Skillet Monkey Bread: The Five-Ingredient Pull-Apart That Wins Every Brunch
Canned biscuits, butter, and a whole lot of cinnamon sugar turn into the gooiest skillet bread you'll pull apart with your hands.
Dowell Cooks5 min readPrint this post
Five ingredients, one skillet, and a whole lot of sticky-fingered happiness.
Hey friends, welcome back! Today we're making the recipe that gets requested more than anything else in my kitchen: skillet monkey bread. It's soft, buttery, pull-apart biscuit balls rolled in cinnamon sugar and baked in one skillet, then finished with a glaze you'll want to lick off the spoon. Five ingredients, one pan, zero stress. This is exactly the kind of recipe Dowell Cooks was built for.
15 minutes, and you’re ready to cook.
Get everything measured and staged before the butter melts, this one moves fast once you start rolling.
- Gather EquipmentGather a 10-inch cast iron or regular skillet, a medium bowl, a small bowl, a whisk, a spoon for stirring, a measuring cup, measuring spoons, and a pastry brush or small spoon for dipping.
- Preheat OvenPreheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray the 10-inch skillet with butter or cooking spray and set aside.
- Measure Sugars and CinnamonMeasure ¼ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup light brown sugar, and 2 tsp cinnamon. Combine all three in a medium bowl and stir well until evenly mixed. Set aside.2 min
- Prepare ButterMeasure ½ cup unsalted butter and place in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 15-second intervals, stirring between each, until fully melted. Set aside to cool slightly.1 min
- Prepare BiscuitsOpen the can of refrigerated jumbo biscuits and separate each biscuit. Set them on a clean work surface, ready for rolling and coating.1 min
- Measure Glaze IngredientsMeasure ½ cup powdered sugar into a small bowl. Measure 1½ tbsp heavy cream and 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract) into separate small containers, ready to whisk together during baking.2 min
- Stage IngredientsArrange the prepared skillet, cinnamon sugar mixture, melted butter, biscuits, and glaze ingredients (powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla) in order near the stove and oven, ready for cooking and assembly.30s
Tools for this recipe.
Nothing exotic here, just what's probably already in your cabinet.
- cast-iron skillet
- mixing bowl
- small bowl
- whisk
- wooden spoon
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- pastry brush
Where this can go wrong
The biggest mistake is pulling it out too early because the top looks golden. The middle biscuits, the ones packed in tight, need the full 25 to 30 minutes to actually cook through, not just brown on top. If you're not sure, pull one from the center and split it open. It should look like fluffy biscuit all the way in, not doughy or wet. If it needs more time, tent it loosely with foil so the top doesn't burn while the center catches up.
What to buy
Grab a can of refrigerated jumbo biscuits from the dairy case, regular size works too if that's what your store has. For the butter, go unsalted so you control the seasoning. And don't skip the light brown sugar for the coating, the little bit of molasses in it is what gives this its deeper, almost caramel flavor that plain white sugar just can't fake.
Make it your own
In the fall I swap half the cinnamon for pumpkin spice and it turns into a completely different, cozier thing. If you want a little crunch, toss some chopped pecans into the skillet between layers of biscuit balls. And if you're feeling extra, a handful of chocolate chips scattered in halfway through baking never hurt anybody.
Common questions
Can I make this ahead of time?
Do I need a cast iron skillet?
Why are my middle biscuits still doughy?
Can I use regular biscuits instead of jumbo?
This is the kind of recipe you make once and then find yourself making every other weekend, because it's simple, it's fast, and everyone at the table fights over the middle pieces. Give it a try this weekend and let me know how it turns out. Browse all recipes for more like this one.
The Quarterly
Get the next Quarterly from Dowell Cooks
Seasonal recipes, notes, and the issue links worth saving.
Comments