A lighter, healthier version of the classic favorite!
Over the summer, I did the unthinkable. The unimaginable. The unfathomable.
After 6 years of running (with yoga and occasional cycling as cross training), I, a 5’3” cardio-obsessed weight-wary gym-avoiding girl, bought a kettlebell.
Yes, a kettlebell. One of those cross-fit things that looks like a cannonball with a flat bottom and handle on top. Or a teakettle without the spout. And mine is lime green.
I jumped off the yoga train and began playing with my little kettlebell 3 mornings each week. I swing it between by legs, circle it around my head, and pump it up to the ceiling in one hand while reaching for my toes with the other. In the middle of every workout, I start smiling wider than a clown. I’m waving around a cannonball like a body builder—I feel so macho!
(Just pretend that you don’t see the “10 lb” white writing painted on its front…)
Although I balk at the thought of bumping up the number of reps for curls or pullovers with my itty bitty purple dumbbells, I eagerly push myself to try one more set, just one more! with my kettlebell. It’s almost a mental game of How Long Can Amy Go? And after every 30-minute workout—just half an hour!—my stomach growls as if I just ran 6 miles. (More cookies for me!)
Four months with my kettlebell, and I’m basically obsessed…
Do you know what else is small, addictive, and packs quite a punch?
Monkey Bread Bites.
Have you heard of Monkey Bread? I hadn’t until last March when my mom mentioned that she saw an ad appear for it in my blog’s sidebar. I finally researched recipes last week and nearly toppled off my chair in excitement at the pictures. Soft pieces of biscuit dough coated in cinnamon sugar, pressed into a pan, and coated with a bucket of melted butter. After baking, you pull it apart bite by bite with your fingers until every crumb disappears from the table.
Bliss.
Since my self-restraint flies straight out the window with all cinnamon sugar sweets, I made my monkey bread bite-sized for portion control. You’ll end up with 24 of these little treats, so you’ll need 2 mini muffin pans. We’re making these a little lighter and healthier than the standard recipe, so you won’t use a whole cup of butter! Instead, generously coat both pans with cooking spray to prevent the sugar coating from sticking.
The Immaculate Baking Company sent me a free sample of their buttermilk biscuits, and because their Nutrition Information looked a little better than other brands, I popped open the can for this recipe. You’ll cut each big puffy biscuit into thirds; then slice each third into 5 pieces.
5 pieces = 1 Monkey Bread Bite
Roll each little piece into a ball and set them aside. While they look small now, they’ll fluff up and double in size in the oven!
To make these Monkey Bread Bites skinny, you’ll dip them in a milk and melted butter mixture before coating them with cinnamon sugar. This really reduces the fat and calories without losing the rich buttery flavor! (You’ll only use about half of the mixture in the recipe, which I already factored into the Nutrition Information.)
While most recipes call for granulated sugar and cinnamon, I opted for half brown and half white sugar. The brown sugar adds a sweet addictive caramel undertone, which really elevates the bites. Don’t swap it out!
When assembling the Monkey Bread Bites, treat them similar to breading chicken: use one hand for the milk/butter mixture, the other for the cinnamon sugar, and don’t cross contaminate! You’ll end up with a sticky sugary mess on your first hand, although I suppose there are probably worse things in life…
After 12 minutes in the oven, they come out looking caramelized and gorgeous. Just look at those puffy little beauties! Don’t you want to reach through the screen and pull off a piece?
Only let them cool for a few minutes before inverting onto a wire rack. If you wait too long, the sticky syrup that formed in the bottom of each muffin cup refuses to slide out. And when you shake the pan upside down extra hard to force them out, those little balls of biscuit dough that are so easy to pull apart just… Crumble. Into 5 individual pieces. Thus depriving you of the joy of picking off each ball individually to eat. (Trust me, I botched my first batch. So sad!)
One Christmas morning, we usually snack on generous slices of my grandpa’s special coffee cake while opening gifts, but this year, Monkey Bread Bites might make it on the menu. Or turn into a mid-afternoon snack. Or an after-dinner treat.
Any which way, they’ll be worth every minute of my kettlebell workout the next day!
The caramelized cinnamon sugar makes these bites highly addictive, and they’re really fun to pull apart. They’ll keep for a day or two if stored in an airtight container, if they last that long!
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and generously coat 2 mini muffin pans with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, combine the melted butter and milk, whisking to combine. In a separate bowl, stir together both sugars and cinnamon. Set aside.
- Cut each of the biscuits into thirds; then cut each third into 5 pieces. Roll each small piece into a ball. Dunk each ball into the butter mixture with one hand; then roll it around in the sugar mixture with your other hand. Set into the prepared muffin pans, placing 5 balls in each muffin cup.
- Bake at 350°F for 12 minutes. Cool in the pans for 5 minutes before inverting onto wire racks to cool. (Run a knife around the edges if they don’t pop out right away.)
Note: You’ll only use about half of the butter mixture, which is reflected in the Nutrition Information.
*Disclaimer: The Immaculate Baking Company sent me these buttermilk biscuits free-of-charge. All text, recipes, and opinions are my own.
Oh, Amy! Here is just one more reason to love you! My husband has a tradition of making monkey bread with my kiddos over Christmas break, and it’s one of their fun indulgences, so I go along with it (gasp). But as I sat down this morning to write out an EPIC grocery list, I just cringed at the thought of all the butter that goes into regular monkey bread recipes (one of the pitfalls of being a healthy food blogger, right – being so aware of the impact of what we eat!?!?). I know it’s a tradition for them and all, but still … So I googled “healthy monkey bread” and there you were! Should have known! Brilliant – just brilliant! I’m so thrilled about this recipe, my friend! Can’t wait to make it! Merry, merry Christmas to you and your family … and thanks for this fantastic idea! 😀 Oh – yeah … and you know I’m pinning this baby … and stumbling … and pinning some more … love it!
Aww, thank you SO much for the sweet comment and social media love Shelley!! 🙂 My jaw dropped the first time I saw a monkey bread recipe. I thought I’d need to go buy my own cow to have enough butter! So crazy. I really hope you and your family enjoy it, and merry (early) Christmas!!
Where do you find these biscuits are they frozen of shelf package.
They should be in the refrigerated section of the grocery store, near the cans of crescent rolls and packages of cookie dough. I’d love to hear what you think of the monkey bread bites when you try them Claudette!
Amy,
As much as I would love to try the Immaculate brand products I don’t have them in a Walmart near me 🙁
Can I use Pillsbury or store brand buttermilk biscuits in a refrigerated can instead?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Kaitey! I think that the Grands buttermilk biscuits from Pillsbury would be the best substitute. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these monkey bread bites!
Can you make this into a regular sized monkey bread?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Kyla! I haven’t tried making this version into regular sized monkey bread, but I do have a from-scratch full sized monkey bread recipe here. Maybe that would be of interest to you? 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try either recipe of mine!