour

Coating:
1/2 cup earth balance, melted
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

Caramel Glaze
1/2 cup brown sugar
5 tbsp earth balance
6 tbsp soy milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar

1. Put the warm water and a pinch of sugar in a small bowl and sprinkle the yeast over the top. Stir and let it sit for about 5 minutes.
2. Place the earth balance, warmed soy milk, salt and applesauce in a large bowl. Grease a medium bowl.
3. Once the yeast is foamy, add it to the bowl and mix well. Slowly add the flour and knead for 5 minutes. Put the dough in the greased bowl, cover with plastic and let it rise for 20 minutes.
4. To make the coating, pour the melted butter in a bowl and combine the cinnamon and sugar in another. Grease a bundt pan.

5. Divide the dough into 4 sections and roll each section into a long rope, about 1/2" thick or less. Cut the ropes into tiny pieces and roll them into balls. Dip each piece first in the butter, then coat it in cinnamon sugar and place in the bundt pan. Repeat until all the dough is used up.

6. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for about an hour. 
7. Preheat the oven to 350º and bake bread for 30 to 35 minutes. Let it cool for 15 minutes in the pan before turning it onto a plate.
8. Make the caramel glaze by combining the brown sugar, 2 tbsp of earth balance and 2 tbsp of soy milk in a sauce pan. Cook over low heat until dissolved, then cover and cook for 3 more minutes. Take the cover off and let it simmer without stirring. 
9. Turn of the heat then stir in the remaining ingredients. Drizzle it over the monkey bread right before serving. 

It's a little labor intensive, but can be really fun if you get family and friends involved in rolling up the dough balls. I guarantee this bread will give you a great reason to wake up in the morning, even if it's not Christmas!

This post was featured on Sweets for a Saturday!