Blueberry-stuffed cinnamon sugar Monkey Bread

blueberry stuffed monkey bread
For the love of Paula Deen, baked goods and Philly cream cheese, I broke down and did it: I entered the “Real Women of Philadelphia” dessert-making challenge. It took me a while to come up with a treat I deemed worthy of the Queen of Butter and All Things Batter-dipped, Fried and Sugared, but here’s my submission:
You don’t need to attend the finest pastry schools or import fancy-pants ingredients from exotic locales to create a dish that’ll be the envy of every potluck, bake sale and social event. With the help of Philadelphia cream cheese and some blueberries, I created a refreshing twist on the classic cinnamon sugar monkey bread. It looks — and tastes — like you’ve spent hours in the kitchen, but take it from me: If I can throw it together in my (or rather my boyfriend’s) cupboard-sized kitchen in less than hour, you can do it too!
You can see the video here.
Utensils required: three small bowls (one must be microwave-safe), tablespoon, whisk (or electric mixer), oven mitts, plastic resealable bag, measuring cup, knife (if cutting biscuits yourself), oven
Ingredients (serves 12-14):
  • 1 1/4 cup(s) of sugar
  • 1 cup(s) of blueberries, fresh or frozen (I used thawed frozen berries because they were on sale!)
  • 2 tubes refrigerated croissant or biscuit dough (I like butter, so I opted for croissants this time)
  • 1 package (8 ounces) Philadelphia cream cheese
  • 4 tbsp. of blueberry jam (blackberry works too!)
  • 2 tbsp. of cinnamon
  • 1 cup(s) of brown sugar
  • 1 stick of butter
Time commitment: 20-25 minutes to prepare, 25-30 to cook
Steps:
  1. First, mix 1/4 cup of sugar with 1 cup of blueberries.
  2. Set the berries aside to sweeten, and separate the biscuits. (If you used croissant dough like me, just cut each tube of dough into 10-12 slices.)
  3. Take a plastic resealable bag, pour in a cup of white sugar and two tablespoons of cinnamon, mixing them together.
  4. Pop in a couple pieces of dough, seal the bag, and shake
  5. Now, take a rolling pin — or, if you
  6. Grab a bowl and stir together the jam and Philadelphia cream cheese. You may need a whisk to thoroughly blend the two.
  7. Dab a teaspoon of the Philly filling in the center of each flattened dough coin, then top with 4-6 blueberries.
  8. Curl up the sides of the dough and pinch all the edges together, forming a little purse-like dough ball.
  9. Place each dough “purse” into a greased bundt pan, layering them closely together.
  10. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
  11. In a third bowl, combine the brown sugar and butter. Place it in the microwave for 30 seconds, stir, and repeat this process until the mixture resembles caramel sauce. Mmmm!
  12. Drizzle the sauce all over the monkey bread. Be careful not to drool on it.
  13. Pop it in the oven for 25-30 minutes. It should look bubbly and golden brown when it’s done, but let it cool for 10 minutes or so before flipping the bread out of the pan and digging in.