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As much as I like to cook new things and get a little fancy-pants in the kitchen, sometimes I just want to kick back and enjoy the simplicity of a good ol’ peanut butter and jelly sandwich. There’s really nothing in the world quite like eating a PB& J. Even though these days I’m used to only getting to eat the crust that my daughter didn’t eat off of her sandwich (parent life at it’s finest), I still am crazy about those old familiar flavors coming together to form something smooth, creamy and oh-so scrumptious!
So just the other day I finally sat down and made myself my own PB&J sandwich. It was total bliss, y’all! And in my true foodie nature, the wheels immediately started turning in my head and I started brainstorming about how I could take the classic PB& J and turn it into something with a little more pizzazz.
I had a delicious vision of pulling a flaky golden brown batch of pull apart monkey bread out of the oven that oozed peanut butter and jelly out of every little crevice, and that’s exactly the direction I knew i had to go in! I didn’t just want to use any ol’ ingredients in it, though. I needed something really special! So I headed out of my local Publix grocery store and did a little perusing down the jelly aisle to see what I could find.
I was instantly drawn to Welch’s Chia Strawberry Fruit Spread. I had never seen a fruit spread that had chia seeds in it before, and I immediately fell in love with the concept. Chia seeds have grown drastically in popularity over the last few years for their health-related benefits. Since ringing in the new year a few weeks ago, I’ve been on a mission to incorporate new foods into our meals that have better-for-you ingredients within them.
Welch’s Chia Fruit Spread’s have no artificial sweeteners, no high-fructose corn syrup, no GMO’s and no preservatives. It’s made with real sugar and contains over 700 chia seeds in every serving! You can find this fruit spread available in grape and strawberry at multiple retailers, but for this particular recipe the strawberry variety was definitely calling my name!
Making pull-apart monkey bread in general is a really easy concept. Typically, you slice up 2 packages of canned biscuits, roll them into a ball, coat them with raw and brown sugar and pour a brown-sugar and butter mixture over top before baking. To make this Peanut Butter and Jelly Pull-Apart Monkey Bread, you’ll add in just a few extra steps to that process, but it’s a total game changer and the flavors are out of this world delicious!
First, you’ll cut up two 16 oz cans of flaky layered biscuits, with each individual biscuit being cut into 4 slices. Next, flatten out each section of dough with the palm of your hands and add a thumbnail size of peanut butter in the center. To help lighten this dish up just a tad, spring for a peanut butter that’s low in sugar and is all natural.
Next, roll the dough into a ball and toss in a brown and white sugar mixture. Place the dough balls in a greased bundt pan. In a medium sauce pan, bring 1 cup real butter and 1 cup brown sugar to a low boil. Once the sauce has thickened, pour over the dough and bake in the oven heated at 350 F for 40 minutes. Once it’s ready to come out of the oven, allow to cool briefly before transferring to a cake plate.
Pour about half the jar of Welch’s Chia Strawberry Fruit Spread into a small microwave safe bowl and microwave for roughly 15-20 seconds. Pour the fruit spread over the hot monkey bread and let it ooze all down the sides. You’ll want to get a tall glass of milk ready, because you’re going to want it once you dig in to this revamped PB&J! 😉
Here’s a free printable copy of the recipe for you to save and enjoy. Bon Appétit!
Peanut Butter and Jelly Pull Apart Monkey Bread
Ingredients
- 2 16 oz cans of flaky layered biscuits 8 count each
- 1/2 cup raw sugar or a minimally processed sugar
- 1 cup packed brown sugar + 1/2 cup additional reserved
- 1 Tbs cinnamon
- 2 sticks 1 cup butter
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 jar Welch’s Chia Strawberry Fruit Spread
Instructions
- Unwrap biscuits from can and cut each individual biscuit into 4 pieces
- In a medium bowl, combine 1/2 cup raw sugar and 1/2 cup brown sugar and cinnamon
- Using the palm of your hand, flatten out each section of cut up biscuit and dab a thumbnail-size amount of peanut butter into the center of it
- Fold the dough over to cover the peanut butter, then roll the dough into a ball
- Toss the ball in the sugar mixture to coat (repeat this until all biscuit dough is used up)
- Preheat oven to 350 F
- Spray a bundt cake pan with nonstick cooking spray
- Place the sugar-coated dough balls in the cake pan
- In a medium sized sauce pan, bring butter and 1 cup packed brown sugar to a low boil and stir until lightly thickened
- Pour the butter mixture over the dough
- Bake for 40 minutes - the sough my look slightly soft when you pull it out, but that's normal
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes or so
- Flip bundt cake pan over onto a large plate and lightly tap the sides so that the monkey bread will come loose
- Pour roughly 1/2 of the Welch’s Chia Strawberry Fruit Spread into a bowl and microwave for 15-20 seconds
- Drizzle jelly on top of bread
- Serve with a tall glass of milk and enjoy!
Tried this recipe?
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My family went absolutely crazy over this delicious treat. They all agreed that it’s a really fun twist on a classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich! I love that I was able to incorporate a fruit spread with chia seeds into the mix. The texture of the spread was so beautiful and delicious, and I love that it had no artificial additives in it. It’s certainly earned it’s position as my new go-to jam for all of my future PB&J endeavors! 😉
Visit here for more information on Welch’s Chia Fruit Spreads and to find a retailer near you!
Stacey Werner - client says
Monkey bread takes me back to my childhood! I loved it when my mom made it. This is a great way to update the recipe and incorporate some new flavors.