ARE YOU READY FOR SOME COMFORT FOOD?!!  You're definitely not ready for health food.  I tried a 'healthy' post the other day, and all I got was some nice parting gifts back stage.

All of these food photos were taken with my Nikon D5300 and my favorite Lens, the Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8G,  ALL CONTENT IS MINE AND ORIGINAL! Any doubts, please refer to my INTRODUCTORY POST(S). Yeah, I said posts in the plural because my first was so awful  

So, here we have Monkey bread.  I don't know why 'they' refer to this type of bread as Monkey bread.  I don't make the rules!

Who really cares? Monkey bread is the bomb-dot-com-diggity-do-dah, and this one is stuffed with creamy mozzarella cheese and slathered in pesto! 

Have I ever mentioned that I am obsessed with pesto? Well, I am, and did you know that you can make all kinds of different pestos? I’ve tried a few kinds, like one with cilantro, one with chestnuts, and they’re all delicious. But I’ve yet to find one that can beat the classic basil. I do have to sub the pine nuts though. Oh, I love them, but I haven’t been able to find the ones we are accustomed to here in Chile. They’re pretty pricey though so I’d probably prefer to use walnuts instead even if I could find them. I know it’s not quite the same but hey, it’s still pesto. 

I usually try to keep pesto ready in the fridge for when I need it, but it never lasts very long because I always find something that it would go perfect in and then use it all. Take this pull-apart bread for example, it would have been great on it’s own but the pesto takes it to the next level of amazing and makes it irresistible! 

Usually you’d do this in a bundt pan but the only one I have has all of these grooves and the one and only time I’ve ever attempted monkey bread was a crumbly disaster slash pan scrubbing nightmare. I used a springform pan this time instead but I still didn’t take it seriously enough and I had some stickage as you can see. I would usually redo it and get a picture-perfect one but I just couldn’t wait to share this with you guys, so please forgive my imperfect bread. Hopefully it will help you all by making you grease your own pans better than I did. 

All of these food photos were taken with my Nikon D5300 and my favorite Lens, the Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8G,  ALL CONTENT IS MINE AND ORIGINAL!  

RECIPE

Prep Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours

Yield: 6 - 8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
• 3 3/4 cups flour
• 200g (about 1 cup) mozzarella cheese, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
• 1/4 cup prepared pesto (or recipe follows)oil for greasing pan
• 1 cup your favorite marinara sauce for dipping

Pesto:

• 1 cup pine nuts (or walnuts)
• 1 1/3 cups freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, tightly packed
• 6 cloves garlic
• 1 1/2 cups olive oil
• 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

Bread dough:

1. Stir water, milk, sugar, salt, and yeast together until yeast is dissolved and allow to sit for about 5 minutes. Pour into a large mixing bowl and whisk in egg and melted butter until combined. Add flour and mix until dough comes together. Turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead for a 2 to 3 minutes until dough is smooth and resilient. Place in oiled bowl, cover, and place in warm place to rise for about 1 hour until doubled in size.
2. Heat oven to 375 degrees F (190 C) and grease a bundt pan (or see note) very well with oil. Press dough down and divide into tablespoon sized balls. Stuff each ball with 1 square of mozzarella cheese and roll dough around it.
3. Dip each ball into pesto and place in prepared pan. Continue dipping and stacking balls until all are in pan then bake for 20 to 25 minutes until top is golden brown.
4. Serve hot with warm marinara.

Pesto:

1. Combine all ingredients in food processor or blender and pulse until nearly smooth. Store in an air-tight container and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks or freeze for up to 4 months.

Notes:  If (like me) you don't have a bundt pan you can use a 10-inch springform pan and an inverted 6-ounce ramekin in the center. This is great because it gives you a pre-warmed bowl for the dip. Just be sure to grease the outside of the ramekin as well as the pan, very well. 

Oh, and I just thought of another possible reason for the name of this thing! Ha ha, maybe it’s because everyone runs around like crazy monkeys when they realize it’s gone! I think you should make two if you plan to avoid gorilla fights. 

 AND A HUGE MASSIVE SHOUT OUT TO @rigaronib for designing my logo!!!! 

I am always open to feedback, and would love to know how you feel I could do better and please do not forget to

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