Do you crave some comfort? We are all feeling it. I’m forging ahead with all the healthful piles of plants that I usually serve, and feeling good about it. But a balanced life also affords us a little treat. Like these caramel-drenched, walnut-studded Monkey Biscuits.
Monkey Biscuits for a Fun Family Breakfast
I’m looking at you, holiday mornings! Now that we’ve been spending more time at home, it’s important to make some “fun foods” that give a meal a more festive vibe. Picture your pod gathered at the table, with this warm, sticky bread in the center. Everybody gets to pull off pieces and bite into the gooey biscuits, and get a little messy. It’s not your usual bowl of cereal, it’s an event.
Eating with your fingers is always more sensual- as you get to experience the warmth and creaminess of the caramel, you’ll get another level of pleasure from the experience. You can feel like a kid again, eating with your hands, licking your fingers, and just enjoying a delicious breakfast.
Homemade Biscuits and Caramel are the Best
I’ve been looking at recipes for money bread for years, and it is usually made from pre-made refrigerated biscuits or bread dough. It seemed to me that it wouldn’t be too time consuming to just stir up the biscuits myself, using organic, plant based ingredients, instead of resorting to store-bought. The first versions I made had way less caramel, in an effort to be a little reserved with all the sugar and “butter.” But I realized, after making (and eating) a few iterations of the idea that I had to go all in. The final recipe, as you can see, is drenched in caramel.
Go big or go home, as they say…
The caramel is a shortcut version, relying on the flavor of brown sugar instead of actually caramelizing sugar to start. It’s a little cheat, and a delicious one. Even if you just make the caramel sauce, you will be glad you did- you can drizzle it over ice cream, use it as a dip for apples, or anything else that strikes your fancy. I used Melt brand sticks, and tested it with Miyoko’s too. Just don’t use a tub-style margarine, or it will be too runny.
Go ahead, treat yourself. These are best served warm, just out of the oven. If you have some leftover, keep them in the refrigerator and warm them in the oven or microwave to make the caramel melty and ooey gooey again.
Food is many things, and today, let it be fun.
Caramel Walnut Monkey Biscuits
Ingredients
Caramel
- 1/2 cup vegan "butter"
- 1 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup coconut cream
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Biscuits
- 3/4 cup non-dairy milk unsweetened
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons organic sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F. Spray or brush a small bundt pan with oil, reserve.
- In a small pot, combine the vegan butter, brown sugar, coconut cream and vanilla and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat so the caramel doesn't boil over, and cook for 5 minutes. Take off the heat and let cool to room temperature.
- In a cup, stir the non-dairy milk, cider vinegar and oil and let stand while you mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, mix the pastry flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir the wet mixture into the dry mixture, and stir until combined.
- Drizzle 1/2 cup of the caramel into the bundt pan and sprinkle with 1/3 of the walnuts. Use a 1 tablespoon-sized cookie scoop or a tablespoon to scoop portions of dough, then drop into the caramel, leaving a little space between them, until the bottom is covered. Sprinkle with nuts, drizzle with caramel, and keep going, until the dough is all in the pan. Drizzle any extra caramel over the top.
- Bake for 30 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the caramel bubbles around the edges.Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then hold a large plate tightly to the pan and flip -do this over a baking sheet or the sink in case some extra caramel gets loose. Use a spatula to scrape the caramel out of the pan and drizzle over the biscuits.
- Serve at room temperature, and eat with your fingers! Store in the refrigerator, tightly covered, for up to 4 days, and warm portions in the microwave or oven to serve.
