Most every Thursday is baking day at work. One of the perks of being an Activity Director is that I plan the calendars. And I can do the things I love.
This week was Monkey Bread - a resident and staff favorite, to say the least. I have a special fondness for Monkey Bread, because it was one of the things my grandmother would make. Her recipe called for frozen yeast rolls, butterscotch pudding, pecans, sugar and lots and lots of butter. All this would be placed in a bundt pan and left to rise over night in the oven, then baked to perfection for breakfast. For my weekly cooking group we use a very simple recipe so the residents who choose to, can participate with a fair amount of ease.
I've included the recipe at the bottom, but we really don't follow it 100%. I'll tell you all our shortcuts. Our staff love the recipe and many of them have used it with their kids.
First, I don't measure anything. I toss some sugar and cinnamon in a ziploc bag and shake it up. I give a bag to each resident. One resident is our "expert biscuit cutter" - cutting all the biscuits into 4, or 5 or 7 pieces (whatever she remembers to do). All the pieces are divided among the other residents, and they coat them and toss them into pans. The very first time we did Monkey Bread, we did it in a Bundt pan. And it was beautiful.
When we took the bread out of the oven, there were "oohs and aahs" all around. "Is THAT what we did??" They were amazed. And it was delicious.
But that takes a good while to cook, and our group is just over an hour. I needed to speed things up. So, we tried pie plates of Monkey Bread - just as delicious, but not as pretty. Then we tried making cupcake monkey bread. Perfect. Each muffin cup gets 4-6 pieces of covered dough, depending on the size. Just enough for the cup to look full.
And we've stuck with that every since. Today one of my ladies dumped all her sugar mixture into the bowl with the dough pieces and started stirring it all together. It was a very clever idea, and got the job done. I'm amazed at ways they can still make things work for them, even when their minds are betraying their bodies.
Well, now the question is, do I really need to "Carb-load" for the mud run? Probably not. Maybe a few extra (good carbs), but nothing crazy like 6 monkey bread cupcakes.
On Sunday I'll be covering 3.5 miles and 23 obstacles. Whew! I've got a checklist of things to do, take and remember.There has been lots of advice, and I am as ready as I can be at this point. About a month ago I added a 2-3x week weight circuit (thanks to one of my sisters) to my training. I can tell a difference in my legs and arms, but will still be challenged by anything that requires me to pull myself up or climb over. I've been running steadily and regularly. Our team is ready and whatever else happens, we will have a great time, with lots of laughs. Here's what I'm pretty sure I'm going to look like on Sunday:
Everyone of age gets a free beer at the finish. I'm not really a beer girl, but I'll probably drink it because I will feel like I earned/deserve it!
I'll post a report afterwards. But while you are waiting on that, bake yourself a batch of yummy Monkey Bread, get a nice cup of coffee, or hot tea, sit back and savor.
Monkey Bread (from cooks.com)
3 packages buttermilk biscuits (refrigerated)
1 cup sugar (divided)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
Take the biscuits out of tubes, and cut each one into 4 pieces. Mix sugar and cinnamon in a ziploc bag. Drop pieces in bag and coat well. Place coated pieces in a well buttered Bundt pan.
Put 1/2 cup of the leftover sugar/cinnamon mix, 1/2 cup packed brown sugar and 1 cup of butter into a small saucepan.
Bring this mixture just to a boil; remove from heat immediately. Carefully drizzle over coated dough pieces.
Bake at 350F for 35-45 minutes.
Cool slightly in an upright position, then tip pan over onto a plate. Enjoy! Pin It Now!
I cannot wait to hear about the mud run and read more posts. I love the way you write.
ReplyDeleteThanks girl!
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