Banana Chocolate Gorilla Bread

Ever need a little something special to have on hand for breakfast and munching?  If you're like me, this is how big holiday meals start!  But who wants a boring store-bought coffee cake when you can make something tasty instead?  I saw this recipe on Paula Deen's show a while back and made it Thanksgiving morning (well, I put it together the night before and baked it first thing in the morning) so we'd have something to snack on while I cooked.  I changed Paula's recipe just a tad, but this was perfectly sweet and tasty!!


Nonstick cooking spray

3 tablespoons granulated sugar*

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon*

1 cup packed light brown sugar

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter

2 (12-ounce) tubes refrigerated crescent roll dough

6 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk

4-5 bananas, sliced 1/4-inch thick

4 ounces (about 2/3 cup) semisweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

*Or cheat, like I did and use some pre-mixed cinnamon-sugar you might have on hand

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a Bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.

Chop the walnut pieces into even smaller pieces (a few pulses in a food processor will do the trick).  Set aside.

In a small saucepan, melt the brown sugar with the butter over low heat. 

In the Bundt pan, sprinkle about 1/4 cup walnut pieces.  Then drizzle 1/3 of the brown sugar and butter mixture over the nuts.

Break open the crescent roll packages and separate the triangles of dough. Brush each triangle with sweetened condensed milk and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar.  Then top with 4-5 banana slices, 1 teaspoon chocolate chips, and 1 teaspoon walnut pieces.  

Fold the edges of the triangle together and seal into a small "packages".  

Place half the packages in the Bundt pan and sprinkle with more cinnamon-sugar.  Drizzle with another 1/3 of the brown sugar mixture and another 1/4 cup walnut pieces.

Repeat a second layer of dough packages.  Once again, sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar, the remainder of the brown sugar mixture, and the remaining walnut pieces.  

Bake until puffed, golden brown, and firm to the touch, about 1 hour. Remove the pan from the oven, transfer it to a rack and allow it to cool for 15 minutes. Put a platter on top of the Bundt pan and invert. Slice and serve warm.