Monkey Bread on the Lighter Side

Re-posted from Juggling With Julia:

Birthdays are something special in our house. As my youngest prepared to turn six, I decided to make one of her favorite breakfast treats, one I usually reserve for Christmas morning -- monkey bread!

She and her brothers love it, for it is a gooey, cinnamon delight that demands lots of cold milk and finger licking. I love it because, though it is sweet and syrupy, it is much lower in fat than typical monkey bread, and still so easy to make. Since we eat whole grain cereals and fruit almost every other morning, this is a nice treat that doesn't completely derail a healthy diet.

This Cooking Light version uses frozen bread dough instead of refrigerator biscuits, and only 1 T. of margarine, instead of the typical 1/2 cup of margarine.  Especially great is that it can be made the night before, and left in the oven to rise. The next morning, all you need to do is preheat the oven, and bake it for about 25 minutes and you - and your monkey bread - are golden!

Monkey Bread
adapted from Cooking Light Five Star Recipes: The Best of 10 Years, copyright 1996
Serves 8

2 (1-pound) loaves frozen white bread dough
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup 1% milk
1 T. stick margarine or butter
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Vegetable cooking spray

1) Thaw bread dough in refrigerator for about 12 hours
2) Combine 1 cup sugar, brown sugar, milk, margarine, and 1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil.  Cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute.  Remove sugar syrup from heat; cool 10 minutes.
3) Cut each loaf of dough into 24 equal portions. Combine 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon in a shallow dish; stir well.
4) Roll each piece of dough in sugar mixture, then layer pieces in a Bundt pan coated with cooking spray.
5) Pour sugar syrup over dough; cover and let rise in a warm place (about 85 degrees) for one hour; or simply cover and leave in cool oven overnight. The bread dough will approximately double in bulk.
6) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until lightly browned. Immediately loosen edges with a knife. Place a serving platter upside-down over top of pan. Invert pan onto plate, and drizzle any remaining syrup over the bread. Serve warm.

Enjoy!