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If there’s one thing December needs, it’s this Snowflake Pull-Apart Monkey Bread.
Okay, and maybe some real snow too, but since I can’t control the weather, I’m making snowflakes!
It’s weird, by this time of year we always have snow on the ground, and not just a thin layer, but lots of it. I can’t remember a year when we haven’t had piles of snow all over the place by now, so the fact that we have so little snow is weird…and kind of sad. Snow in December is my absolute favorite. Snow in March…April…May? No thanks, but snow in December, yes please. Obviously, there’s not much I can do about the lack of white stuff here in the west, but what I can do…is make deliciously gooey and sweet monkey bread that looks like a giant snowflake. Yup, that I can do.
For real though, how cute is this snowflake monkey bread? I’ve seen these snowflake breads all over my Pinterest page for years now and always thought they were the cutest. It wasn’t until this year that I had the idea to recreate my mom’s butterscotch monkey bread recipe into this festive snowflake. But I’m so glad the idea came to mind, because not only is this bread cute, it’s also incredibly delicious.
Warm, doughy, gooey, extra sweet, and loaded with cinnamon and butterscotch. It’s basically the ultimate Christmas morning breakfast.
Couldn’t love it more.
Now, I know what you guys are thinking, this looks so hard to make. Trust me though, this is not hard to make. I know it looks fancy, but in all honesty, it’s kind of easier than making monkey bread. I mean, it’s not as easy as my mom’s monkey bread, because her recipe doesn’t use homemade dough, or homemade butterscotch sauce and filling, but the process of actually making the snowflake is pretty easy…and fun!
And once you finish? You’ll feel a little proud that you created such a pretty looking bread…
Or at least I did anyway. Hey, I am not a professional pastry baker. I can bake, but making things look extra pretty? Not necessarily my thing.
Point is, even if you think you can’t make this, you can!
I tried to snap a bunch of photos of the twisting process so that you can use those as a guide when making your own bread. I am such a visual person, so at least for me, photos always help.
It’s really just a matter of layering the dough and then twisting. Pretty simple. And even if your snowflake doesn’t end up looking very “snowflake…ish”, don’t worry. All that matters is how the bread tastes, and it’s going to taste great in whatever shape or form.
Think of this snowflake monkey bread like your favorite gooey sticky bun, but instead of in bun form, they’re in cute, pull-apart snowflake form.
If like me you plan to make this for Christmas morning, you can form the snowflake on Christmas Eve, pop it in the fridge and let it sit overnight. In the morning, remove the snowflake from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature while the oven preheats, then just bake and eat!
Since I wanted my bread to be extra, extra gooey, like my mom’s monkey bread that we traditionally eat on Christmas morning, I ended up making an extra butterscotch sauce to lightly drizzle over the snowflake. In full disclosure, the butterscotch sauce is totally not needed. The bread is sweet enough on its own, but it’s the holiday’s and let’s be real, while the bread is good enough on its own, it’s better with that additional butterscotch sauce.
And a dusting of confectioners sugar…you know, for the snow effect.
Obviously.
Snowflake Pull-Apart Monkey Bread
Servings: 10 servings
Calories Per Serving: 740 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup warm whole milk
- 1 packet instant dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
- 3 1/2-4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 egg beaten, for brushing before baking
Filling
- 6 tablespoons butter, very warm, but not melted
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
Butterscotch Sauce
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons whiskey
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- 1. To make the dough. Combine the milk, yeast, honey, 2 eggs, butter, 3 1/2 cups flour, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Mix on medium speed until the dough comes together and pulls away from the side of the bowl. The dough should be sticky, but if it seems too sticky, add the remaining 1/2 cup flour.2. Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a lightly floured surface. Kneed into a smooth ball. Grease a large bowl and add the dough to the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit 45 minutes-1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.3. Meanwhile, make the filling. Mix the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon to a bowl.4. Lightly dust a surface with flour. Once the dough has doubled in size, punch the dough down and roll into a ball. Cut the dough evenly into 4 pieces and roll each piece out into a 10 inch circle. Place 1 circle on a parchment lined baking sheet with sides. Spread 1/3 of the filling over the dough, leaving a 1/2 inch border around the edge. Place another piece of dough on top and spread with 1/3 of the filling. Add the 3rd layer of dough and spread with the remaining filling. Finish with the 4th dough round.5. Place a 2 inch wide drink glass in the center of the dough and use as a guide when cutting the strips. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into 4 triangles, then cut each triangle in half creating 8 triangles. Now cut each triangle in half again to make a total of 16 triangles (see photos above for a guide). 6. Remove the drink glass. Lift the edges of 2 wedges that are next to each other and twist them away from each other twice. Pinch the ends to seal (see photos above for guide). Repeat with the remaining pairs of wedges. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes, or let rise overnight in the fridge. 7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and position a rack in the center. Brush the snowflake with the beaten egg. Bake for 15 minutes, remove from the oven and carefully spoon any sauce that has leaked out of bread back over the bread. Return to the oven and bake another 15 minutes or until golden brown. 8. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar, and heavy cream. Bring to a boil and boil 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the whiskey and vanilla.8. Drizzle the snowflake with butterscotch sauce and dust lightly with confectioners sugar. Eat warm. Enjoy!
The best piece…the one with with extra butterscotch sauce…because it’s Christmas!
PS. have you guys entered my Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer giveaway over on Instagram yet?
Hi, for step 2, how much do I need to knead it? Is it like making bread where you knead it for a while, or just enough to form into a ball? Sorry, newb here! Thanks
Hey Jane! Yes, you’ll knead the dough for a bit during step 2, but it only takes a minute or so. You want the dough to form a smooth, elastic dough ball. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!! xTieghan
I know I am a little late to the party here, but I made this twice during the holidays and it is amazing. It was easy to make with beautiful results. My daughters and husband helped and they took pictures along the way. I made a cream cheese drizzle and we ate it all! So amazing. Thank you for the pictures, they really helped!
Thank you so much Allana! I am so glad you and your family loved this monkey bread!
Well, I did it! My proudest baking moment to date (and I’m 47 and do a lot of baking)! Wasn’t as hard as it looks. I never have good luck with homemade bread products. I can’t even make biscuits but hubby loves monkey bread and I was determined to not give up and just dive into it. Very glad I did. I didn’t have perfect circles either to some of you mentioning ovals. Mine were more ovally and they still turned out fine. I told myself no matter what it looked like, as long as it tasted good, I’d still try it. I only have a hand mixer and that was the biggest challenge. Finally, after the beaters wouldn’t stop bogging down and slinging dough out, I just took it out of the bowl and started kneading it to get the “ball” stage I needed. I was worried that it wouldn’t turn out proper since I couldn’t mix it properly but it was fine. Thanks for sharing this recipe! Husband said it will be his birthday dessert from now on!
I am so glad this turned out amazing for you Lisa! Thank you so much for making this! Happy Holidays!
Do you have to have a standing mixer for this or will a handheld mixer work?
Thanks!
HI! You can mix the dough by hand, but a hand held mixer is no needed. It is best to just mix the dough with your hands until it comes together. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you loved this recipe and had a great Christmas! Thanks so much and happy Holidays!! xTieghan ?
Any known cheats on
Store bought dough. If so what kind.
You could try Rhodes bread dough that is freezer isle, but I have never tried this and I am not sure of what the outcome would be. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much and happy Holidays!! xTieghan ?
This was incredibly easy to make! Mine is currently rising in the fridge as a test run for a hostess gift this holiday. Can’t wait to see how it turns out. Thanks Tieghan!
Thank you Denise!
I made this today for my daughter’s nameday (her name is Esther which means ‘star’ so I chose to see the bread as a star ;)). It was indeed easy to follow recipe and delicious! Loved the butterscotch sauce, though I made just half quantity.
That is so sweet! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Vera! Thank you!
Looks so yummy! Is there any way to make this ahead of time? Or at least compete part of the recipe ahead of time?
HI! You can assemble the entire recipe ahead of time, cover and keep in the fridge for up to 2 day. remove before baking while the oven preheats and bake as directed. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much!! xTieghan ?
I bookmarked this when you first sent it out but didn’t make it because we had soooooooo many other sweet and rich foods already lined up for the Christmas season. However, in the back of my head, I thought I’d save it for our Easter morning breakfast. I assembled it all yesterday, put it in the fridge overnight and baked it up this morning. It was a HUGE hit! For the record, it is NOT way too much filling. And the butterscotch sauce addition was a welcome addition. Not too much of that either! I’m looking forward to making it again in this same form as well as making a savory version like several of your commenters mentioned. Thank you for stressing how easy and fun this bread really is for the average home baker to make!
I am so glad you enjoyed this Sarah! Thank you so much!
I made this today with three grated apples (lightly squeezed to remove excess moisture) added to the filing. It was too die for!!!! Even without the butterscotch sauce. Very easy to follow recipe. The bread is so nice and soft, I have printed this recipe of and added to my favourite recipe cook book.
I am so glad you enjoyed this Cait! Thank you!
Hi Tieghan!
I just want to say I love your blog and me, being a young baker, I get so much inspiration from your blog and I love the uniqueness of your recipes. This recipe stood out to me as something I just HAD to try!! So I prepared it on Christmas eve including making the butterscotch sauce that day too, and on Christmas morning, I was able to put in the oven, no big deal, and then enjoy the tastiest monkey bread ever!!! It is a keeper! I have also tried your pierogie recipe and your chocolate cupcake recipe and have made them at least 3 times! Thank you!
Hi! I am so glad you enjoy the recipes on my blog! Thank you so much Alea!
Tieghan – I was sick & didn’t make this on Christmas morning so I made it New Years Day morning. It is absolutely delicious – tho not as pretty as yours. Ha. Nibbling on it while watching The Tournament or Roses Parade.it was actually not that difficult to make – the pictures & video really helped. Made it last night & let it rise overnight in the fridge. Very yummy & beautiful to look at – guests impressed.
Hi Cindy! I am so happy you made this and enjoyed it! Thank you! I hope your New Year is off to a great start!
This was BEAUTIFUL! However, although salt is listed as an ingredient, it isn’t listed in the directions – so we accidentally left it out. That really detracted from the final product 🙁
Hi Kelly, sorry about that. Recipe is all fixed. Glad you enjoyed the bread! Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
This looks beautiful and delicious. You make it look so easy.
Thank you Dwight! I am glad you like this!
I made this and it turned out perfect. I was really worried because it looks so complicated, but it was beautiful. I am totally a Half Baked Harvest baker now. You are so talented Tieghan! Thank you for sharing your recipes! I will be making this every year for Christmas.
Just wanted to add- the sauce is soooo good. And I did not have ‘too much’ filling at all.
Thank you so much Laura! I am so glad you enjoyed this and hope you enjoy other recipes on my blog! ?