Monkey Bread with cream cheese hiding inside! Stuffing the dough with gooey-ness makes a delicious treat. Prepare to WOW your guests!
Why This Recipe Works
I’m certain there is not a soul on the planet who doesn’t love monkey bread. People trip over themselves just to get to the plate before everyone else.
A few years ago I had the delicious thought to combine two of my favorite food in the same recipe: cream cheese and monkey bread. That was the day this delicious little recipe was born.
Monkey bread is the perfect recipe for breakfast gatherings or brunches or even dessert. It’s always the first thing to go because of its addicting qualities.
Imagine your guests’ surprised faces when they bite into a chunk of monkey bread only to taste that there is gooey cream cheese surprise waiting in the middle! It’s a little piece of heaven!
How To Make Monkey Bread With Cream Cheese
Step 1
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 12-cup bundt pan with cooking spray and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine 2/3 cup each of dark brown sugar and granulated sugar and cinnamon. Mix well.
Melt 3/4 cup salted butter in the microwave.
Step 2
You’ll start with an 8-oz. package of cream cheese and two 12-ounce tubes refrigerated flaky buttermilk biscuits. Use a sharp knife to cut the cream cheese into 20 same-size pieces.
Slice 10 discs of biscuit dough from each tube of biscuits.
Set the discs onto a flat surface and set one cube of cream cheese in the center of each piece of dough. Wrap the edges of the dough up and around the cheese so all that is visible is the top side of cream cheese cube.
Place 10 cheese-stuffed pieces of dough, cheese-side-up, into bottom of the prepared pan.
Step 3
Top with half of the sugar cinnamon mixture and half of the melted butter. Top with the remaining dough pieces, cheese-side-down, the remaining sugar and remaining butter.
Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes or until golden brown. Invert onto a serving platter and serve.
Recipe Notes
- Buy full-fat cream cheese and don’t skimp! Super cheap blocks of cream cheese do not melt as well as ones that cost just a little bit more.
- It is definitely ok to use a different variety of biscuit dough. I love the flavor and flakiness of the flaky buttermilk biscuits, but the monkey bread will still taste great if a different variety is used.
- Light brown sugar can replace dark brown sugar without much flavor altering. The dark brown variety adds a nice rich depth to the sugars.
- To tell if the monkey bread is done, the top pieces should be uniformly golden brown. Gently remove a piece from the center. If the dough is fully cooked, the recipe is done baking!
How To Make Monkey Bread Without a Bundt Pan
The rounded corners of the bundt pan will allow for uniform baking, but if you don’t have a bundt pan a tube pan or angel food cake pan will work. If you don’t have any of these pans, a 9×9 or 9×13 pan will work, too!
Place the dough as evenly as possible in a layer in the pan and start checking for signs that the bread is done when it has been in the oven for 30 minutes.
Here’s another little trick. If you have a spring form pan (typically used to bake cheesecake) or a large round cake pan (9 inches), place an empty can in the center, surround it with the dough and bake!
FAQ About Monkey Bread
Monkey bread is a bunch of balls of dough being baked together with sugars and butter. During baking, the dough balls adhere together making it possible to pull pieces away by using your fingers. The term “monkey bread” comes from being a finger food, the same way monkeys eat their food.
Because there is cream cheese hidden in the centers of the pieces, store this version of monkey bread covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. Will it last that long, though? Mine never does!
Once it has baked and cooled completely, monkey bread can be frozen for 3-4 months. Wrap tightly in foil before placing into the freezer. When you are ready to enjoy it, let it thaw completely before reheating.
Place the monkey bread on a rimmed baking sheet and bake at 250 degrees F for 10 minutes, or until the centers are warm.
Salted Butter vs Unsalted Butter
Ahh, the great baking debate. Many bakers use unsalted butter in their baked goods in order to avoid over-salting. I, however, believe that there is no such thing as “over-salting.”
I always use salted butter in my baked goods (and for everything else under the sun) because it gives everything I make an extra touch of salty deliciousness. If you go the unsalted route, keep in mind that you may need to add a bit extra salt to the recipe!
Monkey Bread Variations
- Finely chop some pecans or walnuts and place them in the middle layer of the cream cheese and dough balls.
- Sprinkle chocolate chips into the middle and on the top before baking.
- Add sliced apples, pears or berries to the middle layer.
- Drizzle a simple icing over the top, just before serving!
Sweet Breakfast Treats
I love a good savory breakfast, but there is something so special and yummy about a nice sugary breakfast, am I right? Kids especially go bananas over pancakes and cinnamon rolls and any breakfast food that contains sugar.
Here are a few delicious ideas to make any day of the week or for the next time you host breakfast or brunch!
- Chocolate Chip Muffins
- No Yeast Cinnamon Rolls
- Banana Crumb Muffins
- Slow Cooker Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread
- Apple Coffee Cake
What To Serve For Brunch
- Homemade Bagels require only 5 ingredients and in 20 minutes from start to finish! NO YEAST or rising or waiting required. These easy bagels are soft, flavorful and taste great with savory or sweet toppings.
- Enjoy breakfast the healthy way! Whip up a batch of these healthy breakfast muffins as a perfect on-the-go meal or snack to stay on track throughout the day. Even kids love them!
- Combine eggs, broccoli, tomatoes and a bit of garlic to create a delicious and filling meal and an EASY, healthy eggs and veggies dish to start your day. Change the veggies up if you so desire!
- Save some cash by making your own delicious Vanilla Iced Latte at home! Use your Nespresso machine to get the job done quickly and easily.
- Easy chocolate chip muffins require only a handful of ingredients and they are all probably sitting in your kitchen! Super moist and yummy.
Party Food Recipes
- The classic, crowd-pleasing Fruit Pizza has a cookie dough crust, dreamy cream cheese frosting and a colorful top layer of fruit and a tasty glaze.
- Taco Ranch Pasta Salad – This delicious pasta salad gets totally devoured at gatherings, no matter the season.
- Sausage Cheese Dip is easy to make (let your crockpot do the work for you!), cheesy, flavorful and totally irresistible! Serve as an appetizer at your next party and it won’t last long.
- This is the best 7-Layer Taco Dip you’ll ever meet! It’s the perfect appetizer and party food and it is always the first thing to get devoured.
- Crockpot Meatballs require only a few ingredients with only a few minutes of prep. They are SO EASY to make, totally packed with delicious flavor and great for game-day parties or holidays.
- Spinach Artichoke Dip is a party staple! People always get excited about this dip and its so easy to make! It’s a filling, cheesy snack or appetizer that you can put on pita squares, crackers or chips.
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Monkey Bread With Cream Cheese Recipe
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup dark brown sugar
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 24 oz flaky buttermilk biscuits refrigerated
- 8 oz cream cheese cubed
- 3/4 cup butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 12-cup bundt pan with cooking spray; set aside. In a medium bowl, combine the sugars and cinnamon; set aside.
- Slice 10 discs of dough from each tube of biscuits. Set discs on a flat surface and set one cube of cream cheese in the center of each piece of dough. Wrap edges of dough up and around the cheese so all that is visible is the top side of cream cheese cube. Place 10 dough-wrapped cheese cubes, cheese-side-up, in bottom of prepared pan.
- Top with half of the sugar mixture and half of the butter. Top with the remaining dough-wrapped cheese cubes, cheese-side-down, the remaining sugar and remaining butter.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes. Invert onto a serving platter and serve.
Notes
- Buy full-fat cream cheese and don’t skimp! Super cheap blocks of cream cheese do not melt as well as ones that cost just a little bit more.
- It is definitely ok to use a different variety of biscuit dough. I love the flavor and flakiness of the flaky buttermilk biscuits, but the monkey bread will still taste great if a different variety is used.
- Light brown sugar can replace dark brown sugar without much flavor altering. The dark brown variety adds a nice rich depth to the sugars.
- To tell if the monkey bread is done, the top pieces should be uniformly golden brown. Gently remove a piece from the center. If the dough is fully cooked, the recipe is done baking!
diane
Found this on pintrest but when I clicked on it it was for pumpkin cream cheese monkey bread. Still looks amazing and I cant wait to try it. But was really excited for a pumpkin cream cheese bread for fall.
Grandma Kc
My granddaughter and I had so much fun making this! Thank you so much for sharing. Monkeying Around
joyindbq
I tried this in an angel food cake pan, and because the pan is two pieces, the butter leaked out in my oven. Other than that, and the fact this I mistakenly bought the smaller tube of biscuits, it was very delicious! The sugar to biscuit ratio was a little off, but I'm not a biscuit fan, so that was fine with me. Fun, special, Saturday breakfast!
Debbie
Can you prepare it the night before, than cook it in the morning? I would like to make this for work!
Lexy
I just finished eating some of my monkey bread. I dunno if I like this recipe. It tastes good the first few bites, then it feels heavy, then i started feeling sick. Not to mention guilty 🙁
Maybe if it were lighter, without the cream cheese and less sugar. That would hit the spot!
Lexy
🙂 Just bought cream cheese, I"ve been wanting to try this. I'll tell yall how it turns out!
Randi - Dukes and Duchesses
I can't wait to make this! It looks incredible. And you're right … everything is better with cream cheese.
M & K
We think you should be our friend. What a fun and delicious treat!
shelly rae wood
:::giggle::: I'm laughing at the "eating it in the corner of the kitchen" visual…..Oh how I have done that! LOL I LOVE monkey bread and cannot imagine how good it must be with cream cheese too! :::Swoon:::
Crystal
I am going to the store tomorrow had to make sure I get all the ingredients. This looks soooo good. Can't wait to try it! Thank you!!!
Emmy
My mother and I used to make something like this in the fall, but we mixed warm maple syrup into the melted butter and poured that into the pan before adding all the biscuit bits. Talk about deliciously gooey…it was heavenly to wake up knowing that was waiting downstairs!
Destiny Storm Adler
Made this for my family this morning, it was a HIT!!! thank you so much for this welcome twist on monkey bread… I find it much more satisfying with the addition of the cream cheese… 🙂
Janet
Wow! and Yum! Time to get a bundt pan (or angel food cake pan for that matter). This looks delicious and I totally agree with the goodness of cream cheese.
Jean
Yummy! Made these and certainly will keep the recipe handy as they will be served often at my table.
Mama Beach
Just made this recipe – my house smells amazing. I served it to my husband and his brother – both picked the cube of cream cheese out. (yes it was still a big cube). I am going to try to make the regular Monkey Bread, I think it will be a hit!
Megan Porta
HI Amber! An angel food cake pan would work perfectly!
Megan
Amber
Can I use an angel food cake pan?
Melissa
This sounds YUMMY! However, I'm not fan of can biscuits. I think I will try using frozen rolls (thawed of course).
Katie Mackay
I made this today and it is so wonderful. Yummy!!!!!
ANN
Sounds delicious. Would make a great King Cake during Mardi Gras, I think. Just add some colored sprinkles, yellow, green and purple and you've got it. Thanks.