If you love apple fritters as much as we do you will be pulling baking ingredients out of your pantry as you read this post. Apple fritters have always been my top pick in any good bakery and this obsession dates back to when I was a little girl. Fritters and maple bars were my all time favorites…they still are. The crunchy, crispy fried edges of fritters are addictive and while this recipe isn’t deep fried it has all the flavor and crunchy edge texture of its fried counterpart.
I found this recipe on one of my all time favorite blogs, Barbara Bakes. Barbara is a first class baker and I have loved every one of her recipes I have tried. I never have any question about her recipes “turning out.” they always do! I don’t have to tell you how amazing my house smelled as this pan of yeasty goodness was baking in the oven. What I wouldn’t give if I could bottle that aroma!
I made this recipe just as Barbara wrote it with one exception: I didn’t have fresh apples so I used dried apple bits from Bob’s Red Mill instead. I reconstituted them in a little bit of hot water and then added them to the dough. These apple bits are one of the products that I found this year that will forevermore have a place in my pantry. They are delicious in many recipes. Can’t live without them.
Several of Barbara’s commenters wrote that they had trouble getting the baked bread out of the pan, I used a non-stick pan sprayed with cooking spray with flour and it slipped right out of the bundt pan. No problem whatsoever. Drizzle the monkey bread with the powdered sugar icing while it is still warm. That’s the finishing touch on this amazingly delicious sweet bread. I’m excited to have this recipe for many reasons, especially that I can make it the day ahead. This will be perfect for Christmas morning when a freshly baked yeast bread will be a present in itself. As with most yeast breads this recipe is best the day it is made. If you reheat it just wrap it in foil and warm in a 300 degree oven for 7-10 minutes. Your family is gonna love you!
- 3 Fuji or other apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ¼ inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 cup milk
- ⅓ cup unsweetened apple juice
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 – 4 cups bread flour
- 2¼ teaspoons (1 package) active dry yeast
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- Directions
- In microwave safe bowl, heat milk, apple juice, sugar, salt and butter to 120° to 130°. Stir to dissolve sugar.
- Mix 2 cups flour and yeast in stand mixer fitted with a beater blade. Turn machine to low and slowly add the heated liquid mixture. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes.
- Switch to the dough hook, gradually add the remaining flour (add more or less as necessary) until dough clings to the hook and almost cleans the sides. Knead until the dough is smooth.
- Scrap the dough off the dough hook in to the bowl and add the cooled apples. With the dough hook, knead the apples in to the dough, adding more flour as necessary to form a soft, slightly sticky dough.
- Turn dough onto lightly floured counter and knead briefly to form a round ball. Coat a large bowl with nonstick cooking spray. Place dough in bowl and coat surface of dough with cooking spray. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and rise in a warm place until dough doubles in size, about 2 hours.
- Butter a 12-cup Bundt pan with non stick cooking spray.
- Mix brown sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Place melted butter in second bowl. Set aside for the sugar coating.
- Punch down the dough and pat into an 8-inch square on a flour surface. Using a bench scraper or knife, cut dough into 64 pieces. With floured hands, roll each dough piece into a ball.
- Working one at a time, dip balls in melted butter, allowing excess butter to drip back into bowl. Roll in brown sugar mixture, then layer balls in Bundt pan, staggering the dough balls to build layers.
- Cover Bundt pan tightly with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator overnight.
- Approximately one hour before you want to bake your Monkey Bread, remove it from the refrigerator and let the dough come to room temperature and begin to rise. (It will rise a little in the refrigerator overnight.)
- Preheat oven to 350°. Unwrap pan and bake until top is deep brown and caramel begins to bubble around edges, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then turn out on platter and allow to cool slightly, about 10 minutes.
- Whisk powdered sugar, milk and vanilla in small bowl until smooth. Drizzle glaze over the top and sides of the bread. Serve warm.
I bet your house smelled fantastic Cathy. Hope you’re feeling better. I’ve been thinking of you.
Sam
Sam @ My Carolina Kitchen recently posted..La Cantina Italian Pizzeria, Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
This looks soo good..all the Littles and their parents would love this..You are right..Christmas brunch:)
Wish we could make it the night before….they come at 11.. so much going on..
I will make this though..:)
Monique recently posted..Still~
I reread everything carefully at BB and here.. I will make it:)
Monique recently posted..Still~
oh yes, this looks so good. For once in his life, my hubby says that he needs to lose 10 lbs. I told him welcome to my world.
Haha… This isn’t low in calories, that’s for sure. But it’s a good recipe for special occasions when we want something extra special.
Cathy Farley recently posted..Overnight Apple Fritter Monkey Bread
Wouldn’t I love that for breakfast right now! I just love my spray Pam with flour – anything pops right out of the most complex pans. I have to say I adore your cutting board too. Just a beautiful bread and a beautiful presentation.
Oh my gosh Cathy, this looks incredible. Yes, I’m with you, a good apple fritter is like heaven on earth. And this looks GOOD!
Chris Scheuer recently posted..Five Fabulous Caramel Recipes
Oh my Cathy, does that monkey bread ever look incredible!! I am definitely going to be looking for the Bob’s Red Mill Apple bits. That’s not something that I’ve seen before. Thanks for sharing!
This was so dang delicious. Thanks for sharing with me. I still think that you should cook the whole thing in a turkey fryer =o) One big fried monkey bread. Heavenly!
Oh thanks. Now I’m going to obsess on doing this. Can you imagine a fritter that big!!!
Cathy Farley recently posted..Overnight Apple Fritter Monkey Bread
I’m another lover of all things Apple Fritter! I agree. That it would be perfect for Christmas morning.
I’m planning to make it for Christmas morning. Won’t it be wonderful to have a beautiful yeast dough sweet bread fresh out of the oven? Thank you so much for coming by to visit.
Cathy Farley recently posted..Overnight Apple Fritter Monkey Bread
this looks divine! do you think you could sub apple cider for the apple juice?
I think that would work just fine, Cathy.
Cathy Farley recently posted..Overnight Apple Fritter Monkey Bread
Hi Cathy, this is perfect for the holidays, will check out Barbara’s site.
cheri recently posted..Cottage Cooking Club Month of September
I really, really want to make this monkey bread—but I’m scared I’d eat it ALL!!! This looks fantastic, Cathy!!!
Liz recently posted..Maple Glazed Apple Tart #Progressive Eats
where do the Caramelized Apples go?
Hi Sylvia – The directions for adding the apples are in Step 4 – Instructions.
Cathy Farley recently posted..Molded Chocolate Shortbread Cookies