Bunny Macarons with Cookie Butter Buttercream
March 9, 2024
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If you’re searching for the ideal DIY gift for your Valentine this year, look no further—I’ve got you covered with some delicious and beautiful Heart Conchas. In this post, I’ll provide you with all the necessary information you need to put together these heart shaped conchas so that you can make your Valentine feel super special!
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I am using the same homemade conchas recipe that I use for my mini conchas.
The recipe is easy to follow and the use of a stand mixer to prepare the concha dough and concha paste topping makes the process even easier.
Not only is the recipe easy to follow, but you’ll also find that this homemade take on traditional Mexican conchas is packed with flavor.
To get soft conchas you cannot over knead your dough and you cannot rush the proofing process. Knead the dough just until it starts coming off the sides on your bowl. Allow for the dough to rise for at least 2 hours the first rise and at least 1 hr the second rise after your conchas are shaped.
To ensure your success with this recipe you’ll need the correct tools.
Find most of my preferred products on my Amazon Store front.
Many recipes call for yeast that needs to be activated before adding it to the dry ingredients. I use Fleischmann’s Instant Active Dry Yeast that doesn’t require that. Check the expiration date of your yeast, if its expired your dough will not rise.
You will need to warm up the milk before adding it to the dough. Depending of the power of your microwave you should only need to heat it for about 20-25 seconds. If the milk is too hot it will kill the yeast.
You’re able to use All- Purpose flour for this recipe, but I prefer to use bread flour for my conchas because it has a higher protein content which yields a softer texture.
Turn on the light in your oven to create warmth for the dough to rise or if your oven has a bread proofing option use that. The dough needs to proof for about 2 hours or until it doubles in size.
When the concha dough has proofed you’ll divide it into 12 equal pieces each weighing 40g.
The mixer will do all of the work for the concha paste too. All of the ingredients go in the mixer and they are combined until a paste(resembling Play-Doh) is formed.
Over mixing it will cause the paste to melt off the dough when baked.
Vegetable shortening can be used instead of butter if you prefer. Substitute in a 1:1 ratio, meaning since this recipe uses 70g of butter for the topping you’ll use 70g of vegetable shortening instead.
My biggest tip with the concha paste topping is to chill it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to roll out the dough. As you roll out the dough the topping will come to room temperature and it will be easier to work with as you flatten it out with the tortilla press.
If you don’t have a tortilla press the topping can be flattened out in between your hands. Flatten it out enough that it covers the entire piece of dough.
When the concha paste is ready, you’ll divide it into however many colors you want to use, you’ll need 12 pieces of concha paste. Each piece will weigh about 16g.
In this step you’ll need a pair of scissors or a knife to cut a small slit in the rolled dough. You’ll use your hands to shape the cut dough into a heart.
Soon I will show a different method using a heart cookie cutter 🙂
Once you have each piece of dough shaped into a cute little heart, cover the top with butter so that the topping sticks to it.
Place the topping on top, cut off any excess and wrap it around the dough keeping the heart shape visible.
Then when all of the dough has been covered with topping, gently stamp them with the bread stamps. If you don’t have bread stamps, use a knife or bowl scraper to make the concha designs.
Let the assembled conchas proof for 45 minutes to an hour before baking them. You’ll know its time to bake them when the topping has expanded.
Store them in an airtight container to maintain their softness longer. Or package them up real cute to give to your Valentine.
I chose to add a cherry design and sprinkles to my conchas. I used topping that I had saved from a different bake. I added the sprinkles post bake with some white chocolate.
You can double up on the concha paste recipe and put some topping aside to color it red and green. Any topping you have left over you can store in the fridge up to 2 weeks and in the freezer up to a month.
For the cherry design I flattened out the red topping then cut out 4 small hearts using a cookie cutter.
For the cherry stem I rolled a smaller than pea sized amount of green concha paste with my hands to form a thin log shape. Then I used a tiny amount of white concha paste to add the highlights on the cherries.
When I was done with my designs I topped the conchas with edible glitter.
If you try this recipe please tag me on my socials @dayalatreats
I’d love your feedback, don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions you may have or to suggest the recipes you’d like me to create in the future.
12
Heart Conchas30
minutes1
Hour3.5
Hours20
MinutesIf you're searching for the ideal DIY gift for your Valentine this year, look no further—I've got you covered with some delicious and beautiful Heart Conchas. In this post, I'll provide you with all the necessary information you need to put together these heart shaped conchas so that you can make your Valentine feel super special!
250g Bread flour
63g Granulated sugar
4g Instant dry yeast
1/8 tsp Cinnamon powder
1/4 tsp Salt
58g Butter(very softened)
50 ml Eggs (room temperature)
1/4 tsp Vanilla extract
68g Milk(warm)
70g All purpose flour
70g Granulated sugar
1/4 tsp Vanilla extract
58g Butter (room temperature)
Food coloring
Gather all needed materials and weigh out needed ingredients.
Place the bread flour, sugar, yeast, cinnamon powder, salt, and the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Let that incorporate for 2-3 minutes on stir speed. You'll use stir speed through out the whole dough and concha paste process.
Add the vanilla and eggs and combine for 2-3 minutes.
Warm the milk in the microwave for about 20-25 seconds or until it reaches 120℉-130℉ and add it gradually.
Knead the dough for 3-5 minutes or until it starts coming off the sides of the bowl. When ready place it in a lightly greased bowl, cover well and let it rest for 2 hours or until doubled in size.
While the dough rests, prepare the topping by placing all of the ingredients(except for the vanilla) in the same bowl where the dough was prepared, switch the dough hook to a paddle attachment.
Beat ingredients together for about 2 minutes then add the vanilla. Use a bowl scraper to mix any ingredients that have gotten stuck to the side of the bowl. Continue mixing until it forms a Play-Doh texture.
Split the concha paste into preferred colors. I chose 3, white, light pink, and hot pink. When the colors are mixed, cover the topping and chill it in the refrigerator until the dough is ready to be shaped.
Coat a half sheet pan with butter and set to the side.
After the dough has proofed for 2 hours, weight out 12 40g pieces. Shape each piece into a round. (At this time take out the concha paste out of the fridge).
Cut a small slit in each piece of dough using a knife or scissors. Once cut they will look like Pac Man.
Use your hands to stretch the opposite side of where the slit was made to make a point. Flatten out the two peaks where the dough was cut and shape the dough into heart. Place each heart on the greased sheet pan and press it down so that it keeps the heart shape. Repeat for all the pieces of dough.
Cover each heart with butter so that the topping sticks.
Weight out 16g of concha paste from each color. There should be 12 pieces total. Flatten out each piece with a tortilla press in between pieces of parchment paper.
Pick up a dough heart and place the flattened topping on top, cut off the excess in between the two peaks and wrap the topping around the heart shape. Put the heart back on the sheet pan. Repeat for all dough hearts.
Gently press the bread stamp into the concha paste to form the designs. Use a knife or bowl scraper if you don't have bread stamps.
Let the assembled heart conchas rest for 45 minutes-hour and preheat the oven to 325 F.
Bake for 20 minutes, the bottoms of the conchas should be golden brown.
Allow for the conchas to cool down then store them in an airtight container or package them up real cute to give to your Valentine.
Read the section on the Cherry Designs to learn how I put cherries design and sprinkles on the conchas.
Hi! I am Diana, a Latina self-taught home baker who can’t get enough of all things sweet! I found my passion for baking when I started making macarons in 2019. Read More
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