Sweet Cheese Halloween Conchas

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  • PREP TIME
    3.5 Hrs
  • COOK TIME
    12 Min
  • SERVINGS
    Serves 12
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Sweet Cheese Halloween Conchas

We all love conchas – those delicious shell-shaped pan dulce from the panaderia. Well, here is a sweet little twist to the tradition. Use Cacique’s Queso Fresco, mixed with some Crema and powdered sugar and you have a delectable filling for these sweet breads. What’s nice is that the flavor is light and not too sweet, and gives a whole new texture to the concha.

Here is a full recipe for making your own conchas from scratch, but if you want to speed up the process, go halfway handmade. Simply pick up a batch of conchas from your local bakery, make the cheese filling and add it to each one!

Note: Click the ‘Products‘ tab above to learn more about the Cacique® ingredients used in this recipe. You can find these ingredients near you by clicking the ‘Find Stores‘ tab, selecting the products you are looking for, and entering your zip code.

WHAT YOU NEED:

Queso Fresco
Queso Fresco
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  • 3 teaspoons of dry active yeast
  • ½ cup of water
  • ½ cup of room temperature milk
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup of butter, softened
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 package Cacique® Queso Fresco
  • For the concha topping:
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup butter
  • ½ cup flour
  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla
  • Orange, black or purple food coloring

HOW TO MAKE IT:

  1. Make the conchas: Mix the yeast and water, then add water, milk, sugar, butter, salt, and egg. Mix together, then fold in the flour and mix until well blended. Place in a bowl, cover with a towel for 1-1/2 hours for dough to rise.
  2. Make the Topping: Combine sugar, butter, flour, vanilla and mix well. Then fold in the food coloring of your choice. Mix until the color is consistent.
  3. After the concha dough has risen, pull off enough to make 12 balls. Roll and set on a greased cookie sheet. Pinch off a jawbreaker sized piece of the topping, roll and flatten in a circle and place one on top of each ball of dough. Use a knife to cut assorted designs, such as lines or swirls or rays to look like a shell. Let set for 40 minutes. Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes. If your conchas do not brown, use an egg wash on top before placing them in the oven.
  4. While the conchas are baking, make the filling: In a large bowl, combine the cheese, crema and powdered sugar. Beat until it is fluffy consistency, like cottage cheese. Taste and see if you want to add more powdered sugar.
  5. When conchas are done baking, let them cool. Then cut in half and add a tablespoon of the sweet cheese filling to each one.