Thursday, December 23, 2010

Crowd-Size Chunky Monkey Cinnamon Pan Bread - for Christmas morning brunch.



By the time I fall into bed on Christmas Eve, my head has been swimming with ideas for Christmas morning breakfast.  Cinnamon rolls are my family favorite, but I’m always looking for a shortcut that late in the game.  This is perfect - easy to throw together, and also easy to pull apart and eat on the busiest-of-all-holiday-mornings.


There’s just something special about cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning.  At my house, you can’t ever have bakery cinnamon rolls - they have to be home-grown.  But by the time everyone’s tucked in bed on Christmas Eve, I’m not happy about staying up all night making them.  

This year, I decided to try out a new idea.  Of course, I always make a trial run of my crowd-size ideas at the Conference Center where I work.  They are always a willing (and grateful) tasting panel.   

If you’ve been following for very long, you’ve probably stumbled upon this favorite recipe - Chunky Monkey Cinnamon Bread.  The dough couldn’t be easier to make, and it’s quick as well.  I decided to use the same recipe, but assemble it “cinnamon-roll-style” in a large double-size cake pan with high sides.   I thought at first that it wouldn’t be large enough, but it was just right.  You could also make it in two (deep) 9” x 13” dripper pans.
This reminds me of something I used to make called “Bubble Bread” - where you pinched off balls of sweet dough, rolled each individually in butter and cinnamon sugar, and then painstakingly arranged in a bundt pan.  It was delicious, but so tedious to make.  This gives you the same effect, but it’s done by rough-chopping dough that’s already drenched in butter and sugar beforehand.

The best thing about making it this way is how easy it is to serve.  Just pull out a hunk with your fingers or a small spatula.  The problem with traditional cinnamon rolls is that you feel you have to take the entire roll - whether it’s too monstrous for you or not.  This option lets each person take just the right size portion for them.

Hopefully this idea will make your Christmas morning more enjoyable and relaxed.  Merry Christmas from my kitchen to yours!

The recipe link is found at:

1 comment:

  1. Looks like your family will be eating will Christmas morning! Merry Christmas!

    ReplyDelete