Vanilla and Chocolate Conchas

This traditional Mexican recipe yields 2 kinds of fluffy, homemade conchas: 4 vanilla and 4 chocolate.

• Preparation Time: 30 mins
• Cooking Time: 15 mins
• Total Time: 45 mins
• Calories: 639 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 0.75 cup white sugar
• 0.66666668653488 cup white sugar
• 0.5 cup salted butter
• 1.25 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 0.5 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees F/43 to 46 degrees C)
• 0.5 cup lukewarm evaporated milk
• 0.33333334326744 cup lard

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

Step 2

Dissolve yeast in water in a large bowl. Stir in 2 cups flour, sugar, evaporated milk, lard, egg, cinnamon, and salt. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough of the remaining flour to make dough easy to handle.

Step 3

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place in a large greased bowl, then turn so greased side faces up. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.

Step 4

Meanwhile, make topping dough. Beat sugar and butter together until light and fluffy. Stir in flour until mixture is the consistency of coarse crumbs. Divide into 2 equal parts. Stir cocoa powder into 1 part and vanilla extract into the other.

Step 5

Divide chocolate topping into 4 small balls; roll each piece into a flat circle. Repeat for the vanilla topping.

Step 6

Punch down concha dough and divide into 8 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball; placed on a greased baking sheet. Place a vanilla or chocolate circle on each ball of dough, smoothing it over the top. Make 5 or 6 shallow cuts across the circle to form a shell pattern. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Step 7

Bake conchas until lightly browned around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes.