Okay, I have to admit, I’m a sucker for Monkey Bread!!! Yes, I know, it probably can’t be considered the height of the culinary arts, but damn it’s good. What’s not to like; rich caramel, buttery goodness, a crisp crust and gooey interior. It’s got everything you need to start the day off right!! Add a cup or 2 of coffee and you can start your day in high gear.

There are a number of recipes out there for Monkey Bread. Some use store bought biscuit dough, others use store bought bread dough, and yet others have you make everything from scratch. While “made from scratch” is often my favorite way to go, I have to admit that, in this case, I am partial to the recipes using store bought biscuits. Not only do I like the soft texture of the Monkey Bread made this way, but it cuts down on a lot of prep work, which makes it a great breakfast for when you have overnight guests. Get a couple of the kids involved, they love to help shake the dough in the sugar, and you can have this on the breakfast table in no time.

Money Bread

3 cans (12oz each) biscuit dough
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup butter
1 cup, packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted (optional)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350° F. Grease a large bundt or tube pan. Meanwhile mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon and either leave in a large bowl or place in a large ziplock bag. Cut the biscuits into quarters and toss them in the sugar-cinnamon mix until well coated. Arrange the pieces in your prepared pan sprinkling with the optional pecans and/or raisins as you build up the layers. In a saucepan mix the butter and brown sugar over medium high heat. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute. Pour over the biscuit pieces and immediately put into the oven to bake. Bake for approximately 35-40 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 8-10 minutes, then turn out onto a plate. Don’t allow to cool longer or the Monkey Bread might stick to your pan as the sugars cool.

If you haven’t realized by now that Fall is my favorite season and that apples are one of my favorite foods then either: 1. you haven’t been paying attention, or 2. you are new to this blog and haven’t yet read many of my previous posts. Either way I am not going to bore you today with a rehashing of my previous sentiments. Read a few earlier posts from the last few weeks and you’ll get the picture.

The only thing I will say, before moving on to the recipe for today is that this recipe rocks!!! I know I should be more humble but really, I really liked these when I came up with the idea. I’m sure there have been plenty of others who have thought of stuffing an apple with caramel before turning it into a dumpling, but I haven’t come across any recipes. Besides, this recipe gives you the best of both caramel apples and apple dumplings. What isn’t there to like? I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

Caramel Filled Apple Dumplings

1 recipe Your favorite pie dough for a double crust pie
4 each Apples (choose a good baking apple such as Granny Smith, McIntosh or Gravenstein)
10-15 each Individual Caramels
3/4 cup Sugar, granulated
1/2 cup Water
1/2 cup Cider or Apple juice
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. Ground Ginger
2 Tbsp. Butter

Preheat the oven to 375F. Peel and core all the apples, leaving just a bit of the blossom end intact. Roll out the pie dough and cut into 4 7″x7″ squares. Pack the cored apple with the caramels, packing it in lightly. Wrap the apples in the pie dough. There are 2 ways you can do this. 1. Bring the corners of the dough up, over the apple and pinch them together in the center. Then pinch together the seams giving yourself an elegant little package, or 2. wrap the dough around and over the apple, forming it to the apple so that the package maintains an apple shape. I then use some of the scrap dough to form decorative leaves “glued” in place, on top, with a little water. Place in a 9×13 pan and bake at for 30 minutes. Meanwhile combine the remaining ingredients in a saucepan, bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes. Remove from heat. After the apples have baked for 30 minutes pour syrup over dumplings and bake 20-25 minutes more, basting the dumplings with the syrup every 8 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5-8 minutes before placing in a bowl with a little of the remaining syrup and a couple of scoops of vanilla ice cream.

It has been about 1 1/2 months since I wrote about my dismal macaroon failure here. In that time I have done considerable research on making French Macaroons and have finally tried my hand at them again. As you can see by the above picture, they aren’t perfect yet, but I am a lot closer to creating something I am happy with. I think I have the recipe pretty well conquered, now I just have to my piping techniques. The macaroons turned out shatteringly crisp on the outside and still chewy on the inside but they were too tall and not quite smooth on top. I think just a little adjustment to my piping technique and I will be set.

I was amazed, while doing my research, at the large variations in the recipes for French Macaroons. There are a lot of bad recipes out there, and not just on the internet, but in cookbooks also. I was also amazed by the number or recipes that claimed to be based off of the recipe from Laduree, the name in Parisian bakeries specializing in macaroons. With such a wide swing in baking techniques, meringue making techniques, and in the duration to let the macaroons sit before baking, someone (or better yet someones) is lying. The recipe below is one I came up with based on my research and on my experiences last time.

French Macaroons

1 cup Almond flour
1 1/4 cup Confectioner’s Sugar
3/4 cup Granulated Sugar
1/4 cup Water
3 each Egg Whites, room temperature
Pinch Salt

Combine the granulated sugar and water in a sauce pot, bring to a boil and cook to soft ball stage (240-242 degrees). Meanwhile, in an electric mixer whip 2 of the egg whites and the pinch of salt to stiff peaks. When sugar has reached soft ball stage remove from heat and, with the mixer going, add the sugar, to the egg whites, in a slow steady stream and continue to beat to stiff peaks again. In another large bowl combine almond flour and confectioner’s sugar. Add remaining egg white and mix together to form a stiff paste. Add 1/3 of the whipped egg whites to the almond mixture and stir to combine and lighten. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites and well combined.

Cover 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Place batter into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch pastry tip and pipe onto cookie trays into 1 1/2 inch circles. Allow macaroons to sit for 30-40 minutes to allow a skin to form over the mounds of meringue. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 325 degrees. With the door of the oven left open a crack bake the macaroons for 12 minutes. Spin and rotate the trays and bake another 12, again with the oven door slightly ajar. Remove from oven and allow to cool on trays until completely cool.

Fill with your preferred filling. I used caramel as we had some lying around waiting for me to make caramel apples with my daughter. Buttercreams, ganaches, and fruit curds all make great fillings, though just about anything can be sandwiched between the cookies. This recipe makes approximately 40 individual macaroons.