We have monkey bread for every holiday brunch in our family. It’s not especially gourmet, I know — it’s made with canned biscuits for heaven’s sake — but it’s tradition and we inhale it.
With Easter coming up, I’ve been tinkering with a “springlike” version of traditional monkey bread. This one is lemon-scented and layered with a tangy lemon cream cheese mixture, then glazed with a tart lemon glaze. It’s so beautiful to look at, but even better to taste. It would be a lovely addition to any Easter brunch!
Ingredients
Make sure the pudding mix is not instant. You want the old-fashioned stuff here, and only the smaller-sized box.
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
1 box (4-serving size) lemon pudding and pie filling mix (not instant)
4 cans (7.5 oz each) Pillsbury® refrigerated biscuits
1/2 cup butter, melted
Filling:
1/2 cup reduced fat cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Lemon glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
Heat oven to 350°F. Generously spray 12-cup fluted tube cake pan with cooking spray.
In large bowl, stir together brown sugar, lemon peel and pudding mix.
Separate dough and cut each biscuit into quarters.
Use an electric mixer to combine filling ingredients.
Dip each biscuit piece in melted butter then coat with the brown sugar mixture; place in pan. Fill pan halfway with biscuits.
When pan is half full, drop filling in dollops over biscuit pieces. Spread evenly. Finish filling pan with remaining biscuit pieces (dipped and rolled in sugar mixture). Pour any extra butter and brown sugar mixture over the top.
Bake about 40 minutes or until golden brown and no longer doughy in center. (Cover the top with foil if the edges are getting too brown.) Cool in pan 10 minutes. Place serving plate upside down over pan; turn plate and pan over. Remove pan.
In small bowl, stir together powdered sugar and enough lemon juice until smooth and drizzling consistency. Drizzle glaze over warm monkey bread. Serve warm; pull apart to serve. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.
https://sugarmamacooks.com/lemon-cream-cheese-monkey-bread/
This is possibly the best Monkey Bread of them all! My 9 year old Granddaughter and I made it for her Mommy this morning. I did reduce it to 3 cans of biscuits and it was wonderful! Everyone at the table raved about it. Thank you!!!