[Homemade] Mexican Conchas

A few people are asking for the recipe, so here you go. These came out fluffy and sweet, and the cookie topping was crisp without falling off. I tweaked the dough recipe from Chicanoeats, and the topping is an amalgam of recipes.

Recipe:

Dough

1 cup Whole Milk

3 Teaspoons Dry Active Yeast

5 1/3 cups All-Purpose Flour

1/2 cup Sugar

1 1/4 Teaspoons Fresh Ground Cinnamon

1/2 Teaspoon Fresh Nutmeg grated

1/4 Teaspoon Fresh Ground Cloves

1 Teaspoon Salt

5 Large Eggs, whisked

2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract

4 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, softened

Topping:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup powdered sugar

4 Tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

2 Tablespoons vegetable shortening

1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon baking powder

Food coloring

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add 1/4 cup of warm milk. Add a pinch of sugar, and then use a rubber spatula to mix in the yeast. Let your yeast proof for about 10 minutes.

2. Whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt in a large bowl, then set it aside.

3. After the yeast has proofed, pour the rest of the milk into the stand mixer bowl. On low speed, with the hook attachment, slowly pour in the eggs, then the vanilla. Take your flour mixture and add it one cup at a time. Once all of the flour has been incorporated, increase the speed to medium, and add in the butter.

4. Increase the speed to high, and knead the dough for 5 minutes, then transfer the dough to a greased bowl. (Will be sticky. Oil your hands to move it.)

5. Cover your bowl with plastic wrap and place it a warm dark place. Proof your dough for an hour and half, or until it has doubled in size.

4. While the dough proofs, make the topping.

5. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, powdered sugar, baking powder, and kosher salt. Add in the vanilla, then the butter and vegetable shortening, and use your hands to work it into the flour mixture until everything comes together. If you’re adding food coloring gel, add it in at this time. (I split the dough into three and colored it pink, purple, and teal.) Chill slightly.

6. Once the dough has risen punch it down. If your dough is sticky, make sure to grease your hands and flour the surface you’ll be working on. Turn the dough out onto a cutting board then cut the round into 12 (3.75 oz) balls.

7. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper then place 6 of the dough balls, evenly spaced, on one of the baking sheets, then the rest on the second baking sheet.

8. Take your topping and divide it into 12 equal sized balls. If you have a tortilla press, place the streusel ball in between two sheets of plastic and use the press to flatten the dough, and if you don’t simply use the bottom of a pie dish to flatten it. (To get the marbling effect I did, take a third portion of each of the 12 colored balls and form a new ball, then flatten.)

9. Place the topping over each of the balls of dough, then use a concha cutter and push it down gently over the topping to score it, if you don’t have one, simply use a knife to score in the pattern.

10. Place a kitchen towel over your balls of dough, and place the cookie sheets in a warm spot to let the conchas proof for 20-25 more minutes to double in size.

11. Once the conchas have doubled in size, preheat your oven to 350 degrees then place them in the oven and bake for 15-16 minutes. Serve warm.

I filled these with a dulce de leche cream as well which is definitely not traditional but was really, really good. If anyone read this far and wants to do that let me know and I’ll write up my recipe for that.

**Edit**: I’m glad people like these! Here’s the cream:

Dulce de Leche Custard Cream:

6 egg yolks

1/3 cup sugar

3 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1/2 can dulce de leche

1 tsp salt

1.5 cups milk

1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

Note: To make dulce de leche, place a can of sweetened condensed milk on it’s side in a pot of water. Bring to a simmer on high heat, then drop to medium heat. Simmer for 2-3 hours depending on the color you want, then remove. **Let it cool before opening** (pressurized caramel burns are no joke) and voila! You can do it in batches too for several cans.

1. Add 6 egg yolks, 1/2 sugar, 1 Tbsp of vanilla extract, and salt to a saucepan and whisk until smooth. Add flour and whisk again.

2. Heat milk until it bubbles up, then slowly add to egg mixture while whisking thoroughly.

3. Add the dulce de leche and whisk until it mostly dissolves.

4. Place pan over medium heat and whisk or stir constantly until the mixture thickens and bubbles slowly, about 7-9 minutes.

5. Cool to room temperature.

6. Whip butter in a stand mixer or by hand on medium speed until fluffy and off-white. (5-7 minutes)

7. Add the pastry cream a third at a time, beating after each addition.

To pipe into the conchas, flip them over (hold them, don’t place them down so the topping doesn’t crack) and core out center with a knife. Don’t cut through the topping. Add 1-2 tablespoons of cream, and then cut excess bread off of core and replace. The conchas are too close textured to pipe into like a donut, so don’t try that. That way lies madness.

**Edit Part II**: WOW so this blew up. Thank you all for the kind comments, and the gold and silver! I’ve never gotten that before and look forward to walking around with a sense of smug superiority. Truth be told I’m entering these in a contest tomorrow and this was a real boost to my confidence.

Some people mentioned that conchas are dry, so I highly encourage you to try these. Conchas do stale quickly, but these were still fluffy and soft the next day. It’s all about the amount of eggs and milk.

For those of you looking to try the recipe feel free to message me with any questions! They’re easier than you’d think!

How do you make the designs?

Damn! As a kid I could eat 2 of these bad boys with my chocolate in the morning. Just thinking of trying to polish off half of it now is making me feel bloated af lol

This and a cup of milk was my breakfast through all my years of high school

These are so tasty. I like them with coffee. I wonder how they turn out with wheatless flour?

Nada más falta el café con leche!

Pan dulce is love. Pan dulce is life.

Wow! They are beautiful!

I love learning about new food! If you feel you’ve got no reason to stay alive, just think: tomorrow could be the day you learn about your new favorite food. Sounds trivial, but it sure means a lot to me!

*Giggles in Argentinian*

Where did you buy your concha cutter from? 🙂

I wouldn’t know weather to eat these or use them as decorations. They are beautiful. Good job.

It just occurred to me they’re called ‘concha’ because they look like shells (I don’t speak Spanish).

The conchas that i am used to don’t come in those colors… jejeje

Thanks for the recipe, this is going on my list of things to bake, just as soon as we get get a rainy day!

I was expecting an NSFW pic.

*Gasp* Mermaid conchas!!!