I am a Honey Bee

All about my adventures with cooking, crafts, and travel

monkey bread monday

Rolo Monkey Bread

“If you can lean, you can clean”

Back when I was a college freshman, working retail, I had a boss who would say that. If he caught anyone leaning against a wall or the column next to the register zoning out he would say that so that they got back to work. And if he caught you, he usually made you clean.

I feel that is my life now.

But I am catching myself and I then mentally freak the fuck out and then try to do 10 things to make up for that ‘clacking off’. I never feel like I can just sit and relax. Even if I am on FB, it’s generally to do something related to the blog account, some side hustle stuff, or the account for the dogs I am trying to figure out how I am going to build.

Or if I am on instagram, I am scrolling through and engaging with people that are niche related and I am

The trifecta of getting ‘ish done is when I am pumping, while sitting at the computer so I can write a blog post and search using a specific platform, earning me extra spending money. Extra points if I am listening to a pod cast and I remembered to plug my phone into the fast charger at the desk.

Life just never feels like it ever slows down.

And, in someways, we aren’t doing that much either. Autumn goes to gymnastics 1x a week and that’s it, but the general life maintenance makes things chaotic. From prepping clothes and bottles for the next day, laundry, walking dogs, cooking dinner and dishes, the week night quickly speeds by and before we know it, it’s time for bed and another day of madness until the weekend comes when we try to tackle bigger projects, hang with friends and family, and maybe even get in a nap.

It just feels that I need a month of no distractions and crap to get really caught up on life, with the things I need to do and just want to do.

But that’s why I am always looking for short cuts for things.

I certainly like to make monkey bread or pies or pizza by scratch, but there are times when it’s just easier to grab some biscuits or a pre-made crust or order take out.

And when you add some chocolate candy to the dough… dessert perfection!!!

I love that the Rolo candy, hidden inside the dough ball, gets all melty and gooey. The cinnamon glaze that envelopes each dough ball is perfect with that sweet caramel and chocolate filling too.

Serve this with some ice cream and you are in for a great dessert treat.

Some people might just think that monkey bread is for breakfast,but I think that you will convince them pretty quickly that it’s great for dessert as well when you serve up this sticky sweet caramel and chocolate treat!!

Rolo Monkey Bread

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 rolls of biscuit dough, 16.3 ounces each (8 biscuits per roll)
  • 32 Rolos
  • 2/3 Cup brown sugar
  • 2/3 Cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1/2 Cup butter, melted

Process

  1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray a bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray.
  2. Cut each biscuit into 2 equal pieces.Stretch each biscuit out
  3. Combine the sugars and cinnamon in a bowl.
  4. Dip each dough ball into the melted butter, then into the sugar mixture.
  5. Place each coated dough ball into the bundt pan. Pour any remaining butter over the dough balls.
  6. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until golden brown and the top pieces are firm.
  7. Let cool for 5 minute before inverting on a serving plate.

 

Slow Cooker Monkey Bread

I am going to conquer our little office this weekend. Well, I hope.

I have a plan for our little office nook. It’s an outcove off our kitchen area, on the way to the bathroom. It’s quite efficient for space so there aren’t too many options for it. We have a folding table there now but that isn’t a long term solution.

Since there isn’t too much to it, we are going to install a counter there. This was an option for the builder to do but it was crazy expensive. There was no way we were paying $2K for this area. Sure, it would have been great to have a matching counter to our kitchen, but that was an expense that we were just not interested in paying.

So I am heading over to Ikea to pick up a kitchen counter for $45. It will need to be trimmed about a foot or so but there is not much to it. Then we’ll get some brackets up and set it on there. Done and done. Then Price will set up the computer again since I’m useless in that department. I need things color coded or something to hook it all back up properly.

One thing I can simply operate is the slow cooker. ha!

Making monkey bread in the slow cooker is as simple as it gets. You place the coated, cut-up biscuit pieces.

While this method takes longer than your typical baking method, I think it would work well on a morning when you are hosting people or need to get out the door and the rest of the family is sticking around.

I find that cutting the biscuits with kitchen shears to be the easiest way to cut the biscuits. It makes the job super quick as well.

You house will be filled with the sweetest cinnamon roll smell as it cooks.

Slow Cooker Monkey Bread

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

For the monkey bread

  • 2 cans of large buttermilk biscuits (1 pound each)
  • 2/3 Cup sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon.
  • 1/2 Cup butter
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the glaze

  • 4 ounces of cream cheese, softened
  • 2 Cups powdered sugar
  • 1 -2 teaspoons milk

Process

  1. Cut each biscuit into 8 equally sized pieces.
  2. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Coat the pieces with the cinnamon sugar mixture.
  3. Add the sugar coated biscuit pieces to the slow cooker that has been sprayed well with non-stick cooking spray.
  4. Melt the butter and then add the vanilla extract. Evenly pour the butter over pieces.
  5. Turn slow cooker on to  the 2 hour setting (high) for 2 hours. After 1 hour, run a rubber spatula between the monkey bread and the side of the slow cooker. Repeat 30 minutes later.
  6. Just prior to the monkey bread being done, make the glaze by combining all of the ingredients.
  7. When cooking is complete immediately remove the slow cooker vessel from the warming element. Drizzle with the glaze.

Margarita Sweet Rolls

We had our first trip of the year to the beach this past weekend.

It was perfect. Minus the sunburn. But still perfect.

We headed to the beach with our friends Nichole and Josh with their daughter Sophia since Autumn wanted to play with So-Fee-ya. Yes, that is how she says Sophia, she enunciates each syllable like that. Love it.

It was wonderful getting to get some fun and tons of sun in the mix between the million things around the house that are still keeping us really busy. (I will have a room by room update soon, I swear!)

The worst part about going to the beach is the walk back from the spot to the car. You’re tired. The kids are tired. You don’t want to be lugging all the crap back. At least when you were heading towards the water at the start of the day you were eagerly looking forward to plopping your butt in a beach chair. Now, it’s the journey back across the Sahara desert to the parking lot where you need to wash off the kids, get the uber hot car, pack it up, and venture back home.

And why, oh why, doesn’t my kid pass out once she is in the car?!?!?! Oh no, she needs to spend half the hour long car ride recapping the beach day. That’s cool, we know you played with Sophia,that you used your ‘surfboard’ (kickboard), and you ate chips. Blah Blah Blah. How about you chill and sleep so we can decompress in silence and you get a nap in?!?!? No, okay, that’s cool…

That is when I wish I could run into the house and grab the bottle of tequila and give it a big chug before getting started on the wet, sandy laundry. Only 35 day left until baby #2 arrives!!!

Until then, I’ll be licking my fingers clean of this sweet, zesty icing. It’s so dang good. It’s the margarita mix in it. Dreamy.

Margarita Sweet Rolls

Makes 12 rolls

Ingredients

For the Dough

  • 1 Cup warm milk (100-110 degrees)
  • 1 packet yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted (but not hot!)
  • 4 Cups flour
  • 1 Tablespoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt

For the Filling

  • 1/2 cup melted butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons lime zest

For the Icing

  • 2 Tablespoons melted butter
  • 2 teaspoons lime zest
  • 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons margarita mix or fresh lime juice

Process

Sticky Bun Monkey Bread

It’s Babymoon time!!!!

We are going away for a quick Babymoon this weekend. I am so excited!!

Last time, we took a trip to the Florida to visit The Keys for a long weekend but since we are here in Florida now, we are just staying local. I’d love to take another trip to The Keys but I didn’t feel like flying, err spending money on flights, really.

Price found a local resort and spa for us to visit. The idea of a prenatal massage and bumming it by the pool without a toddler asking you to go in and out and in and out again is pure bliss.

Generally, I feel good at 32 weeks but I am so blah and sore all over so I just need my slightly ever present charlie horses to be worked out. (Seriously, they are the worst things ever to wake up to in the middle of the night!!!) Thankfully, Price snagged the last one available for the day and I picked up the required doctor’s note so I am just counting down the minutes until the appointment.

The worst part is that I keep reading things included in our package and it just makes me want to stay forever. Well, more specifically, go back AFTER the baby is born for the unlimited drinks. Hello, unlimited mimosas at brunch!

If you aren’t going away this weekend, I insist you make this Sticky Bun Monkey Bread. It’s stupid good. And goes great with mimosas too. (Truth be told, everything goes with mimosas. It’s a fact!)

 

But seriously, this Sticky Bun Monkey Bread is a real crowd pleaser. It tastes just like a sticky bun with the sticky caramel syrup that you drizzle all over the cinnamon and sugar coated biscuit pieces.

I used refrigerated canned biscuits to make this process easier, but you can follow my recipe for Homemade Monkey Bread for the dough, and then add the nuts and caramel sauce to it.

The caramel is everything. Whatever you do, don’t just dip a finger in there to try it. Nor is it a good idea to immediately grab a piece of monkey bread right after you flip it out on to the serving platter. No, I def didn’t try that and burn the crap out of my fingers and then my mouth as the quickest thing I could think of was ‘ahh my fingers!’ so shoving it in my mouth was the next logical thing to do. Nope…

Let’s fast-forward to the weekend, shall we?

I’ll be ready for my prenatal massage and you will be ready to enjoy this Sticky Bun Monkey Bread. And a few mimosas in my honor.

Sticky Bun Monkey Bread

Makes 16 servings

Ingredients

  • 3/4 Cup granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 3 cans refrigerated buttermilk biscuits (10 biscuits per can)
  • 4 ounces of chopped pecans
  • 3/4 Cup butter
  • 1 Cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/3 Cup heavy cream
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Process

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Set aside.
  3. Spray a tube pan with non-stick cooking spray. Sprinkle 1/3 of the nuts in the bottom on the tub pan.
  4. Cut the biscuits in 4 equal pieces. Roll them in the cinnamon and sugar mixture
  5. Add half of the coated biscuit pieces into the tube pan. Sprinkle with 1/3 more nuts. Add the rest of the coated biscuit pieces and then the remaining chopped nuts.
  6. In a small saucepan, combine the butter and brown sugar. Melt together over medium- high heat. Mix in the cream and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Bring to a boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and mix in the vanilla extract.
  7. Evenly pour the caramel mixture over the coated biscuits.
  8. Bake for 35-45 minutes.
  9. Flip over onto a serving dish. Enjoy!

Nutty Cinnamon Rolls

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So we bought our house on Friday!!!!

And now we can’t move.

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I mean, we are actually moving out of my dad’s house, but physically, I am walking like an old woman who needs a cane. I didn’t do heavy lifting since I’m 6 months preggo, but I was still on my feet most of the weekend unpacking stuff. And that is a big change from my M-F, 9-5 routine of sitting on my ass all day.

But I am just so excited about the house being finally done. There are a few things they need to fix, but they are minor so no big. I am looking forward to bringing back up a kitchen filler panel millwork issue that I brought up with them weeks ago to which I got the lovely “well, that’s how we do it” response to which I said “just because you do it that way, doesn’t mean it’s right.” And now I have a legit argument for why they should have done it the way I told them to do it. Yo, mofo’s I do this for a living too, and I’m right…

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Other than that things are going smoothly and I figure I will be walking like a normal person again in like 2 weeks. ha!

I will share pictures really soon of the house and then in the coming weeks I will show how we have decorated each room. Our dining room is already in good shape so it just needs some decor up, which I have most of. yay!! So I think I will start with that.

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In the mean time, enjoy these Nutty Cinnamon Rolls. They are a subtle twist on the classic with the addition of nuts. Take the time to finely chop them and toast them and you’ll love what they add to your cinnamon rolls.

If you haven’t yet tried vanilla bean paste then I urge you to get some ASAP and give it a try. If you can’t get it then I really suggest that you use a vanilla bean for the glaze. It gives it great flavor and it’s super pretty to see all those specks. Just so fancy!

My dad hates nuts in baked goods (as well as ricotta in lasagna! what?!) but he happily gobbled one of these up. So I bet you will like them too!

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Nutty Cinnamon Rolls

Makes 12 large cinnamon rolls

Ingredients

For the Rolls

  • 1 Cup warm milk (100-110 degrees)
  • 1 packet yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted (but not hot!)
  • 4 Cups flour
  • 1 Tablespoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 Cup melted butter
  • 1 Cup brown sugar
  • 1 Cup finely chopped toasted walnuts/pecans
  • 2 Tablespoons cinnamon

For the glaze

  • 2 Cups powdered sugar, sifted
  • 2 Tablespoons melted unsalted butter
  • 1-2 teaspoons milk
  • 1 vanilla bean paste/vanilla bean caviar

Process

  1. Add the yeast to the warm milk. Let rest for 5 minutes to activate the yeast.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the eggs, then slowly mix in the warm milk mixture. Add the butter and just mix to combine.
  3. Add in the flour, sugar, and salt. Using a hook attachment, work the dough until combined.
  4. On a well floured work surface, roll the dough into a smooth ball. Add the dough to a large bowl that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Rotate to cover the dough with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let double in size, at least 1 hour.
  5. Once the dough is ready, preheat your oven to 350 F and grease 1 9x 13 baking pan.
  6. On a well floured work surface, roll the dough out so it is approximately 14″ x 24″. Evenly spread out the melted butter on the dough. Then sprinkle with the cinnamon, brown sugar, and nuts.
  7. Roll the long edge towards you and then cut into 12 evenly sized rolls. Arrange in the baking pan.
  8. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
  9. Make the glaze by mixing all of the ingredients in a medium sized bowl until smooth. Drizzle all over the cinnamon rolls. Enjoy!

Individual Strawberry Monkey Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting

individual-strawberry-monkey-breads-with-cream-cheese-frosting

I am loving winter in Florida.

It’s a joke to call it winter. It’s been amazing out. We had one cold weekend so far and you would have thought the end of the world was coming. People reacted to at the grocery store the same way that people in Boston reacted to snow storms. Everyone at the grocery store was all bundled up and talking about how cold it was. I was standing there in a sweat shirt like “yo, you have no idea…” It was like 45 out. ha!

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Pull Apart Pepperoni Pizza Bread

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Umm, Florida… get your act together.

It’s just too cold right now.

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As I type this it’s 44 degrees here (Sunday night!). It was so cold this morning that I didn’t want to get out of bed.

Yes, I am well aware that is not really cold. Prior to the move in Feb, I grew up in New England my whole life so I know cold temps. We did the long witers, polar vortex, record setting cold and snow, and blizzards. So I know what cold feels like when you are wearing coats inside since you just can’t stay warm, nor really afford cranking up the heat. Or when your bus breaks down from the cold. Or when your dog won’t even go outside since it’s so cold… ya get the point.

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But, this is just not ‘right’ for Florida now.

We went out for a friend’s birthday on Friday and we were supposed to go golfing, but the wait time was crazy and it was just too cold. Even when we were called everyone was like “yeah, no thanks, too cold.” It seriously was cold, but the worst part was the wind. The wind chill temp was in the 30’s. nope.

Anyway, I’m over the ‘cold’ but I’m not over how good this pull apart bread is.

It’s so good. So, so good. I love pizza so this pull apart bread that is loaded with cheese and pepperoni that you then dip into pizza sauce. So much flavor. So much cheese pull.

It doesn’t take much effort to make. Autumn even helped me roll it out!

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The dough it simple to make. Then ya roll it out and you sprinkle it a whole bunch of cheese and pepperoni all over the buttery dough. Slice up pieces, slap them together and put them in a loaf pan. You’re about 45 minutes away from the best herby cheesy bread that you yank part and dip into hot pizza sauce.

This is just so perfect for post season game watching. (ugh you let me down Giants!) It will go over really well for The Superbowl. I bet everyone will be loving this.

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Pull Apart Pepperoni Pizza Bread

Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients

  • 1 Cup plus 2 Tablespoons warm milk (105-110 degrees, 2% or whole milk)
  • 1 package active yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
  • 3 Cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon parsley flakes
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/4 Cup olive oil
  • 4 ounces of butter, melted
  • 2 Cups shredder mozzarella cheese
  • 1 6-ounce package sliced pepperoni
  • serve with hot pizza sauce

Process

  1. Bloom the yeast in the milk for a few minutes.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl, add the flour, salt, parsley, garlic powder, and onion powder. Mix to combine.
  3. Add the milk and the oil to the dry ingredients and mix well to combine. The dough should be coming together to form a ball and pulling away from the sides of the bowl. The dough is a bit moist so if it’s a bit dry add a bit more milk.
  4. Transfer the dough to the well- oiled large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit for at least 1 hour to double in size.
  5. When you are ready to make the bread, preheat the oven to 350 F.
  6. Roll the dough out so it’s about 12″ x 20″. Spread the melted butter on dough. Using a pizza cutter, cut into pieces that are about 4″ x 5″. Then sprinkle the cheese over all of the pieces, add 2 pieces to pepperoni to the pieces.
  7. Stack the pieces on each other. Turn the last piece to face in so the dough it on the outside. Then place into the butter loaf pan. Sprinkle any cheese that fell off during assembly on top of the bread.
  8. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until golden brown and the cheese is melty. Remove and let cool for 10 minutes before serving with hot pizza sauce.