91. Cinnamon Pull-a-parts

What is a pull-a-part?  It's a goofy name you give to something that doesn't fit the title of Monkey Bread or Cinnamon Rolls…LOL

Yesterday, I woke up thinking I needed something warm, gooey and doughy.  My kids have been asking for Monkey Bread for..well…EVER.  I keep forgetting to buy a Bundt pan and so I thought that maybe I could use a large Stoneware bowl that I own and put something in the middle, like a canning jar, and create my own Bundt pan.  WRONG.  I don't own any canning jars either.  I know, right, what is wrong with this woman who professes to be a cook and is missing two important things in her kitchen…LOL  This week that will be fixed. PROMISE.

So I did the next best thing, and decided that I would take a moment and create something that tasted the same as a cinnamon roll and pulled apart similar to Monkey Bread.  I will have to admit the Monkey Bread and all of it's gooey-ness is what I was craving but I endured the tasting and sampling of the pull-a-parts and did just fine.

I have been wanting to try my roll recipe that can be made in under an hour for this type of recipe.  I don't believe that one bread recipe is good for all things, but when your in a hurry and time is of the essence, I think this particular recipe worked great for rolls and cinnamon pull-a-parts.  It was airy, light, fluffy, and yet, dense enough to hold its shape to be pulled apart.  That was a good thing.

The next time I make these I will experiment more with adding cinnamon and sugar with a freer hand.  I was a little bit stingy because I did not want to over do it with the sugar.  I could have used 3x's as much and had them taste "really, really" cinnamony (is this a word?…lol)  That is next time though.  Yes, we will make these again because my family devoured them in no time.  I love surprising my family with these types of Sunday mornings.  Cooking is fun because I have a captive audience and they always make me feel like I know what I am doing, even if some of the time I am flying by the seat of my pants…like a monkey.

Recipe:  Cinnamon Pull-a-parts

1/3 cup of sugar
2 T. yeast
2 cups of warm water
2 tsp. salt
6 eggs
8 cups of flour

2 stick of butter
1-2 cups of cinnamon/sugar mixture ( I used a cup, but if you like a lot of cinnamon/sugar…add more) To make the cinnamon-sugar mixture for each cup of sugar I would add 2 tablespoons of cinnamon.


Heat your oven to 400.  Preheat pans in oven while making the dough.  Stoneware works great, but cake pans will work too.

In a small bowl or 2 cup measuring device, add sugar and yeast to the warm water.  Let set for 5 minutes until frothy.

In a LARGE bowl or large mixer, add your salt, eggs and water/yeast mixture.  Mix together.  Slowly start adding your 8 cups of flour.  The dough should pull away from the side of your bowl and combine all the ingredients together well.

Let the dough raise for 30 minutes.  


Take preheated pans out of the oven and melt 4 T. of butter in each.  Sprinkle a 1/4 cup of cinnamon sugar on the bottom of the pan.  Start pinching of sections of dough and rolling them into a ball.  Place each ball in the pan, close to each other. When the pan is full, take another 1/4 cup of cinnamon sugar and sprinkle on top of your dough.  Cut the other 4T. of butter into little sections and sprinkle all over the top of your pull-a-parts.

The heat from the pan will cause the dough to start rising.  Place your pan in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes.  The rolls should be golden brown on top.  


**NOTE:  My dough sections when rolled, where the size of walnuts and this made for a 3.5 inch raised pull-a-part.  If you would like them to not be so tall, then make your rolled dough pieces smaller.  This may alter the cooking time a bit so keep an eye on them while they cook.


I served the pull-a-parts with a simple cream cheese frosting.


In a small bowl, I mixed equal parts butter and cream cheese, added a touch of vanilla.  With the powdered sugar, I continued to add enough until the consistency and flavor was what I wanted.  I have a small whip that comes in handy for this task.  ENJOY!