Easy to make, warm and gooey, chai spiced monkey bread muffins! Full of cinnamon, ginger, and cardamon. Grab a can of biscuits and make these cozy treats for a sweet breakfast or brunch.
Monkey bread is something I feel like I had all the time when I was in elementary school. We made it during our after school programs, for class parties, about it for the longest time before it started showing up everywhere in my Pinterest feed. Whatever algorithm led to the platform believing I had a sudden interest in monkey bread…not quite sure. However, it did result in me being inspired to go buy a can of biscuits at the store and make it again.
So what is monkey bread? It’s a sweet, gooey, pull apart dessert. You take little doughs off ball, dip them in cinnamon and sugar, pile them into a pan and bake until browned and melty. Traditionally, it’s made with cinnamon and brown sugar, but these monkey bread muffins are elevated from the original with aromatic chair spices. It’s late October right now, starting to really get chilly in Chicago, which means perfect time for some cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger.
For today’s history lesson, monkey bread is actually a variation of the Hungarian dessert arany galuska, which was introduced to America by immigrants. Thanks to Betty Crocker including it in a cookbook, it became more widespread and eventually gained the name “monkey bread”.
How to Make Monkey Bread Muffins
These monkey bread muffins are simple to make. For equipment, you will need a muffin pan and a small nonstick pot.
For ingredients, you’ll need:
- One can of store-bought refrigerated biscuits. This is the easy and shortcut way to make monkey bread. I have a big soft spot in my heart for Pillsbury buttery biscuits. Maybe some other time I’ll make homemade monkey bread dough though!
- White Sugar and Spices: ground cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cardamom, salt, and a pinch of pepper.
- Butter, brown sugar, and vanilla, to make a gooey caramel sauce to pour over the muffins before you bake them.
- Powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla for an optional glaze.
To Make the Muffins:
Step 1: Cut the dough (left)
Cut each biscuit into 6 pieces. Start by making a cut down the middle, then cutting each half into three triangles. Think of it as if you were cutting a pizza into six slices.
Step 2: Toss with spices and press into the pan (middle)
Mix the sugar and spices into a large gallon-sized bag, then toss in the biscuit pieces and shake the bag vigorously to coat them evenly. You’ll then press 6 biscuit pieces into each well of a prepared muffin pan.
Step 3: Make the caramel (right)
Heat the butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and a touch of water in a small pot until it is bubbling and sugar is dissolved, stirring occasionally. Keep a close eye on it so that the caramel doesn’t burn. The whole process takes around 3-5 minutes. Spoon some of this caramel onto each muffin before baking.
Step 4: Bake and enjoy
Bake the muffins for 12-15 minutes, or until they just start turning golden brown. Make sure not to overbake them! They’ll continue cooking a bit as they cool. Let them sit for a few minutes in the muffin pans before you pull them out and top with the optional glaze. Oh, and they’re best enjoyed warm!
Store leftovers in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days, or up to 5 days in the fridge. Make sure to warm them up before eating!
Did you Make This Recipe?
If so, I’d love to hear from you! Feel free to leave a comment or rating. Or, take a picture and share it with me on Instagram. You can send it to me, or tag @toppedwithhoney. Looking forward to seeing your gooey monkey bread muffins!
Chai Spiced Monkey Bread Muffins
Equipment
- Muffin Tin
Ingredients
Muffins
- 1 can store bought biscuits, such as Pillsbury
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp allspice
- ¼ tsp cardamom
- pinch of pepper
Caramel
- 3 tbsp butter
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp water
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Icing
- ½ Cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 Tsp milk, any kind
- ½ Tsp vanilla
Instructions
Make the Muffins
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and prepare 8 muffin tins by either lining them or spraying with nonstick spray.
- Open up your can of biscuits and cut each into 6 pieces. The best way is to first cut them in half, and then cut each half into 3 equal sized triangles.
- Combine the white sugar, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cardamom, and pepper into a large gallon-sized ziploc bag. Add the biscuit pieces, seal up the bag, and shake to coat all the pieces evenly with the chai spiced sugar mixture. You could also do this in a large bowl and use your hands to toss in the biscuit pieces.
- Place 6 biscuit pieces into each prepared muffin tin.
- Make a caramel sauce for the muffins. In a small pot, add the butter, sugar, and water and melt them all together on medium heat until gently bubbling. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally until the sugar is completely dissolved. Then, remove it from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
- Spoon 2 tsp of the caramel sauce on top of each muffin. You may have some leftover, which you could save for drizzling on top later.
- Bake them for 12-15 minutes, or until the tops are just golden brown. Then, remove them from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes to set before removing them from the pan.
Make the Icing (Optional)
- Whisk the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla together in a small bowl until smooth. Add as much milk as is needed to get the icing to a viscous but still drizzly consistency.
- Spoon the icing on top of the muffins and enjoy!
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