Lemon Raspberry Monkey Bread

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Lemon Raspberry Monkey Bread || To Salt & See. The lemon flavoring provides a refreshing taste, while the raspberry provides the needed addition of sweetness. You can have it for dessert or breakfast! Either way it will surely be turning heads with …

Monkey bread, an item that has been a family tradition in my family for as long as I can remember. It was the breakfast item that my friends and I from elementary school to high school would quickly dig into after a sleepover.  It was the dessert after a team dinner with my high school tennis team. It was the breakfast that my entire family would enjoy while opening presents on Christmas morning. And it was the breakfast that my mother would make for me when I came home during school breaks. While I love the cinnamon sugar biscuits covered in buttery cinnamon brown sugar glaze, I wanted to give the classic recipe a new twist. And so the lemon raspberry monkey bread was born! The lemon flavoring provides a refreshing taste, while the raspberry provides the needed addition of sweetness. This new take on my family recipe will surely be turning heads with both it's flavor and very colorful appearance! Whatever occasion you make this recipe for, whether a brunch with family or a dessert with friends, I can assure you that there won't be many leftovers! 

Lemon Raspberry Monkey Bread

Prep time:

Bake time:

Serves: 12

Monkey Bread Ingredients:

  • 1 3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
  • 1 lemon, zest and juice
  • 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 4 tubes (7.5 oz) Pillsbury biscuits

Glaze Ingredients:

  • 1 cup raspberries
  • 1 cup powdered sugar

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Heavily grease a bundt pan with nonstick spray. For best results, also cut a large donut shape out of parchment paper to fit in the bottom of the bundt pan.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup sugar and lemon zest. Set aside.
  3. In a small saucepan, make the lemon glaze by boiling together the 1 cup sugar, 3 Tablespoons butter, and lemon juice. Stir the glaze until the sugar has dissolved and the glaze is smooth.
  4. Open one tube of biscuits, and use scissors to cut each individual roll into quarters. Toss one tube worth of biscuits into the sugar/zest mixture, ensuring even coating.
  5. Place the coated biscuits into the bottom of the bundt pan. Spoon 1/4th of the lemon glaze over the rolls.
  6. Build the monkey bread layers by repeating steps 4-5 with the remaining 3 tubes of biscuits. Sprinkle the remaining sugar/zest mixture on top.
  7. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the biscuits are golden in color. Allow the monkey bread to cool for 5 minutes in the bundt pan.
  8. Invert the monkey bread by placing your serving plate over the top of the pan, and using both hands, flip the bundt pan/plate combo. To ensure easy release, hit the outside of the bundt pan with a wooden spoon before lifting pan away from monkey bread underneath.
  9. To make the glaze, blend 1 cup raspberries. Remove the seeds by straining the blended raspberries through a fine mesh strainer into a small bowl. Discard the seeds.
  10. Stir in the powdered sugar until smooth. Pour the glaze over the monkey bread. Serve warm!