Cream cheese monkey bread

I cannot think about this delicious monkey bread without also thinking about my good friend Laurie (who I occasionally call Larry). Larry and I have much in common. Every time I see her, which is not often, I am reminded how much I adore her. I love that girl. Oh how I wish I could talk her into moving to Minnesota!

Larry and I both believe that cream cheese makes everything better, and that is why this bread makes me think of her. It's true. Cream cheese does make everything better. 

I had been thinking about doing a twist on good ol' gooey and delicious monkey bread. But what could possibly make monkey bread any better than it is? Then it occurred to me. CREAM CHEESE! It makes everything better, right? A few months after I had that thought, I saw in a magazine that someone had my same idea. I figured I had better hurry up and make it myself, so here we go!

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 12-cup bundt pan with cooking spray and set aside. 

In a medium bowl, combine:

2/3 cup dark brown sugar

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

Set aside.

Cut 20 cubes into an 8-ounce block of cream cheese.

Slice 10 discs of dough from each of two 12-ounce tubes of refrigerated flaky buttermilk biscuits. You will have 20 total dough discs. Set the discs on a flat surface and place one cube of cream cheese into the center of each piece of dough.  

Wrap the edges of the dough up and around each cube of cream cheese.

Melt 3/4 cup of butter in a small bowl in the microwave. Set aside.

Place 10 of the dough-wrapped cream cheese cubes, cheese-side-up, into the bottom of the prepared pan. 

Top with half of the sugar-cinnamon mixture and half of the melted butter.

Top with the remaining dough-wrapped cream cheese cubes, cheese-side-down, and the remaining sugar mixture and butter.

Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes. Invert onto a serving platter and serve warm! Cover and refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days.

I'll be honest. I ate AT LEAST half of this thing by myself. I felt like a drug addict, eating just a few more bites, in a corner of our kitchen where nobody could see me. 

Cream cheese does make everything better, ooey gooey monkey bread not excluded. YUM.

Click here for a printable recipe!

Oreo balls

At least a hundred times a day, I thank God for my life. I'm not sure how or why I got so lucky, but I have the most amazing, wonderful, supportive, understanding people surrounding me. My friends and family and children and husband and in-laws and blog pals, they are the best. It's the time of year to be thankful and gushy, so thank you for being a positive part of my life!

My friend Maren has been one of the very positive parts of my life for the past few years. I appreciate many things about her. She supports my dreams and shares her photography/creative wisdom with me. We also share a love for food (and wine), so we often discuss recipes with one another. Aside from my food blogging pals, I don't have many foodie friends so I adore this quality in her! A few days ago she sent me this Oreo balls recipe that her mother makes during the holidays. I went straight home and made them! They are DELICIOUS! Thank you for the recipe, Maren, and Maren's mom! 

This is one of those super easy holiday recipes, so if you are looking for something quick to make for a holiday gathering that people will swoon over, you need not look any further.

Place a 15.5-ounce package of Oreo cookies in a food processor. I used a 10.5-ounce package of Christmas Oreos (for a little added color and holiday flavor) plus about a half of a row of regular Oreos. Process cookies until they are chopped. Transfer to a large bowl and add an 8-ounce package of softened cream cheese. Stir until coated.

With your hands, roll the mixture into 24 golf-ball-size balls and place on a baking sheet lined with wax paper.

Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator until the balls are firm, at least 30 minutes.

Place 3/4 pound of coarsely chopped almond bark (vanilla or chocolate flavored) in a microwave-safe bowl. Place the bowl in the microwave and heat for 60 seconds. Stir, and heat in 15-second increments until almond bark is smooth when stirred.

Dip the Oreo balls into the almond bark to coat. I found that carefully stabbing the balls with corn-cob skewers was the best method for this. While the bark is still wet, dip in sprinkles/decorations as desired.

Carefully place the balls back onto the wax paper and chill in the refrigerator for at least another 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Click here for a printable recipe!

Pickle roll-ups

It seemed fitting that I make this quick and scrumptious appetizer when Ebby came to visit last month. I introduced her to The Pickle Roll-Up in college and we often found ourselves feasting on them in our dorm room after a trip to Hy-Vee to get supplies. We never shared them with anyone!

If you have never tried these, I can honestly say you are missing out. The salty-sweet combination is so simple yet so very tasty. They are easy, guest-pleasing appetizers that are great for parties or football games or any type of gathering.

Lay four stacks of two corned beef slices on a cutting board or cutting mat. Top each with a layer of cream cheese (it does not have to be pretty) and a medium-sized dill pickle.

Roll the corned beef slices around the pickles. The cream cheese will act as the delicious glue that holds everything together.

Cut each pickle roll into four equal slices and serve on a plate. These will not last long. I have a very difficult time keeping my fingers off of these once I have made them.

Click here for a printable recipe!