Somewhere along the way, pecan pie and monkey bread had a mash up and the result is this recipe for bourbon pecan pull apart bread on the Traeger. Loaded with pecans, brown sugar and cinnamon, the end result is drizzled in bourbon-spiked caramel sauce. This can definitely be a dessert option this holiday season, or serve Traeger baked bourbon pecan pull apart bread at breakfast time for a sweet start to your day.
WHEN MONKEY BREAD MEETS PECAN PIE
One of my favorite things to make during the holiday season is our delicious bourbon pecan pie on the Traeger, which is featured in my cookbook, Weeknight Smoking on Your Traeger. It’s rich, delicious, indulgent and pretty easy to make and comes away with a slight hint of wood fired flavor from the Traeger.
I also love to make monkey bread– both sweet and savory. Super easy to make using prepared refrigerated biscuit dough– it is clumps of tender dough, doused with butter and seasoning and baked in a pan until done. When you serve it, the pieces pull apart– thus the ‘monkey’ moniker. I like to do monkey breads with fruit mixed in, like cherry pie filling, for an added layer of delicious.
So when we were imagining a new recipe for the holiday season to bring to a friends’ house for a party, the marriage of monkey bread and pecan pie seemed like an amazing option. Sweet, sticky, nutty and simple, it’s the best of all worlds, quick to make and feeds a crowd.
STICKY PECAN LAYER
The first layer in this dish (which really becomes the top layer of the finished product) is a sticky layer of butter, sugar and pecans. Using a big cast iron skillet (like this one from Smithey Ironware) that has a flat bottom and slightly angled sides. You can adjust this recipe for bourbon pecan pull apart bread up or down depending on the size of your pan– just add more biscuit pieces!
For the sticky layer, generously butter the bottom and sides of your cast iron pan. Then sprinkle an even layer of sugar all over the bottom of the pan. Atop the sugar, add an layer of pecan halves, filling the gaps as best you can. Top the nuts with more brown sugar.
REFRIGERATED BISCUITS FOR SIMPLICITY
If you are really ambitious, you could make your own biscuit or bread dough for this bourbon pecan pull apart bread recipe that you bake on the Trager. But with two year old twins underfoot at our house, everything is easier when corners are cut and using refrigerated biscuit dough is one of our secrets.
You can use brand name or generic biscuit dough for this recipe– and either flaky or crumbly biscuits will work great. You will get slightly different results based on the type of dough you use– both with tender, delicious pull-apart perfection.
Unwrap the rolls of biscuit dough and cut each biscuit into quarters. You don’t need to roll them into balls if you don’t want to– but the uniform shape of balls can sometimes make the bread easier to pull apart.
Toss the quartered biscuits in a bowl and begin seasoning them for this bourbon pecan pull apart bread recipe which you will bake on the Traeger.
HOW TO SEASON THE PULL APART BREAD
The first and most important step in preparing the biscuit dough for pull apart bread is to douse it generously in melted butter. You want to toss the biscuit pieces to coat.
After they were coated in melted butter, we seasoned these biscuit pieces with more brown sugar, cinnamon and a few ounces of bourbon. This keeps the pull apart bread moist and flavorful and super delicious in the final result.
PILE THE DOUGH ATOP THE SUGARED PECANS
Once the biscuit dough is seasoned, transfer the pieces to the prepared skillet with the pecans and brown sugar. Arrange the pieces in an even layer, ensuring the pieces are touching to achieve best results.
BAKED IN THE TRAEGER FOR BEST RESULTS
Transfer the prepared pan to your Traeger grill and close the lid. Allow the bourbon pecan pull apart bread to bake in the Traeger for about 35 minutes until golden brown and the sugar is visibly hot and bubbly. Adjust the cooking time as necessary to achieve the best results– you want the dough to be cooked through without burning the sugar on the bottom of the pan.
TURN OUT ON A PLATTER AND DRIZZLE WITH BOURBON CARAMEL
After baking the bourbon pecan pull apart bread on the Traeger, carefully remove the pan and allow it to cool for 10 minutes. Use a butter knife to loosen the edges of the pull apart bread from the skillet. Then, being careful because the pan will still be hot (so use oven mitts!), invert a plate on the skillet and turn the pull apart bread out on to the platter.
The pull apart bread will be topped with the pecan halves and caramelized brown sugar, making for an impressive presentation.
BOURBON CARAMEL SAUCE
You can certainly make your own caramel sauce, like I have featured in this recipe. Or use store bought caramel sauce as your starting place. Gently warm 1 cup of the sauce until runny and then stir in an ounce of bourbon. Mix well to combine fully and then use this bourbon caramel sauce to drizzle over the finished bourbon pecan pull apart bread.
PRIMARY INGREDIENTS
- Refrigerated biscuit dough
- Butter
- Brown sugar
- Cinnamon
- Pecan halves
- Bourbon whiskey
- Caramel sauce
WHY COOKING THIS ON THE TRAEGER WORKS
We love baking on the Traeger because of its simplicity, ease and the delicious results that we can count on. The Traeger is like an outdoor convection oven– designed to perfectly cook your foods with even heat and the slight flavor of wood-fired fuel.
For a cook like this, we recommend using a fruity wood pellet– like apple or cherry– to infuse a bit more flavor in your baked good. Something strongly flavored like mesquite will be too much for a dish like this.
Generally speaking, you can bake on your Traeger by following the instructions as though you were baking in an oven– occasionally the time will need to be extended a bit but the temperature should be right in line with what the original instructions include.
STEP-BY-STEP
- Preheat your Traeger grill to 425*.
- Assemble your ingredients and get your big cast iron skillet out.
- Rub the bottom and sides of the cast iron skillet with an even coating of butter.
- To the bottom of the pan, add an even thin layer of brown sugar.
- Top the brown sugar with pecan halves, filling the gaps as possible.
- Add another layer of brown sugar on top of the pecans.
- Using a sharp knife, cut the biscuit dough into 1/4ths.
- Gently shape the biscuit pieces into balls and transfer to a big mixing bowl.
- Melt the remaining butter and then pour over the dough balls in the bowl.
- Toss to coat.
- Add the remaining brown sugar to the bowl along with the cinnamon.
- Toss to coat and then pour in the bourbon whiskey.
- Stir to distribute evenly.
- Arrange the seasoned dough balls in an even layer atop the brown sugar/pecan layer in the pan, ensuring the pieces touch.
- Transfer the pan to the preheated Traeger and bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.
- Remove the pan from the grill and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
- Run a butter knife around the perimeter of the pan, releasing the sides.
- Invert a platter atop the skillet and then carefully flip over to release the bourbon pecan pull apart bread.
- Warm the caramel sauce in the microwave for 15-30 seconds until runny.
- Stir in the remaining bourbon whiskey and mix until well combined.
- Drizzle the bourbon pecan pull apart bread with the bourbon caramel sauce and serve.
ALTERNATE RECIPES/PRODUCT LINKS
Here are some other recipes to try, inspired by this recipe for bourbon pecan pull apart bread baked on the Traeger.
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Bourbon Pecan Pull Apart Bread
Equipment
- Traeger grill
- Cast iron skillet
- Cutting board and knife
- Microwave safe bowl
- Large metal bowl
- Platter
Ingredients
- 2-3 cans refrigerated biscuit dough
- 1 stick butter
- 1.5 cups brown sugar
- 2 tbsp cinnamon
- 2 cups pecan halves
- 2 oz bourbon whiskey
- 1 cup caramel sauce
Instructions
- Preheat your Traeger grill to 425*.
- Assemble your ingredients and get your big cast iron skillet out.
- Rub the bottom and sides of the cast iron skillet with an even coating of butter.
- To the bottom of the pan, add an even thin layer of brown sugar.
- Top the brown sugar with pecan halves, filling the gaps as possible.
- Add another layer of brown sugar on top of the pecans.
- Using a sharp knife, cut the biscuit dough into 1/4ths.
- Gently shape the biscuit pieces into balls and transfer to a big mixing bowl.
- Melt the remaining butter and then pour over the dough balls in the bowl.
- Toss to coat.
- Add the remaining brown sugar to the bowl along with the cinnamon.
- Toss to coat and then pour in the bourbon whiskey.
- Stir to distribute evenly.
- Arrange the seasoned dough balls in an even layer atop the brown sugar/pecan layer in the pan, ensuring the pieces touch.
- Transfer the pan to the preheated Traeger and bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.
- Remove the pan from the grill and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
- Run a butter knife around the perimeter of the pan, releasing the sides.
- Invert a platter atop the skillet and then carefully flip over to release the bourbon pecan pull apart bread.
- Warm the caramel sauce in the microwave for 15-30 seconds until runny.
- Stir in the remaining bourbon whiskey and mix until well combined.
- Drizzle the bourbon pecan pull apart bread with the bourbon caramel sauce and serve.
RECIPE CARD PLUGIN
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