Sweet Monkey Bread

And I thought the herb-parmesan bread monkey bread I made earlier the summer was good. Wow. Now, don't get me wrong that was really good. And I mean really good. But this monkey bread right here? It's gooder than good. It's the goodest stuff around. So good, I could eat it every day for breakfast with a cup of coffee. Nom on it as my afternoon snack. And then finish the day with a sweet bite as my dessert before bed. It's that good.

The brown sugar and butter caramelize in the oven, leaving the sweet and doughy pull-apart pieces engorged in a sweet and gooey caramel crust. And the glaze. Oh, the glaze. I mean really, cream cheese and sugar- can it get any better?

To describe this in one sentence: it's the best cinnamon bun you've ever had on the strongest steroids you can get, and then some.

Sweet Monkey Bread

For dough:

1 1/8 cups milk

1/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

4 cups flour

2 tsp. yeast

For coating:

4 tbs. melted butter

1 1/4 cups light brown sugar

1 tbs. cinnamon

For cream cheese glaze:

2 oz. block cream cheese

1/4 cup powdered sugar

3/4 tsp. vanilla

1 tbs. milk

Prepare dough on the dough cycle of your bread machine. Upon completion, grease a bundt pan and prepare one small bowl to hold the melted butter, and another small bowl to hold the combined sugar/cinnamon. Breaking off small sections of dough at a time, roll them into approximately 1 inch ball sizes and then dip in melted butter, followed by sugar. Arrange the coated balls in the bundt pan snugly. After all the dough has been used, drizzle any remaining butter/sprinkle any remaining sugar over the top. Cover with a towel and allow to rise for 1-1 1/2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350. When the dough has risen for the right amount of time (it should have risen to almost the top of the bundt pan) bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown and delicious smelling.* Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before placing on a serving platter with prepared glaze, below. Best when served warm :)

To prepare glaze, simply beat the cream cheese and vanilla until smooth. Add in the milk first followed by sugar. This makes a pretty thick glaze, how I like it, but you can always add more milk if you like it more "glaze-y."

*Also, it's a good idea to place the bundt pan on another baking dish as the caramelized brown sugar may seep through the pan.