HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAYA!!!!!
Oh gosh… my baby sister turns 9 today! This recipe is dedicated to her, the best baby sister (Dannie, remember you’re the best little sister) a girl could ever ask for! She’s a little crazy and a lot of sweet, so these monkey bread muffins are the perfect birthday creation in her honor.
Speaking of monkeys… When Jaya was a baby, she would find her way into everything. So much so, we called her [Curious] George. Everywhere you turned, she was right there. From being under your feet in the kitchen watching every move you made to digging up plants, rifling through the laundry basket and going through your entire wardrobe to see what she liked.
These days, she’s acquired another nickname: Stinky Muffins. Being the good big sister that I am, I’ll leave it to Dad to explain that one. He actually was the one who suggested I develop a “stinky muffins” recipe in her honor. I thought about it for a couple days and then it hit me- monkey bread! In muffin form! Perfectly fitting and perfectly delicious. And they’ll have your kitchen smelling absolutely divine (not stinky at all).
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup buttermilk
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 pinch cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons agave
- 1 teaspoon milk
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and melt 6 tablespoons of butter with ¾ cup brown sugar in a small saucepan. Stir consistently to avoid clumping. When the butter has just melted and the sugar is combined, remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt until combined. Cut the remaining 6 tablespoons of butter into small cubes and cut it into your flour mixture. (You can use a pastry cutter or a couple of forks to do this.) Continue until the mixture has pea-sized chunks of butter spread throughout. Then, stir in the buttermilk. Knead the dough until it comes together in a ball.
- Now, in a small bowl, mix together the remaining ¼ cup brown sugar with the cinnamon and allspice.
- Line a muffin tin with paper liners (or spray with nonstick cooking spray). Scoop a generous teaspoon of the butter and sugar mixture into the bottom of each muffin well.
- Then, break off small pieces of dough and roll them into marble-sized balls. Roll each ball in the spiced sugar. Place three on the bottom of each muffin well, sprinkle with a little more spiced sugar, put three more on top, sprinkle with a liiiiitle more sugar and then top with about a half teaspoon of the brown sugar and butter mixture. More sugar on top (if you have any left!)!
- Bake for about 18-20 minutes until the dough is cooked through and there's carmelized brown sugar spattered all over your muffin tin. (They look crazy, but they're absolutely delicious, I promise!)
- When your muffins come out of the oven, whisk together your glaze and drizzle as much or as little as you like on top!
xoxox
Peri Moore says
November 15, 2014 at 1:49 pmIt looks good Kendall – you have to make me one when I turn 9!
Peri