I have no idea why they call it monkey bread.  What do monkeys have to do with biscuits and cinnamon and sugar?  It doesn’t make sense.  I’m sure there’s some reason for it, though.  Maybe you intrepid Internet monkeys can figure it out (see what I did there?).  If you’ve never had monkey bread, you’re probably living under a rock you might not recognize the concept immediately.  It’s basically little chunks of dough tumbled into a bundt pan with cinnamon and sugar and butter to make a gooey, sticky unit that you pull apart to eat.  Kind of like a commune for donut holes.

I found this recipe over on Dine and Dish when I wasn’t even looking for monkey bread.  I haven’t made it in years — actually, I only made it once, when Don begged me to, early in our relationship, and it came out terribly so I haven’t made it since.  Man, am I glad I gave it another try.  Don gave me a dubious look when I announced what I was making, and made a few scornful noises.  He even let it sit for a while after it came out of the oven without trying it.  But then, after one of his interminable Stargate episodes ended, he wandered into the kitchen and popped a chunk of it into his mouth.  When I came into the kitchen a few minutes later, a quarter of it was gone and he told me it was the second-best dessert I’d ever made (nothing tops Grandma Sylvia’s lemon bars, ever).

It’s not just dessert, either — for the last two days I’ve cut a big hunk of it off and popped it in a tupperware to take to work in the morning.  Microwaved for thirty seconds in the break room, it’s a fantastic breakfast, although I have to eat it with a fork so I don’t get the company-owned computer all sticky.

Monkey Bread

3 cans “homestyle” buttermilk biscuits
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup margarine*
1 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a bundt pan or other tube pan.

Mix sugar and cinnamon in a large plastic freezer bag.  Cut each biscuit into fourths and drop into bag.  Shake thoroughly, making sure each biscuit chunk is coated in cinnamon sugar.   Layer into greased bundt pan (my interpretation of “layer”: dump carefully).

Meanwhile, heat margarine and brown sugar in a saucepan and boil for one minute.  Pour over biscuits in bundt pan.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes and let stand 10 minutes before removing from pan.  Burn your fingers trying to sneak a taste while it’s cooling.

*Sorry, Mom!  Avert your eyes.