Maraschino cherries

Pull-Apart Breakfast Biscuits with Caramel Sauce, Pecans and Maraschino Cherries could be called Deconstructed Monkey Bread with Caramel Sauce, Pecans and Maraschino Cherries but that seemed pretty pretentious for this simple re-working of good old Monkey Bread.

Because I’m endlessly curious, I did a quick check on the meaning of a ‘deconstructed dish’. “Deconstructed dishes may take foods that are normally combined in the dish, change their forms, and then plate them together in a different way. It’s not just about taking the dish apart, but putting its elements back together.” So, I guess I did deconstruct what we usually think of as Monkey Bread… how about that?!

I had fun making this and I had even more fun sharing it with my neighbors. I actually took the last two photos at their house – and even talked Lad into being my ‘hand model’!!

Ingredients & Method

Oven at 350F Bake for about 35 minutes, or until biscuits in middle are fully cooked

Lightly grease a 10″ x 13″ pan with shortening or cooking spray

Two 9′ round or square cake pans can be used. Just divide sugared biscuit quarters, pecans, cherries and sauce evenly between each pan. Bake about 25 minutes, or until biscuits in middle are fully cooked.

– – – –

2 cans (16.3 oz.) Pillsbury Grands Homestyle refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup butter or margarine ++ I recommend butter !!
1/2 cup chopped pecans – – or walnuts ++ I used pecans
1/2 cup chopped maraschino cherries ++ I chopped the cherries pretty small. However, when I make this again, I’ll roughly chop the cherries. ++ For Christmas you may want to use both red & green maraschino cherries!

Arrange 1/2 cup chopped pecans and 1/2 cup chopped maraschino cherries evenly on the bottom of a greased 10″ by 13″ pan.

Open both cans of biscuits. Separate biscuits. Cut each biscuit into quarters. ++ I found it went faster if I stacked two biscuits together and then cut them into quarters.

Place 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 2 tsp. cinnamon in a gallon food storage bag. Shake to mix.

Place biscuit quarters in the bag and shake to coat. ++ I found it worked well if I shook about 1/4 of the biscuit pieces at a time. Repeat until all pieces are coated with sugar/cinnamon mixture.

Arrange the biscuit quarters on top of the pecans and cherries, squeezing them together a bit to fit in one layer. ++ As I went along, I added a bit more cinnamon to the bag because the first biscuit pieces seemed to have picked up all the cinnamon.

Now it’s time for the caramel sauce. Place 1 cup packed brown sugar and 3/4 cup butter or margarine in a small microwavable bowl. Heat in microwave just until butter melts. Using a fork or whisk, mix butter and brown sugar together well. Pour over the biscuits. ++ Don’t worry if the sauce isn’t poured evenly over the biscuits – it’s going to end up at the bottom of the pan, where it’ll blend with the pecans and cherries to form a yummy, sticky topping for the biscuits.

Bake 350F for 35 to 37 minutes – or until biscuits in middle are fully cooked. ++ To check for doneness, lift up the top of a middle biscuit to see if it’s cooked. If not, continue to bake a few minutes longer.

Allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes, then turn upside down onto a large serving platter. ++ If you don’t have large enough platter, cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and serve from there. Enjoy!

++ Quote http://www.cheftalk.com/

Not long ago I posted my recipe for Old Fashioned Pineapple Upside-Down Cake. Soon after, I started thinking, “I bet this cake would be delicious if I added chopped pecans to the buttery brown sugar/maraschino goodness”. So, last night that’s exactly what I did – and my neighbor Frank – The Dessertaholic – was the lucky recipient of my ‘experiment’.

Photo of my first version of ‘Old Fashioned Pineapple Upside-Down Cake’. https://myyellowfarmhouse.com/2014/01/25/old-fashioned-pineapple-upside-down-cake/

Old-Fashioned Pineapple Upside-Down Cake is easy to make, especially now that grocery stores sell small packages of cake mix. (Betty Crocker ‘Yellow Cupcake Mix’).

Of course, you can always use a regular-size cake mix – and a 10″ X 13″ pan. It’s a bit harder to flip the larger cake but it’s certainly doable. ++ If you prepare an ordinary-size caked mix, double the butter, brown sugar, pineapple, cherries & pecans.

Ingredients Oven at 350F 9′ x 9′ square or round cake pan

1 package Betty Crocker ‘Yellow Cupcake Mix’ — prepared according to directions.
1 (14 oz.) can pineapple CHUNKS – drain juice & reserve ++ I cut the chunks in half …. but that’s not necessary.
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
8 Maraschino cherries, chopped
1/4 cup chopped pecans

Method

Preheat oven to 350 (F). ++ Preheat right away – the butter is placed in the pan, then melted in the oven.

Prepare cake according to package directions BUT use the reserved pineapple juice instead of water. ++ Add water, if necessary, to the pineapple juice to equal the amount of water called for in the recipe.

Place 1/4 cup butter in an 9′ x 9′ square pan or 9′ x 9′ round pan. Place baking pan in oven for a short time to melt the butter. ++ Keep an eye on the butter – you don’t want to burn it!

Remove pan from oven. Stir in 1/2 cup packed brown sugar and spread the butter/brown sugar mixture in the bottom of the pan.

Sprinkle on chopped Maraschino cherries, then pecans and then pineapple chunks.

Pour prepared batter over cherries/pecans/pineapple chunks.

++Bake for 30 – 35+ minutes. ++ If you’re not sure cake is fully cooked, stick a sharp knife in the center to check for doneness. If any cake batter sticks to the knife, bake cake for a few minutes longer.

IMMEDIATELY invert pan onto a serving platter. If you wait to invert the pan, you may have a problem because, as the sugar/butter mixture begins to cool, it can stick to the pan.

I’m a firm believer that everything is better with whipped cream or ice cream, but it’s far from necessary since there’s so much flavor in Old-Fashioned Pineapple Upside-Down Cake. Enjoy!