Mason Jar Munchies

There are two things you should know about me before we dive in to this post:

1. I am becoming increasingly addicted to Pinterest.
2. Growing up in my mother's household, I've developed a lifelong affinity for mason jars.  They were a constant presence around the house, often filled to their frosty brims with ice water.  Nothing can make hydrating more appealing, in my opinion.

Needless to say, when I found this recipe while investing (not wasting!) my time perusing Pinterest boards, I knew I had to give it a try.  Monkey bread is one of Dr. D's favorite childhood sweets and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that these adorable single-serve desserts are sinfully simple to make.

Here's the recipe and some pictures, if you'd like to give it a try---and believe me, you should.

You'll need:

• four 8-oz. mason jars
• 10 refrigerated biscuts {typically one package}
• 1/2 cup of white sugar
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 1 tsp. of ground cinnamon
• a quarter stick of butter, melted {optional}

First, separate the biscuits and cut each one into fourths.  Mix the white sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon together in a bowl.  {Side note: While buzzing about the kitchen in giddy anticipation, Dr. D discovered that scooping a bit of this sugary mix with a tortilla chip resulted in a tasty snack akin to Taco Bell cinnamon twists.  Go figure.}

Each piece of biscuit will then be tossed into the sugary mix for coating.  I decided to melt a little bit of butter, dip my fingers in, and lightly coat each piece before putting them into the bowl.  The original recipe doesn't call for this, but Dr. D recounted to me the awesome butteryness of the monkey bread he used to eat as a kid, so I decided to go for broke.

Once all pieces are in the bowl, toss to your heart's content!  After the pieces are sufficiently coated, prep the four mason jars with cooking spray and place ten of the biscuit pieces in each, periodically sprinkling some of the extra sugary mixture between layers.

Place the mason jars in a high-edged pan and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 15 minutes, until the dough has risen and you can see the sugar bubbling.  {I let mine cook for 17 minutes, because the dough hadn't risen as much as I wanted---I imagine the timing changes based on the brand and type of biscuits you're using.}

Remove from the oven and let the jars cool for about 5 minutes before serving.  Dr. D and I each had one fresh out of the oven---highly recommended!---and I've lidded the other two and am refrigerating them for later.  We also discovered that chopsticks proved to be a fantastic implement for fishing the delicious bread bites out of the jar.

Yum!