Gorilla Bread is classic monkey bread with an amazing twist. Every ball of sweet, cinnamon dough is filled with cream cheese. This kicked up keto monkey bread is the ultimate brunch indulgence!
Preheat the oven to 350. Spread 1 teaspoon of the butter in the bottom of a pie plate. Mix the ½ cup sweetener with the cinnamon. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of this in the buttered pie plate. Set aside the rest. Sprinkle the pecans on top.
Put the mozzarella and one ounce of cream cheese in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave one minute. Stir. Microwave 30 seconds. Stir. At this point, all the cheese should be melted. Microwave 30 more seconds until uniform and gloopy (it should look like cheese fondue at this point). Add the rest of the dough ingredients and the cheese to a food processor. Mix using the dough blade until a uniform color. If you do not have a food processor you can mix in a medium bowl with a wooden spoon but you may need to dump it onto wax paper and knead it by hand to thoroughly incorporate the ingredients. Once it is a uniform color wet your hands and press it out into a 9×12 ish rectangle on a piece of parchment.
Optional Caramel Sauce:
Combine the first three sauce ingredients and cook over medium-low heat until bubbly, slightly thickened, and lightly browned. This will takes about 5 minutes. It will thicken further during baking. Remove from the heat and add the salt and extract. Set aside.
Assembly:
Cut the dough into 24 pieces. Cut the cream cheese into 24 pieces. Sprinkle each piece of dough with ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon sweetener. Place a cube of cream cheese in the center of each, wrap and seal the dough around the cream cheese. Dip the dough ball in butter. Roll it in the cinnamon sweetener. Put it in the prepared pie plate. Repeat with all 24 pieces. (If you have extra sweetener sprinkle it on top. If you run out of the sweetener before you are done just mix up a little more).
Drizzle the caramel sauce over the top, if using.
Bake at 350 45-50 min until the rolls are golden brown and the sweetener is bubbling. Cool for 5-10 minutes. Invert onto a serving plate and serve immediately.
Notes
The caramel sauce is optional. I've made this with and without it. Without it is lightly sweetened like a breakfast pastry. With it, it is more like a dessert.
Leftovers are best warm. I ate this for breakfast for almost a week. I would microwave a few pieces in the microwave for 30 seconds and enjoy with my coffee.