I grew up in the mountains of Oregon during the 1970’s with Hippie parents. My parents hung
out in Height Ashbury and then lived in a bedroom community of San Franciscowhen I was a child. They later moved to Oregon like a lot of Hippies were doing at that time. We lived on our farm in the mountains and raised and grew almost everything that we needed to survive.We were “nose to tail” and “farm to table” way before chefs were able to charge you hundreds of dollars for the privilege. My parents built their own house by recycling and upcycling everything they needed to get the home built. Even though living this way was not easy and we worked all the time, my fondest memories of those days on the mountain were the smells coming from my mom’s kitchen. The yeasty smell of homemade sourdough biscuits baking in the oven, the fruity fermented smell coming from the large glass jar of the friendship starter getting ready to make the best fruit cake you have ever eaten. The smell of the sweet goat’s milk being strained into glass jars or being prepared to make our own goat cheese. These smells are with me to this day, and I find myself trying to recreate them whenever I can. I have owned my own company called The Hippie Kitchen in memory of all those wonderful dishes that my mother created in her Hippie Kitchen. Hopefully, you will enjoy some of these special recipes that I share with you each month so that all of us can enjoy the wonderful smells coming from our kitchens.
BOURBON MONKEY BREAD
2 - 16oz (946ml) canned biscuits (I used buttermilk biscuits)
1 cup (226g) sugar
2 tsp (9ml) cinnamon 1/2 tsp (2.5ml) nutmeg
1 cup (226g) butter (unsalted)
1/2 cup (113g) packed brown sugar
1.5 - 2oz. (50ml) bourbon
Prepare Bundt pan by heavily greasing with butter or spray. Preheat oven to 350F or 176C.
In a plastic ziplock bag, blend the one cup of sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg together until well blended.Cut each biscuit into four equal bite-sized pieces. In small batches, toss the biscuit pieces in the sugar mixture.When each piece is well coated, gently arrange them into the prepared Bundt pan.
In a small sauce pan, combine 1/2 cup (113g) of the remaining sugar cinnamon mixture (discard remaining or use for another recipe, perhaps cinnamon toast), brown sugar and butter. Cook mixture over medium high heat and bring mixture just to a boil, mixing all the time. Remove pan from the heat, add the bourbon and then light the bourbon so that the alcohol cooks off. Mix the mixture as the bourbon cooks off so that it combines with the sugar mixture. Mix until the sugar is completely dissolved. Carefully drizzle the mixture over the coated biscuits pieces in the Bundt pan.
Bake in the center of the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until monkey bread is done. Time may vary depending on oven and pan used. Continue cooking until tops are crisp and turn golden brown. To confirm biscuits are completely cooked you can use a thermometer to check if the middle has reached 190F or 87C.
