Monkey Muffins
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Or monkey puzzle bread muffins. Or individual pieces of heaven. Or pull-apart cinnamon sugar muffins. Nah, that last one is too literal, too Pinterest style. Monkey Muffins it is. Honestly, I have no idea why it's called monkey bread in the first place. There is no banana involved, and as far as I know a monkey didn't invent the recipe. Maybe people act like monkeys when they eat it? Also sometimes called bubble bread, African coffee cake, Hungarian coffee cake, sticky bread, pinch-me bread, Pluck-Its, or even monkey brains. Because that last one sounds SO appetizing. A quick Google search has brought me to the conclusion that many people are also confused as to why it's called Monkey Bread, but might be so named because the bread resembles monkeys in a barrel (but does it?), monkeys like to pick at things, or it resembles the bark of the monkey puzzle tree. I guess we shall remain shrouded in mystery, or shrouded in a barrel...of...monkeys. ahem.
On to the recipe!
Recipe adapted from Cooking Classy
Monkey Muffins
Makes 12 muffins
Ingredients:
Muffins
2 cups + 2 Tbsp / 255g flour
1 Tbsp / 12g sugar
1 Tbsp / 14g baking powder
1/2 tsp / 3g salt
1/2 cup / 120g buttermilk or sour milk*
1/3 cup / 79g milk
1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp / 70g oil ( 5 Tbsp total)
1/2 cup / 100g sugar
5 Tbsp / 70g butter, melted
2/3 cup / 133g brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
Glaze (optional)
1/2 cup / 60g powdered sugar
1 Tbsp / 15g milk
Directions:
Make the Muffins
Oven preheated to 350°F / 177°C.
Lightly grease a muffin pan or line with liners (preferably grease-proof.)
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, 1 Tbsp sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add both milks and oil to flour mixture. Stir with a fork until just combined. Over mixing = dense muffins.
Place 1/2 cup / 100g sugar in a bowl or container with lid. Scoop out roughly one tsp of dough (you can use a teaspoon or just eye it), and plop in the sugar, rounding into a ball shape with your palms if need be. Repeat until you have an even layer of balls in the sugar. Place on lid and gently shake to coat with sugar, or just shake/toss the balls in the sugar until covered. Place sugar-coated balls in muffin pan, about six in each cup. Repeat scooping, rolling, and sugar-coating with remaining dough.
In a small bowl, whisk together melted butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Divide and pour/scoop evenly over each muffin. Place muffin pan on a baking sheet and bake for 17-19 minutes, or until lightly golden-brown and they no longer look doughy.
Remove from oven and allow to cool at least 15 minutes before removing from pan so they don't fall apart. Run a knife around the edge of each muffin to loosen.
Make the Glaze
In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together powdered sugar and milk. Using a spoon or spatula, lightly drizzle each muffin with glaze.
Jenny's Notes:
*If you don't have buttermilk, which I frequently don't, sour milk can be substituted. For every 1 cup milk add 1 Tbsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. Stir and let sit for a minute before using. Regular milk, coconut milk, or almond milk all work.
When first mixed, the batter may seem wet but it quickly becomes manageable/scoopable. Something about baking powder doughs tend to be this way, they seem too wet when it first comes together, then within a matter of seconds it suddenly seems fine. I always notice this when making biscuits, especially.
The glaze is optional, mostly depending on if you want that finished look and how sweet you like your monkey muffins. You may notice the actual dough is just lightly sweet, only 1 Tbsp of sugar. The brown sugar butter mixture that gets poured over is what makes these sweet and rich. I personally don’t think they need to be sweeter beyond that, but I do like the glazed/finished look.
