These monkey bread muffins are soft, sticky, and loaded with warm cinnamon sugar. Real yeasted dough, no canned biscuits, no shortcuts-just proper pull-apart goodness in the perfect handheld size. Big bakery energy, straight from your own oven.
In One Glance
🧁 Recipe name: Homemade Monkey Bread Muffins (From Scratch, No Canned Biscuits)
⏱️ Prep time: 25-30 minutes
⏲️ Rise time: about 60-90 minutes total
🔥 Bake time: 18-22 minutes
🕒 Total time: about 2-2½ hours (mostly rising)
👨👩👦👦 Servings: 12 muffins
😋 Taste: buttery, cinnamon-sweet, caramelized edges, soft centers
🧾 Main ingredients: all-purpose flour, butter, milk, yeast, cinnamon, sugar
💚 Why make it: real dough, bread machine friendly, fun with kids, perfect for brunch and holidays
🍴 Difficulty: easy: clear steps, forgiving dough, great for beginners
Jump to:
Monkey Bread Muffins With Cinnamon Sugar
This is the kind of bake that slows the whole house down in the best way. While the dough rises, the day can wait. Once they hit the oven, the smell of butter and cinnamon gets to everyone before you say a word.
My husband appears with a mug of coffee. Three grown(ish) sons suddenly remember where the kitchen is. Someone "just checks" if one muffin might be ready to taste. (It never stops at one.)
I love that these are made from scratch: simple ingredients, clear steps, nothing fake. The tops bake into little caramelized balls, the centers stay soft and pillowy, and everyone eats with their hands. Sticky fingers, happy faces, and a quiet, shared moment around the table. That's why this recipe stays in my family.
What You'll Need?
You can find the exact amounts in the recipe card below.
Monkey Bread Dough
- Lukewarm milk: activates the yeast and adds richness so the dough turns soft and fluffy.
- Lukewarm water: lightens the dough structure and helps it rise well.
- Unsalted butter: melted and slightly cooled; gives tender crumbs and buttery flavor.
- Sugar: granulated; feeds the yeast and adds gentle background sweetness.
- Instant yeast: makes the dough rise quickly and evenly; works in a bread machine, mixer, or by hand. This recipe uses ⅓ oz. 8 grams (2 teaspoons) of instant yeast. If you prefer to use fresh yeast, you require ⅔ oz. (16 grams). If you use dry yeast, you need ⅓ oz. / 8 grams. Note: With fresh and dry yeast, you must first dissolve the yeast in lukewarm milk.
- Salt: balances the sweetness and deepens the flavor.
Cinnamon sugar topping
- Melted butter (for coating): clings to the dough balls and turns the sugar into caramel around each piece.
- Light-brown sugar: adds a toffee note for that classic sticky monkey bread coating.
- Granulated sugar: keeps the cinnamon sugar bright and crisp.
- Ground cinnamon: warm spice in every bite; key to the monkey bread flavor.
Vanilla glaze / Other toppings
- Pecans or walnuts: chopped; add crunch and a nutty layer between the dough balls.
- Powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla: quick vanilla glaze for extra shine and sweetness on top if you want that "bakery window" effect.
How to Prepare This
You can find the full step-by-step instructions in the recipe card below.
- Make a soft yeast dough (bread machine, stand mixer, or by hand) and let it rise until doubled and puffy.
- Prepare the coating station: melt butter in one bowl, mix brown sugar, white sugar, and cinnamon in another, and grease the muffin tin really well.
- Punch down the dough, roll small balls, dip in butter, coat in cinnamon sugar,
- And stack into the muffin cups (with nuts tucked in, if using); let them rise again. Bake until deep golden and bubbling, rest briefly, loosen, turn out while still warm and sticky, and finish with a light vanilla glaze if you like.
Baking with Kids
This recipe is made for little helpers:
- Kids can pour ingredients into the bread machine or mixing bowl.
- They can roll the dough into small balls.
- They love dipping the balls in melted butter and shaking them in cinnamon sugar.
- You handle the hot oven. They handle the cinnamon chaos. Everyone gets warm muffins.
Top Tips
- Dough too sticky? Add a little extra flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it is soft and elastic, not gluey. It should pull away from the bowl but still feel slightly tacky.
- Dough didn't rise? Check if the yeast is fresh and the liquids were lukewarm, not hot. Give it more time in a warm, draft-free spot if your kitchen is cool.
- Second rise slow? Place the filled muffin tin somewhere gently warm (near, not on top of, a warm oven). The dough should look puffy and close to the top of the cups before baking.
- Muffins stuck in the pan? Next time, grease even more. For now: let them sit 5 minutes, run a small knife around the edges, then carefully lift or invert while still warm.
- Sugar too dark? Your oven may run hot. Bake a bit shorter or cover loosely with foil near the end. Deep golden is perfect; very dark or black means too far.
- Too sweet? This is monkey bread-meant to be indulgent. If you prefer it lighter, reduce the sugar in the coating slightly or use more white sugar than brown for a softer caramel flavor.
- Glaze or no glaze? They're already sticky and rich. Use glaze if you want extra shine and drama on top. Always drizzle after baking, never before.
Did you make this delicious recipe? Tag #byandreajanssen via Instagram! I love to see what your creation looks like and regularly share the most beautiful photos of you! Did you like this recipe? Then leave a rating on the recipe card! Your feedback helps other home cooks and me enormously.
Need more inspiration?
- You can find video recipes on my YouTube channel.
- And don't forget to save the recipes on Pinterest, so you can easily find them again next time!
📖 Recipe
RECIPE CARD
Ingredients
Monkey bread
- 1 cup milk, lukewarm
- ⅓ cup water, lukewarm
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 3½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons yeast, instant
- 1 teaspoon salt
Cinnamon Topping
- ¼ cup butter, melted
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Optional Vanilla glaze
- ½ cup pecans, or walnuts (optional). Allergens will contain: nuts if used
- ½ cup powdered milk
- ½ cup confectioners sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
All my recipes are written both in Metric (gram / ml) and US Customary (cups / pounds). Here you can select which type of amount you would like to see.
Instructions
For bread machine
- Add lukewarm milk, lukewarm water, melted butter, sugar, and salt to the bread machine pan. Add the flour on top of the liquids. Sprinkle the yeast over the flour.1 cup milk, ⅓ cup water, 2 tablespoons butter, 3½ cup all-purpose flour, ¼ cup sugar, 2 teaspoons yeast, 1 teaspoon salt
- Select the dough cycle and let the machine mix and rise the dough.
For stand mixer or hand method:
- Add lukewarm milk, lukewarm water, sugar, and yeast to the bowl. Let it stand for about 5 minutes until lightly foamy.1 cup milk, ¼ cup sugar, 2 teaspoons yeast, ⅓ cup water
- Add melted butter, salt, and most of the flour. Knead with a dough hook (or by hand) until the dough is soft and elastic (about 10 to 15 minutes). Add extra flour 1 tablespoon at a time if the dough is very sticky.2 tablespoons butter, 3½ cup all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon salt
- Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled in size and puffy.
Preparing Monkey Bread Muffins
- Grease a 12-cup muffin tin very well, including sides and edges.
- Melt ½ cup butter in a small bowl for the coating. In another bowl, mix the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and cinnamon.¼ cup butter, ½ cup sugar, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- Punch down the risen dough gently. Tear off small pieces of dough and roll into balls (total 60 balls) about the size of a large marble or small walnut.
- Dip each dough ball into the melted butter. Roll each buttered ball in the cinnamon sugar mixture.
- Place the coated balls into the muffin cups, dividing them evenly (5 per muffin tin). Leave a little space at the top of each cup for rising. If using nuts, tuck small pieces of pecans or walnuts between the dough balls.½ cup pecans
- Cover the muffin tin lightly and let the dough rise again until puffy and close to the top of the cups.
- Preheat the oven to
350 °F or 320 °F - Bake the muffins for 18-22 minutes, until the tops are deep golden brown and the sugar-butter mixture is bubbling at the edges.
- Remove the pan from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes. Run a small knife around each muffin if needed to loosen the edges.
- Carefully lift or invert the muffins out of the tin while still warm and sticky.
Vanilla glaze (Optional)
- For the glaze, whisk powdered sugar, vanilla, and enough milk to make a smooth, pourable icing.½ cup powdered milk, ½ cup confectioners sugar, 1-2 tablespoons milk, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Drizzle the glaze over the warm muffins if desired. Serve warm so you can pull them apart in soft, sticky bites.
Notes
- Orange brunch twist: Stir orange zest into the cinnamon sugar and into the glaze for a bright holiday feel.
- Extra glossy top: Use the vanilla glaze plus a tiny pinch of extra cinnamon on top.
- Room temperature: Store in an airtight container for up to 1 day. Best fresh and warm.
- Fridge: Up to 3 days; reheat briefly at 300°F (150°C) to refresh.
- Freezer: Up to 1 month; thaw and warm in the oven for a soft center and sticky top again.
Nutrition
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