Homemade Conchas (Pan Dulce)

I love conchas. I especially love conchas with coffee or hot chocolate with cinnamon in it.

This sweet bread is time consuming to make, but so worth the results. Plan to make this EARLY in the day, so you can have it ready first an afternoon pick-me-up, or to make it a day ahead of when you need/want it.

For our Coco day, we made this after breakfast clean-up so it was ready in time to have as we watched the movie later in the day.

Ingredients:

– 3 Tbsp warm water

– 2.5 tsp yeast

– 1/2 C melted butter

– 1 Tbsp oil

– 1/3 C sugsr

– 3/4 C evaporated milk

– 2 tsp vanilla

– 2 eggs

– 2 tsp cinnamon

– 2 tsp salt

– 4 C (unbleached) all purpose flour

Topping:

– 1/2 C room temp butger

– 2/3 C sugsr

– 1 C flour

Directions:

– Mix together your yeast and warm water. When the yeast mix gets all foamy, add your melted butter.

– Add your oil, sugar, evaporated milk, eggs, salt, vanilla, and cinnamon. Then add the flour and knead together until the dough forms a sticky ball. (Using a standing or handheld mixer, and switching to your hands if needed).

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– Let your dough rise for two hours.

– Near the end of your dough rising, make your topping by mixing together your softened butter, sugar, and flour. I divided mine in half and added food dye to make it more fun for our Coco day.

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– Divide your bread dough into balls about the size of 1/3 C. Put them on a baking sheet (sprayed or lined with parchment paper).

– Preheat your oven to 325°z

– Take about a tablespoon of topping and pat it out in your hands, and then use your palm to hug/pat it onto the top of your sweet bread. You can then use a knife to make designs in the topping.

– Let it rise again for another 30 minutes. Your press will look larger, and you’ll notice the topping will have spread out more over the bread.

– Bake for around 20 minutes or until the bottom of them are lightly golden.

Have you seen the other Coco posts? Make sure to check out the Tamale Muffins and Skeleton Jars!