Lunch: Apple-Cream Cheese Monkey Breads

This recipe mash-up is as simple as it is fun--monkey bread and a Danish, all-in-one, and in mini size.

This recipe includes superfoods such as:

Cinnamon

Health benefits of Apple-Cream Cheese Monkey Breads

Cinnamon is one of the best ingredients that someone with insulin sensitivity can eat. Half a teaspoon of cinnamon per day has been shown to be very effective at normalizing blood sugar levels. Cinnamon contains hydroxychalcone, which is thought to enhance the effects of insulin. It has also been suggested that Cinnamon prevents post-meal blood sugar spikes by slowing the gastric emptying rate - meaning that food digests slowly. (Reference: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11506060).

Ingredients

1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 oz cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons milk
1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury™ refrigerated crescent dinner rolls (8 rolls)
3/4 cup canned apple pie filling, chopped

Instructions

Heat oven to 375 °F. Spray 8 regular-size muffin cups with cooking spray.
In small bowl, mix 3 tablespoons of the sugar and the cinnamon; set aside. In another small bowl, mix cream cheese, remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and the milk.
Unroll crescent dough onto work surface; press perforations to seal. Cut dough into 8 squares. Cut each of the 8 squares into 5 rows by 4 rows to make 20 mini squares each.
Add 20 squares of crescent dough to bottoms and halfway up sides of muffin cups.
Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon-sugar on top of crescent dough in each. Layer with about 2 teaspoons cream cheese mixture, a rounded tablespoon of pie filling, and top with another 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Bake 16 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 5 minutes; remove from pan. Serve warm.