cheesecake-stuffed pumpkin monkey bread

Pumpkin strikes again! This is my FOURTH fall season as a food blogger, and I have to admit it's getting increasingly more difficult to come up with a pumpkin recipe I haven't already made. We've got chocolate chip cookies and braided bread and soup and hot chocolate  and cobbler and pancakes and brownies and well... I'll be the first to admit it. I definitely have a pumpkin problem. But it's fall and I'm a white girl and I can't help myself. Sorry not sorry.

As a food blogger, recipe inspiration can come from anywhere... cookbooks, friends, family recipes... or well, ya know, Buzzfeed videos. I'm so embarrassed but it's true! I, without fail, end up seeing like a dozen of those 90 second mini recipe videos every time I get on Facebook. One I saw recently was for monkey bread made with canned biscuits, and stuffed with cream cheese and chocolate chips. I got to thinking and I was like, "HEY, I made those pumpkin buns a couple years ago and surely that dough could work for something like monkey bread. And I could stuff it with cream cheese and white chocolate. And dip the balls of dough into pumpkin spice sugar. Yep. This is happening. Legggooo." And, in case you were wondering, that's actually my recipe brainstorming process most of the time. I'm such a professional.

This recipe is incredibly delicious but so easy! First, you make a simple dough {which, in case you were wondering, totally has pumpkin puree in it. and pumpkin spice, too. i'm anything if not predictable}, which you then knead and roll and separate into a bunch of little balls. You then squish each little ball, place a little cream cheese and a few white chocolate chips in the center, and pinch it closed. You roll all your dough pieces into pumpkin spiced sugar, place them in a buttered bundt pan, and let them bake for a while. Then, remove from oven, cool, and devour. Oh yes. Yum!

So, notice anything special about the picture above? Helloooo, engagement ring! I've been engaged for about a month and while I announced it on Instagram and FB, I don't remember if I announced it on here. Oops. Well... surprise! I'm engaged! I had the most adorable surprise bakery engagement and it's honestly a miracle I didn't just die on the spot due to how unbearably cute it was. I'm hoping to do a post about that soon once I round up some pictures! And I am kinda sorta somewhat debating starting a weekly or bi-monthly thing where I share my current wedding inspiration favorites. I have like a million-and-one pins on Pinterest, but I think it might be fun to share what I'm working on and liking! I don't know yet. We shall see. IN THE MEANWHILE, make this incredibly delicious pumpkin monkey bread! If you wanna keep it simple, you can even skip the cheesecake filling but, well.. why would you do that? 😉

Print Recipe

cheesecake-stuffed pumpkin monkey bread

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr

Servings: 1 10-inch pan

Author: Valentina | The Baking Fairy

Ingredients

• 1 cup pure pumpkin puree
• 3 tablespoon unsalted butter melted
• ½ cup whole milk
• 1 packet instant dry yeast
• ½ cup white granulated sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pumpkin spice
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 2 egg yolks
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup cream cheese
• ½ cup white chocolate chips
• for topping: melted butter ½ cup white sugar + ½ teaspoon pumpkin spice

Instructions

• First, heat your milk up to about 105F {it should take just a few seconds in the microwave}, and mix in your yeast. Let it sit for a few minutes to activate!
• Pour the milk and yeast mixture in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add in the sugars, salt, pumpkin spice, and vanilla extract. Mix, then add in the pumpkin puree, melted butter, egg, and egg yolks. Mix until well-combined.
• Switch to the dough hook attachment, and start adding the flour about ½ cup at a time. Keep mixing and adding until the dough is no longer sticky and pulls away from the sides. It’s okay if you use more or less than the amount listed!
• Once it’s ready, lightly flour a kneading surface, and dump the dough on top.
• Knead for a few minutes, then the divide the dough into many walnut-sized balls.
• One at a time, flatten a piece of dough, placing a small amount of cream cheese in the center and a few chocolate chips, then pinch closed.
• Dip the ball of dough in melted butter, then in the mixture of sugar and pumpkin spice. Spray a bundt pan very well with nonstick spray, and place the sugared pieces of dough into the pan as you go.
• Cover the pan, and allow the dough to rise for at least 30 minutes.
• When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350F. Bake the monkey bread for 35-40 minutes, until it has risen considerably and the top surface is crisp and the sugar has caramelized.
• Remove from the oven and let cool for about 5 minutes, then place a large plate on top of the pan, invert and allow the monkey bread to cool for 15-20 minutes longer before removing the pan.