[...] recently the card probably hadn't ever left the box. [...] I had to pass on my grandmother's recipe; it turns out that too much butter causes a saggy middle (go figure) and if you pile up the dough in a loaf pan the way she suggests, the bread tends to collapse after baking. How about a caramelized brown sugar-walnut version for a lazy autumn brunch? Or an olive oil-thyme version to go with whatever is on the grill? -- Where it began Some culinary historians speculate that monkey bread evolved from Parker House rolls, the late 19th century crescent-style rolls nestled side by side in a sheet pan (when baked in a ring mold or Bundt pan, the bread was said to resemble the prickly Chilean monkey puzzle tree).