Kids Love Monkey Bread

As the Christmas holidays and our winter season begin, a nice warm yummy treat to share creates fun and memories. One of my favorite activities for those cold dark afternoons of winter is to whip up a batch of Monkey Bread with my favorite group of monkeys, who affectionately call me Momma Monkey or Ms. Monkey, as the case may be.

Since I made my first batch of monkey bread with my siblings back in the mid-1960's, with all five of us and some of the neighbors giving a hand (which is why I've always loved the name), I've baked various versions of this bread. It is an easy treat to get ready the night before a Saturday or Sunday morning breakfast. Perfect for the holidays or sleepovers. I've made it with homemade bread dough, frozen bread dough and canned biscuits. The results vary, but one effect remains constant--the pride and sense of belonging children feel in preparing a dish that everyone shares and enjoys.

It's worth cleaning up the sugar off the floor.

Cinnamon Monkey Bread

• Bread dough (enough for two loaves)
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3 tsp. Cinnamon
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 stick butter

Allow bread dough to rise (if using frozen dough, use 2 one-pound loaves and thaw overnight in fridge). Pull bread apart into chunks and roll into balls, about one inch in diameter. Combine white sugar and cinnamon. Roll dough balls in sugar mixture. Stack rolled dough balls in a bundt pan. Melt butter and brown sugar until boiling. Pour mixture over dough balls in bundt pan.

Cover with plastic, and allow dough to rise again to the top of the bundt pan.* Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Turn baked monkey bread onto a plate, and enjoy the ooey-gooey.

*Note: Once bread has risen again, it may be refrigerated overnight and baked in the morning if you desire a fresh-from-the-oven monkey bread breakfast.

Searching for recipes recently, I came across a Garlic Parmesan Monkey Bread that works for dinner or brunch.

Garlic Parmesan Monkey Bread

• 2 (one pound) loaves of frozen bread dough, thawed
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped green onions
• 3 tablespoons parsley
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 5 tablespoons butter

Pull bread apart into chunks and roll into balls, about one inch in diameter. Combine Parmesan cheese, green onions, parsley and garlic powder. Roll balls in cheese and herb mixture and stack into bundt pan. Melt butter, add any left over cheese mixture and pour over bread.

Cover with plastic, and allow dough to rise again to the top of the bundt pan.* Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Turn baked bread onto plate, and enjoy with dinner or brunch.

Enjoy! Here's wishing you a holiday season full of wonderful and delicious memories.

Kids Talk™ is a column dealing with early childhood development issues written by Maren Stark Schmidt. Mrs. Schmidt founded a Montessori school and holds a Masters of Education from Loyola College in Maryland.

She has over 25 years experience working with young children and holds teaching credentials from the Association Montessori Internationale. She is also Creative Director for a video-based reading series for children ages three to six, The Shining Light Reading Series. Contact her via e-mail at maren@shininglightreading.com.

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