Easy Pumpkin Monkey Bread
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Pumpkin Monkey Bread is a whole new level. Who doesn’t love monkey bread? It’s sweet, it’s gooey, and it involves sticky fingers. What could be better? This pumpkin version of the classic recipe is just as tasty as the original, but with a fun autumn twist! Pumpkin and spice! The result is warm, spiced sweetness in every bite.
Monkey bread is a sweet, sticky cake that is made with a yeast dough. The dough is then pulled apart into pieces and baked in a Bundt pan (or other vessel) with a gooey, sticky, and sweet melted butter or brown sugar glaze. Monkey bread is a great dessert for large gatherings because it can be made ahead of time and baked as needed. It is best served warm, fresh out of the oven.
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Why You Will Love Pumpkin Monkey Bread
- Pumpkin Monkey Bread is such a fun sweet treat.
- Perfect dessert to let the kiddos help make. They will love getting their little fingers into that dough, shaping the balls, dipping in melted butter and rolling in cinnamon sugar.
- Makes a great dessert to serve company or take along when visiting family or friends.
- Freezes and stores well.
- Best of all, TASTES AMAZING!
Ingredients to make Spicy Pumpkin Pull-apart Monkey Bread
- Warm Water
- Dry Yeast – Make sure your yeast is fresh and not dated.
- Granulated Sugar
- Flour – Use all-purpose
- Milk
- Egg
- Butter – I always recommend using real butter and not margarine.
- Pumpkin Extract – You cannot always find this extract in your grocery but you can get Pumpkin Extract on Amazon. You could also substitute vanilla extract and the Monkey Bread will still be very good due to the spices added.
- Brown Sugar – I use light brown sugar.
- Cinnamon Spice
- Pumpkin Spice
- Cream Cheese – Use the block, full-fat version.
- Powdered Sugar
Substitutions or Additions
- Add some chopped nuts into the sugar coating.
- Change up the extracts. Try maple, caramel or rum extract.
- Add some coconut flakes to the brown sugar coating.
- Throw in some raisins, dried cranberries or chopped dried apples to the dough.
How to Make Homemade Pumpkin Monkey Bread (Full instructions in recipe card below)
- Mix yeast and sugar, let sit until bubbly.
- Stir in one cup of the flour, milk, egg, ⅓ c. granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons butter, and the pumpkin extract. Mix in thoroughly, then add the remainder of the flour and knead until the dough forms a ball. Dough will be soft. Grease a large bowl and place the dough ball into it. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise in a warm area for 40-minutes.
- Punch down dough and form dough balls.
- Combine brown sugar, pumpkin spice and cinnamon in small bowl.
- Dip each dough ball in melted butter then roll in sugar mixture. Arrange in greased bundt pan, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise.
- Bake in preheated oven until browned, about 30 minutes.
- Remove from pan and cool for about 10 minutes.
- Mix icing ingredients and drizzle over top of the Monkey Bread.
How to Store or Freeze Monkey Bread
Pumpkin Monkey Bread can be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for about 5 days. You can warm in the microwave before serving if you like. Just use short time increments until the bread is slighlty warm.
Pull-apart Monkey Bread can be stored in the freezer for up to three months in a tightly closed container. When you want to serve, remove from freezer and allow to thaw on counter, then reheat in microwave if desired.
Pumpkin Monkey Bread
Equipment
- bundt pan
Ingredients
Monkey Bread
- ⅓ cup warm water
- 2 envelopes dry yeast (¼ oz. envelopes)
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 3½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup milk (warm)
- 1 large egg (room temperature)
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoon butter (melted)
- ¾ teaspoon pumpkin extract
- ⅔ cup butter (melted)
- 1½ cups brown sugar (packed)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon spice
- ¼ teaspoon ground pumpkin spice
Icing
- 8 ounces cream cheese (softened)
- ¾ teaspoon pumpkin or vanilla extract
- 2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
Monkey Bread
- Spray bundt pan with a non-stick cooking spray.
- Pour the warm water into a large bowl. Add in the 1 tsp. sugar and 2 packages of dry yeast. Stir until combined. Let sit until frothy. This should take approx. 5-7 minutes.
- Stir in one cup of the flour, milk, egg, ⅓ c. granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons butter, and the pumpkin extract. Mix in thoroughly, then add the remainder of the flour and knead until the dough forms a ball. Dough will be soft. Grease a large bowl and place the dough ball into it. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise in a warm area for 40-minutes.
- Punch dough down and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.
- Form dough into balls about the size of walnuts or smaller if you pefer .smaller bites.
- Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and pumpkin spice in a small bowl.
- Dip each dough ball into the melted butter, then roll in the sugar mixture until well-coated. Place dough balls, evenly in the prepared pan, stacking on top of each other as needed. Cover pan with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled (about 40-minutes.)
- Bake in a 350° preheated oven for approx. 30 minutes or until browned.
- Turn pan upside down over a serving platter to remove monkey bread. Allow to cool for about 10-12 minutes. At this point you can serve as-is or drizzle with icing.
Icing
- Using an electric mixer, combine cream cheese and extract until smooth and creamy.
- Add 1½ cups of the powdered sugar, mixing thoroughly. Depending on consistency, you can now add the remaining powdered sugar if you need it thicker. Icing should be a drizzle consistency. If the icing appears too stiff, you can add small amounts of milk until it reaches the desired consistency.
Nutrition
Can I use frozen bread dough for Pumpkin Monkey Bread?
Yes, simply thaw the dough, then follow the recipe from that point to rise dough, dip in butter, coat with cinnamon sugar and bake.
What can I substitute for pumpkin pie spice?
Simply mix together 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon each of ginger, cloves and nutmeg. This will make a little more than you need for this recipe.
What pan can I use to bake Monkey Bread if I don’t have a bundt pan?
Use a 13x 9 inch cake pan or a loaf pan.
If You Love This Recipe Please Comment and Check Out these Other Recipes
- Maple Cinnamon Rolls
- Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins Moist and Easy
- Soft Pumpkin Spice Cookies With Cream Cheese Frosting
