Monkey Bread

We are getting our holiday baking underway here, and I thought I'd share a favorite recipe. You may very well have it already, but if you don't you should. We just made it for Thanksgiving morning, but it makes any day feel like a holiday!

Monkey Bread

2 cans biscuit dough (20 biscuits)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 sticks butter

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 cup nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350º (my pan is dark, so I set mine at 325º).  Spray a bundt pan with cooking spray.

Melt butter with 1/2 c. sugar and 1/2 c. brown sugar. Set aside.

Put the 1/3 c. granulated sugar and 1/3 c. brown sugar along with the cinnamon into a plastic bag.

Cut biscuits into quarters and roll into balls. (Or not.  It really isn't necessary.  I cut them into quarters with a kitchen scissors.) Add a few at a time to the bag of sugar mixture and shake until pieces are well coated.

Drizzle a little of the butter mixture into the bottom of the pan. Place half of the coated biscuits on top. Pour half of the butter/sugar mixture on top. Sprinkle with half of nuts, if desired. Repeat with the next layer of biscuits, butter mixture and nuts.

Bake about 35 minutes, until golden brown. Check at about 30 to make sure it's not getting too dark. After removing from the oven, let stand a few minutes and then invert onto a large plate. Enjoy!

Notes to self:

1. It would probably be fluffier and prettier if the kids didn't roll the dough balls to death.

2. Pretty is over rated.

God's Kindness: A week of thankfulness (finale)

(Part three here)

The song that started this whole thing about a week ago had me singing, "It's your kindness that leads us to repentance, oh Lord." So I went to look up this encouraging verse by checking kindness in my concordance. There it was, Romans 2:4. A verse of encouragement? Not exactly! Here's the whole thing:

"Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?"

The Roman Christians had lost sight of God's kindness and were marked by a hypocritical and judgmental nature. Paul was telling them to stop it!

The last couple of years have found me checking my own theology for legalistic baggage. This commentary on this passage by Chuck Swindoll really struck a chord with me:

"One of the worst forms of pride among Christians is a militant, harsh, abrasive attitude that expresses itself in judging others. The most accepting people on earth should be Christians. And the most winsome, magnetic place in the world should be the church. Both can be true if we will stop judging others and start opening doors of Christ-centered giving."

I am thankful that...

...it was so clear to me when Christ poured out His kindness and made himself irresistible to me.

...someone issued me the challenge to commit to a life of following Him.

...God has given me times of rest and blessing.

...God taught me to be fearless by showing me His faithfulness as He allowed my fears to come true.

...so often He has used the church, His body, to wrap His arms around me in my need.

...just when I am getting comfortable, He challenges me to take another step forward to extend His grace to a world full of people who need Him just like I do.

...he continues to stretch my thinking, to show me the vastness of his strength, his greatness, his character.

...he is constantly in the process of transforming me to be more like him.

(NOTE: Just in case you have been curious enough to click through these posts, and find yourself waiting for someone to challenge you to commit to a life of following Christ, consider yourself challenged. You could never make a more profound, life-giving commitment.)