If you read almost any monkey bread recipe on the Internet, you’ll find that most everybody bakes it as a Christmas tradition. On the morning of Christmas Day, families across the United States and even the world devour handfuls of the doughy delight. Famous food blogger and writer, The Pioneer Woman, creates a sticky treat for her family during the holidays. But there are a plethora of instances where people can swap the usual cupcake, cake, or pie for the dough balls. Here are a few of my favorite ways to make the swap:

Birthdays

Maybe you’re a mom of 3 or 4 kids. You’ve done the birthday song and dance nearly too many times to count. You’ve bought the Elmo face cake, the Disney movie-themed desserts, and even the plain Jane vanilla rectangles with script writing. Why not try something simple and delicious this year? Allow the special birthday boy or girl to join the process of creating their own cake. They’ll feel invested in their birthday treat.

Congratulations

There are several moments that can be causes for celebration in your life and the lives of those you love. Instead of baking some cupcakes from the box, congratulate your loved ones with a circular ring of dough.

Surprise Gestures

Do you have a sweetie that you haven’t shown much love to lately? Prepare a sugary monkey bread to make up for all the lost sweetness! Or create a savory monkey bread with an egg base and give it to your special someone as breakfast in bed.

As you can see, there are various ways one can utilize monkey bread outside of the holiday season. It truly is a multi-purpose food. I would love to know how Monkey Bread Village blog readers use monkey bread and when they do so. If you’d like to share your monkey bread stories, please comment on this post!