My Vegan Monkey Bread

Growing up when I heard keys drop into the light wood kitchen drawer, sports turned on and the smell of tuna and pickles I knew dad was home. I would drag my wooden pots and pans and start pretending they were drums while I listened to the tunes of Monday night football. After half time there was always excitement in the air or more like apprehension, when would dad start making "dough doughs"? Obviously the name monkey bread was too hard to pronounce or perhaps the idea of a animal in bread scared me. Each commercial break I dazed up to the kitchen island and patiently waited for the scent of buttery warm cinnamon to seep from the oven. Brown sugar on the floor, flour hand prints on the cat print dish towel and ten minutes left in the game...they were done. I stood on my tippy toes, pulled a piece of the gooey sugar dough, sat down on the couch and finished the game with my dad. Yeah those were the good old days. I wanted to be that kid again with an handful of sugary sweet dough dough. So I made my own monkey bread today- much like my dad's recipe which involves rich dark brown sugar, the best vanilla extract made and fresh farm eggs from down the street - but no one would ever guess mine is gluten free and vegan.

Prepare dry and wet ingredients separately. The yeast is the most important part!

Vegan butter spread must be melted. Mix into wet ingredients.

Make a well of the dry ingredients and pour the wet stuff in. Mix until it dough forms an sticky, firm and stiff.

Place the dough on gluten free floured surface. Try not to eat the dough...kneed for about twenty minutes or so. Put into turned off oven for one hour to rise.

Roll out into a squarish circle and use a pizza cutter to make forty squares.

Turn squares into little round balls. Place on floured surface. Sneak one into your purse.

Make one bowl just brown sugar and one of butter spread. Dip each ball into the butter and roll in the sugar.

Layer/stagger in a bundt pan, bake for thirty five minutes and once cooled flip over. Dust with powdered sugar and drizzle vanilla creme anglaise.

I served mine hot out of the oven in an pool of vanilla almond milk....since it looks more like cereal which means its breakfast worthy right? :) Go turn on some football and snuggle up to your dad, don't forget the dough dough - its the best part.

My Vegan Monkey Bread

Dough:
1 c warm vanilla milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/3 c warm water
2 tbsp vegan butter, softened, and 2 tbsp melted
1/4 c turbinado sugar, or evaporated cane sugar
3 tsp instant yeast
Separate bowl:
3 1/4 c gluten free flour, optional *I use pancake mix for everything!
2 tsp table salt

Brown Sugar Dipping:
2 c dark brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
6 tbsp vegan butter, melted

Turn on oven to 200 degrees, once temperature is reached turn off. Mix wet yeast ingredients in small bowl. Set aside. Mix together dry ingredients -flour and salt in big bowl. Form well inside of flour mixture, add wet ingredients and mix by spoon until firm. Kneed dough on a gluten free floured surface for 15 minutes. Place into a oven dish covered with foil into turned off oven for 1 hour to rise. Take out. Roll out into a square, cut into mini squares, roll into balls. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Dip into vegan butter and place into brown sugar. Layer/stagger into greased bundt pan. Bake for about 35 minutes. It will be bubbly from the butter sugar mixture. Allow to cool for long as possible. Flip over on a plate and dust with powdered sugar. Eat straight up or add your favorite spiced creme glaze.