Monkey Bread

You don’t need store-bought cinnamon roll dough or a can of biscuits—the very best monkey bread recipe relies on an easy homemade yeast dough that uses just a few pantry staples. (And look, if you don’t care for the elasticity and chew bread flour provides, you can even make do here with all-purpose flour.) The dough comes together in a food processor for ease, but if you don’t have one, a stand mixer with a dough hook works too—or you can simply bring the dough together in a large bowl and knead it by hand, even if that will necessitate a little more prep time.

A chai-inspired spice mix boosts the flavor in this version of the classic pull-apart bread. Each ooey-gooey layer is ribboned with pecans and pumpkin seeds, enhanced by an easy microwave brown-sugar-caramel sauce that’s poured over the dough and soaks its buttery way down through the crevices as the bread bakes. (Store-bought caramel works too, but you might need to warm it slightly to a pourable consistency.) Feeling more traditional? Roll the balls of dough in melted butter followed by a cinnamon-sugar mixture and skip the nuts. Either way, assembling this monkey bread is a fun project for a holiday morning.

No Bundt pan? You’ve got options. Swap in a 12-cup tube pan or two loaf pans. In a pinch you could also use two 8” cake pans, but note that your cook time will vary. Whatever you choose, have your serving plate ready to go; you’ll want to invert the homemade monkey bread quickly so that the sugary coating doesn’t have time to solidify and stick. But be careful, it’s hot.