With Cinco de Mayo around the corner, I wanted to throw out a festive recipe for a fun dessert this week. These Mexican Pan Dulce Cookies take the classic concha and turns it into a delicious cookie. I find these a bit easier to make since you don’t have to worry about making a yeast dough and letting it rise twice and all that. They’re perfect with some café con leche for dunking in the morning or even as a slightly sweet treat later in the day. If you’re looking for more of a concha, concha then these Pumpkin Spice Conchas from the archives are a good twist as well!
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add the eggs, egg yolks and vanilla extract and beat until well combined.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the butter mixture and stir until the dough comes together.
Divide in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Chill for 1 hour, or until firm enough to roll.
**Tip: This dough can be made up to 2 days in advance and kept in the fridge until ready to use. Just note that the longer it stays in the fridge the firmer it will become and as such, will need to thaw a bit before rolling to make it easier.**
Meanwhile, to make the topping, beat the shortening and powdered sugar until creamy. Add the flour, a little at a time, mixing well after each addition. Continue adding until the dough comes together and is smooth.
Depending on which topping variations you’ll do, you’ll want to divide the mixture evenly into desired amount.
**Note: I divided the dough into 4 equal parts so that I can tint one chocolate, one with cinnamon, one pink and one orange for some color variation. But you don’t have to make as many. You can keep them all the same or do half and half if you’d like!**
Then add chocolate to one, cinnamon to one, pink food coloring to another and the orange to the last one. Again, that’s only if you’re making all four different colors. Knead by hand until evenly colored. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
Working with one half of dough at a time, roll out onto a lightly floured work surface, to 1/2-inch thick. Use a 2-inch round cookie cutter to cut out the cookies and place on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them out 2-inches apart. Chill until ready to use.
Roll out the topping between two sheets of parchment paper to about 1/4-inch thick. Cut out into 2-inch rounds then score the top with a paring knife or a sharp concha cutter. Place this on top of each cookie. Repeat until all the cookies are covered.
**Tip: To get that classic concha scoring at the top, you can do it by hand with a very sharp paring knife or you can get a nifty concha cutter like I have. This one is from Amazon and works great. Just make sure to dust it with flour before each use.**
Bake until lightly golden brown around the edges, about 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Serve immediately with some coffee or tea, or store in the fridge in an airtight container (with sheets of wax or parchment paper in between) for up to 4 days. Enjoy!
I hope you’ll give these a try! They’re a fun twist on one of my favorite treats. Let me know what you think below and as always, thank you so much for reading and following along!
Mexican Pan Dulce Cookies
Equipment
- Stand or Handheld Mixer
- Mixing Bowls
- Baking Sheets
- 2-inch Round Cookie Cutter
- Sharp paring knife or concha cutter
Ingredients
Cookies:
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened 2 sticks
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 3 large egg yolks room temperature
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
For Topping:
- 1 cup vegetable shortening
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pink and Orange gel food coloring
Instructions
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add the eggs, egg yolks and vanilla extract and beat until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the butter mixture and stir until the dough comes together. Divide in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Chill for 1 hour, or until firm enough to roll.
- Meanwhile, to make the topping, beat the shortening and powdered sugar until creamy. Add the flour, a little at a time, mixing well after each addition. Continue adding until the dough comes together and is smooth. Depending on which topping variations you'll do, you'll want to divide the mixture evenly into desired amount. Then add chocolate to one, cinnamon to one, pink food coloring to another and the orange to the last one. Again, that's only if you're making all four different colors. Knead by hand until evenly colored. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 375° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Working with one half of dough at a time, roll out onto a lightly floured work surface, to 1/2-inch thick. Use a 2-inch round cookie cutter to cut out the cookies and place on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them out 2-inches apart. Chill until ready to use.
- Roll out the topping between two sheets of parchment paper to about 1/4-inch thick. Cut out into 2-inch rounds then score the top with a paring knife or a sharp concha cutter. Place this on top of each cookie. Repeat until all the cookies are covered.
- Bake until lightly golden brown around the edges, about 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve immediately or store in the fridge in an airtight container (with sheets of wax or parchment paper in between) for up to 4 days. Enjoy!
