Monkey Bread Biscuits -- The Bread You Bring When the Kitchen Is Where It All Happens

Labor Day weekend and Liam is five months old and I've been back at work for three weeks and we've arrived at something that feels like sustainable. Not easy—I don't think it's supposed to be easy at this point—but sustainable. The routines are holding. Sean and I have worked out the division of nights and mornings with the negotiated efficiency of people who love each other and have limited time and don't want to waste it on resentment.

We drove to Meghan's in Dorchester for the Labor Day cookout. Cormac grills in the way men of his particular generation grill: with authority, without consulting the recipe, producing results that are uniformly excellent and for which he accepts credit without false modesty. He made burgers and sausages and grilled corn and we sat in the backyard in the last heat of the summer and Liam was passed from person to person like a small ambassador conducting diplomacy with everyone at the table.

Meghan is pregnant again. She told me in the kitchen while I was refilling the lemonade. Six weeks, they haven't told the girls yet. She told me with the private smile of someone who has good news that hasn't become a production yet, and I hugged her and it was one of those moments where the kitchen is the right place for important information because it's a room where you can absorb things without having to perform a reaction.

I made my grandmother's brown bread to bring and Meghan ate three slices over the course of the afternoon, which is how you tell someone the bread was good without making a speech about it.

I’ve made my grandmother’s brown bread enough times that my hands could do it in the dark, but there are days when you want something that requires just enough attention to feel like cooking without demanding everything you have — and these Monkey Bread Biscuits are exactly that. They pull apart the way a good afternoon pulls apart: easily, without ceremony, piece by piece until someone looks down and the plate is empty. If you’re bringing something to a backyard table where the real event is the people and not the food, this is the thing to bring.

Monkey Bread Biscuits

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 40 min | Servings: 10–12

Ingredients

• 2 cans (16 oz each) refrigerated biscuit dough, cut into quarters
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, divided

Instructions

1. Preheat and prepare. Heat your oven to 375°F. Grease a standard Bundt pan or deep round baking dish generously with butter or nonstick spray.
2. Mix the coating. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, minced garlic, parsley, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
3. Coat the dough. Add the quartered biscuit pieces to the bowl and toss gently until each piece is well coated in the butter mixture.
4. Layer in the pan. Arrange half the coated dough pieces in the prepared pan in an even layer. Sprinkle with half the Parmesan. Add the remaining dough pieces and top with the rest of the Parmesan.
5. Bake. Bake for 22–26 minutes, until the top is deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Cool and turn out. Let the bread rest in the pan for 5 minutes, then carefully invert onto a serving plate. Serve warm and let people pull it apart at the table.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 210 | Protein: 5g | Fat: 10g | Carbs: 26g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 520mg