Hello all my friends! Hope you are having a wonderful December. It’s Gina from Kleinworth & Co. In our house Christmas morning can be pretty busy. I’m sure it’s like that in most households. The kids get up, we have some family time & open gifts. Sometimes we get together with friends & once in a great while we travel to be with family.

This year will be quiet & I am so looking forward to it. The chaos has lessened now that the kids are older. However- one thing has not changed, the need to have something wonderful on hand for breakfast on Christmas morning. I don’t like spending my day cooking & cleaning. I want to be with my family & enjoy these precious moments with them. I would typically spend Christmas Eve baking cookies to leave out. We are beyond that now & so I spend my time baking something great for breakfast the next day instead.

One favorite Holiday Spice Monkey Bread.

This makes a great neighbor gift too. I used to make a bunch of these & take them around to all the neighbors so they would have something for breakfast on Christmas morning too. Now time doesn’t quite allow for that. But it sure was great to see their faces light up with joy. I miss that.

Now- you can make the glaze & drizzle it over like I did here. Or you can top this with butter while it’s hot & let it get all melty & wonderful. Then use the glaze as a dipping sauce on the side. Either way is wonderful. While this doesn’t typically last more than a few hours in our house- I do know that it reheats well with a quick zap in the microwave. You will love it.

Holiday Spice Monkey Bread

Ingredients

Bread

1/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup granulated sugar + pinch for yeast
1 pkt rapid rise yeast
2 tbsp shortening
Cooking spray like Bakers Joy
3/4 cup milk- warmed
1 tsp salt
1 large egg
3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Coating

1 stick butter
1 cup brown sugar
3 tsp cinnamon
1 cup pecans - chopped
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp grated nutmeg

Glaze

1/4 cup milk
1 cup confectioners sugar

Instructions

Combine warm water & pinch of sugar in small bowl
Sprinkle yeast over top - stir
Let yeast mixture sit approx 5-10 minutes - it should look frothy when done
Place shortening, warm milk, sugar, salt & egg in mixer bow with dough hook attachment - mix on medium
Add yeast mixture & mix well
Slowly add flour - kneading on medium for about 1-3 minutes
Place in a greased bowl - cover & let sit in a warm place to rest about 20 minutes
Spray your bundt pan with cooking spray
Now make the coating by melting the butter in one small bowl
In another small bowl combine remaining coating ingredients & mix with a fork
Sprinkle a small portion of this mixture in the bottom of the bundt pan
When dough is done resting - pinch off 1/2 -1 inch pieces & roll into balls
Dunk each ball of dough in melted butter & then roll in sugar & spice mixture & place in bundt pan
Continue until all the dough is coated
Cover with plastic wrap & let rise about 1 hour or until double in size
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Bake monkey bread 30-35 minutes
Allow to cool in pan at least 30 minutes
Invert onto plate to remove
Make icing by combining all ingredients & whisking until smooth
Drizzle over the top of the bread or use as a dipping sauce