Kick Butt "Gorilla Bread"

Good Morning and Welcome to Day 6 of "Paula Deen week" Today's recipe is Gorilla Bread. I thought it turned out wonderful. The cream cheese center was the topper for me, so sinful. If you don't know what Gorilla Bread is, it's really just a mega version of Monkey Bread. If you have never made it then you don't know what you are missing. 

Monkey Bread is a sticky, gooey pastry served as a breakfast treat. Recipes for this bread first appeared in American women's magazines and community cookbooks in the 1950s. It is made with pieces of sweet yeast dough which are baked in a cake pan at high heat after first being individually covered in melted butter, cinnamon, and sugar and chopped pecans. 

Monkey Bread is traditionally served hot so that the baked segments can be easily torn away with the fingers and eaten by hand without any utensils just like a monkey. Now just think about Monkey Bread for a second and now imagine it ten times better…… And you will have “Gorilla Bread”. 

I couldn't imagine anything better than Monkey Bread. Well that all changed after I had my first bite. It was another OMYGOODNESS moment. I never thought Monkey bread could be topped, but as Paula Deen says..... Gorilla Bread kick’s Monkey Breads butt!!!!!!!!!!!!! And it’s TRUE. Lets go ahead and get started.

Start by pre heating the oven to 350 degrees. In a saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar over low heat, stirring well;

The butter and brown sugar mixture so be smooth, creamy and all butter melted. Set aside

Cut the cream cheese into 20 equal cubes.



mix the sugar and cinnamon together and set aside.

Press the biscuits out with your fingers and sprinkle each with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon sugar. Place a cube of cream cheese in the center of each biscuit, wrapping and sealing the dough around the cream cheese so it looks like a ball.

Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the nuts into the bottom of the bundt pan sprayed with baking spray. Place half of the prepared biscuits in the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

pour half of the melted butter mixture over the biscuits, and sprinkle on 1/2 cup of nuts. Layer the remaining biscuits on top, sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar, pour the remaining butter mixture over the biscuits, and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of nuts. Bake for 30 minutes

Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Place a plate on top and invert. Cool and serve. I drizzled a powdered sugar glaze over the gorilla bread before serving to make it that much better Ü (powdered sugar, vanilla extract, butter and milk) mix together until it's the consistency you want, drizzle over warm bread and serve.

Serve warm and let everyone break off pieces and enjoy!!!


Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 12 to 14 servings

Adapted from:
Paula's Cookbook "Christmas with Paula Deen"

Gorilla Bread

1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 8-ounce package cream cheese
2 - 12-ounce cans refrigerated biscuits (10 count)
1 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray. Mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon. In a saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar over low heat, stirring well; set aside. Cut the cream cheese into 20 equal cubes. Press the biscuits out with your fingers and sprinkle each with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon sugar. 

Place a cube of cream cheese in the center of each biscuit, wrapping and sealing the dough around the cream cheese. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the nuts into the bottom of the bundt pan. Place half of the prepared biscuits in the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, pour half of the melted butter mixture over the biscuits, and sprinkle on 1/2 cup of nuts. 

Layer the remaining biscuits on top, sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar, pour the remaining butter mixture over the biscuits, and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of nuts. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Place a plate on top and invert.

If you missed our previous recipes for "Paula Deen Week"
click on the links below to view the previous recipes:

Recipe for Day #1 Paula’s Georgia Cookie Candy


Recipe for Day #2
 The Deen Brothers Chocolate Chip Pie


Recipe for Day #3Paula’s Ultimate Coffee Cake
Recipe for Day #4Paula’s Hurry Up Chicken Pot Pie
Recipe for Day #5Not Yo' Mama's Banana Pudding