Cinnamon Pan Dulce (Mexican Morning Buns)
At one point or another we’ve all tried to bring childhood memories to life in our kitchens, but some memories are harder to recreate than others. For me an ever elusive, yet much longed for, childhood treat has been pan dulce (sweet bread) – also known as Mexican Morning Buns. These sweet, fluffy buns fit in the palm of your hand and are often covered with either a cinnamon or chocolate topping. In Mexican households they’re a staple at the breakfast table, where they’re served with cafe de olla or hot chocolate. Not surprisingly, they’re also a favored midnight snack.
When I was a kid one of my favorite Saturday tasks was going to the panaderia (bakery) down the road with my father, where we could select an assortment of pan dulces for breakfast on Sunday morning. We always had a hard time deciding between all the different variations of pan dulce behind the counter. Did we want seashell shaped conchas? The cuernos, which are buns shaped like the horns of a bull? Or were we in the mood for elotes, shaped like an ear of corn? I’m telling ya, these are the decisions that will blow a budding foodie’s mind. Usually we took the easy way out and selected two of each!
I like pan dulce, period – but if I had to choose a favorite shape it would be the simple, rounded buns with circles of cinnamon sugar on top. For months I’ve been experimenting with recipes in an effort to make pan dulce that would live up to my childhood memories, but the resulting buns were either too tough, or flavorless, or just missed the mark entirely. Finally I took matters into my own hands and came up with the recipe you see here, which makes about 16 fluffy, vanilla-cinnamon flavored morning buns. I swear the first time I put them in the oven I nearly floated down the stairs like a character in some Loony Tunes cartoon. That’s how good my apartment smelled. And the taste? Let’s just say I ate two of these before I even got them in front of the camera today.
Buns like those you see here are the ones that panaderias usually make into conchas, using rustic-looking metal cutters to stamp out the designs into the topping. Panaderia toppings are thick so that they hold the shape of the seashell pattern, but since I don’t have a cutter I usually make my topping with a higher amount of liquid, then place a dollop of it on the dough just before baking. In the oven it spreads and covers the bun in a sweet, slightly crunchy coating of cinnamon sugar. If you have a cutter on hand or want to use a sharp knife to cut out a seashell shape, you can add more flour and sugar to the topping I’ve outlined below, then place it in the fridge until it thickens. Roll tablespoonfuls of the mixture into balls and flatten them on top of the dough before pressing your cutter into them or shaping them with your knife. Usually I’m too lazy to do this, hence my dollop and bake approach to making these buns. I’m also hoping that when my brother and his girlfriend move to New York in a few months they’ll bring me metal cutters, seeing as they’re in Mexico all the time. Bro, are you reading this? Hint. Hint. 
These Mexican Morning Buns are fairly easy to make, but the dough is sticky so you’ll need to dust it with flour periodically during kneading. Don’t make the mistake of adding too much flour, which will dry out the dough and lead to tough buns. You want just enough flour to prevent the dough from sticking to the counter or your hands.
Also, knead the dough by hand, even if you have a stand mixer like I do. Using a mixer makes it too easy to overdo the flour during the kneading period – better to have your hands in the dough so you can feel when it’s ready for its first rise.
Before I go, one quick note: if you’re seeing this post in a reader or via email, take a moment to stop by Baking and Books. The site has a completely new look! Make sure you check out the front page too.
Don’t forget about the monthly book giveaway! March’s winner has been posted on the giveaway page. April’s book giveaway April’s book giveaway includes one copy of “Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey: Desserts for the Serious Sweet Tooth,” by Jill O’Connor.
Cinnamon Pan Dulce (Mexican Morning Buns) (My Recipe)
Ingredients: Makes 16 buns
- For the buns:
- 1/4 cup warm water
- 2 1/2 teaspoons instant (rapid rise) yeast
- 2/3 cups warm whole milk
- 4 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 4 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into small pieces
- 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup confectioners sugar
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into small pieces
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
For the topping:
For the buns:
In a large metal bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the warm water, yeast, milk, eggs, vanilla, salt and sugar. Add 1 cup of flour and beat until smooth. Add another cup of flour and mix well, then add the butter and mix until incorporated. Add two more cups of flour, half a cup at a time, mixing between additions. This will bring you to four cups of flour already used in the dough. Allow the dough to rest for 5 minutes. It will be very sticky.
Generously dust your work surface and hands with flour, then turn the dough out. You are going to knead the dough by hand for 4 to 5 minutes, but will need to dust the it with flour 1 tablespoon at a time at intervals to prevent it from sticking to the work surface or your hands. Don’t overdo it with the flour. Use just enough to prevent sticking. You will probably use another 1/2 to 1 cup of flour during the kneading process.
Once the dough is soft, slightly sticky and springs back when you press your thumb into it, shape it into a ball and place it in a large, lightly greased bowl, turning once to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm area for 1 hour.
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. With a knife, cut the dough in half, then cut each half in two. Now you’ll have four pieces of dough. Cut each piece into four more sections, then roll each section into a smooth ball. Place the balls onto your prepared baking sheet, gently pressing down and spacing them at least three inches apart.
With a sharp knife cut three slits on the top of each ball of dough. Cover each tray with plastic wrap, lightly spraying the wrap with baking spray before putting the oiled side down onto the dough. Allow the dough to rise for 1 hour.
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
For the topping:
In a large bowl, make the topping by combining the flour, confectioners sugar, butter, egg, milk, vanilla and cinnamon. With two metal spoons, place 1 tablespoon worth of topping on each bun, gently spreading the topping around with the back of one of the spoons.
Allow the buns to rise for another 1/2 hour, then bake at 375 degrees F for 18-24 minutes or until golden brown. If your oven isn’t big enough for both baking sheets to fit at once, it’s fine to bake one tray at a time. The buns that go in second will just have risen a bit more.
Cool on a rack, then serve warm or at room temperature. The buns will keep for about 2 days in an airtight container.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:- Bakery Style Sweet Buns & A Holiday Game
- Chocolate-Cranberry Sweet Buns
- Cinnamon Sugar Scones
- Pumpkin Butter Morning Glory Muffins
- Morning Food
- Mexican Vanilla Mini-Muffins with Vanilla Syrup
- Cinnamon-Nutmeg French Toast with Strawberries & Blueberries
- Lemon Berry Babycakes with Cinnamon-Nut Streusel
81 Responses to “Cinnamon Pan Dulce (Mexican Morning Buns)”
Leave a Reply
Hi
Twitter | Pandora | Playlist
Recipes Delivered
Happy Thoughts
7wks old & rockin the hoodie.Currently Reading
Recently Read
YUMMY!
Excellent and thank you. If you have any more recipes for Mexican sweet bread I sure would love to see them. Thanks and yum.
Never tried one before! Looks like a wonderful treat!
Maria´s last blog post -> Recipe for Toffee Brownies
Lovely post! The topping for these buns is a new twist for me. Must try these. Thanks for sharing.
P.S. Following you on Twitter…
LunaCafe´s last blog post -> Northwest Fresh: Portland Farmers Market Spring 2009
I absolutely love pan dulce and I’m so excited to make these! Thanks for the wonderful post.
April´s last blog post -> The Garden: Spring
Anything carb-y and cinnamon-y is a winner with me!
Shelby´s last blog post -> Animal Crackers in My Soup
YUM! anything that is remotely close to a doughnut is right up my ally. these look so good.
I adore pan dulce and no longer have a good location within walking distance. I’m going to have to give these a try very soon!
I’ve never heard of these, but I want to try them. I’ll keep a look out for them at bakeries, but will probably end up making them. I’m sure everybody else in my house will like them too!
By the way, the redesign looks fantastic!
Janel´s last blog post -> Top 8, Baby!
The new design looks good! And so do these buns. We’re doing the Eat to Live diet for 6 weeks, to try and get hubby off Lipitor but after that, these buns? nom nom.
Nancy´s last blog post -> At The Office
I’ve never seen such buns, but i must try them as they sound just delightful
ttfn300´s last blog post -> Ramps!
These sound just like what I’ve been craving. Thanks!
I have never heard of these before but they look and sound incredible. I may have to give them a try.
Mixing Bowl Mama´s last blog post -> A Cookie Decorating Table
These look really delicious! A great recipe!
Cheers,
Rosa
Delicious. Love pan dulce with my morning cup of coffee.
this looks absolutely delicious! can’t think of a better way to start the day!
Ama´s last blog post -> Paine taraneasca cu cartofi/ Country potato bread
This is the first time to see this
sounds nice specially that it doesn’t contain a big amount of butter
Now I know what to make for breakfast this weekend! And the new site design is lovely – very classic
Ginny´s last blog post -> Tuesday tip for reading – read aloud strategies
I like your dollop approach! The cinnamon-sugar topping looks luscious. I’ll definitely have to give these a go one of these weekends.
And I really like the new look to the blog too! K x
kristina´s last blog post -> lavender biscuits, part two
These look delicious! I think I will be making them!
Stacy´s last blog post -> Soured Milk Chocolate Cake
Looking delcious – and the new layout too – very clean and smart!
Will definitely have to try this recipe. I recently for the first time made dulce de leche from a can of sweetened condensed milk – my family loves it. It feels like a miracle occurs when you start with the SCM and end up with such a creamy delicious spreadable mixture!
This looks very YUMMY!!!
Yudith´s last blog post -> Turkey and Artichoke Stuffed Shells with Arabbiata Sauce
Pan dulce dunked into cafe de olla seems the perfect way to begin a day. Thanks for sharing this recipe treasure!
Jen´s last blog post -> foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: kale soup competition
Yum! These sound fantastic!
Jessica´s last blog post -> Potato Soup Revisited
what a unique and extraordinary treat! i haven’t seen anything like it, which is an absolute travesty, given my love for cinnamon. i suppose i should make my own before they revoke both my cinnamon-lover’s and bread-baker’s cards.
LOVE the sound of these Ari…they look so GOOD!
deeba´s last blog post -> SPRING HAS COME & SPRING HAS GONE- but CLICK is here to stay!
Thanks for your wonderful blog! looking forward to see more delightful recipes.
I will try your recipe for pan Duice soon.
Your site looks beautiful! I’ve never had pan dulce, but after your descriptions, I think I may have to start this tradition in my family!
I am so making those as soon as I figure out a gluten and dairy free recipe. Really, I can taste those just by looking at the lovely pictures. Yum on the way!
Those look fantastic! I will have to try this when I get out the other side from prod week and two weekends of performances!
Seanna Lea´s last blog post -> 1 dress rehearsal, ah ah ah
mmm looks good! is it really spicy?
Zahra – Not spicy, but sweet with vanilla and cinnamon overtones.
So fluffy and lovely. I think it’s easy to try it.
Love ur template and blog too.
rajee´s last blog post -> TamilNadu:In touch of Turmeric
Wow those look just like the ones I had in Mexico
These sound terrific, I’d love to give them a try, thank you.
Ari,
They look great, and so does your site. One question: are they only good the day you make them, or do they keep overnight?
Katie – They are at their very best right out of the oven (after they’ve cooled of course!) but they’ll keep just fine for 2 days in an airtight container. I had one with my coffee this morning and it was still fab.
Not familiar with these bun things, but they look pretty good not to give them a try!
Stacie Kats´s last blog post -> Cheesecake – April’s Daring Baker’s Challenge
That looks delicious…Yummm!!!
Seema´s last blog post -> Muddy the little puppy
THis looks so yummy! I am new to baking and eager to give this a try.
Oh, I used to eat these when I was a kid. Then I saw your photo and KNEW I had to make them! Thank you, and my family thanks you.
Hi Ari. I’m loving your new layout! And as always the food looks yummy
mmmmmm, I’ve never eaten these but that sweet cinnamon topping looks like heaven from here!
btw, I like your new layout!
These look so good! My husband is Mexican so I am always looking for traditional recipes to make. We live in Arizona so we are no strangers to panaderias, but nothing beats homemade. I think that I will surprise him with these this weekend!
I really love this blog and have tried a few and earmarked a lot of your recipes. Keep up the good work.
I’ve never heard of these buns before, but the Dulce in the title [lovee DDL "P] and your description have put it straight onto my ‘must try list’. They look yummy.
Oh, and the new design looks great. SO professional looking
I’ve bought these before at local shops, but it hadn’t occurred to me that I could make my own. Thanks!
sprite´s last blog post -> help me decide!
I’ve never had that kind of bread before but it surely looks good! I love bread, especially bread that will bring me back to my childhood memories. How sweet!
I’ve been searching for something sweet to bake tonight, and I think these win! I can’t wait to try them!
Kirstin´s last blog post -> Waiting all week for these…
How very unique, and they sound delicious!!! The topping looks so good.
Culinary Wannabe´s last blog post -> Chicken Paillard
I’ve never heard of these, but they look yummy. I’m emailing this recipe to my bread-baking son. Maybe he’ll make me some for Mother’s Day!
These I will definitely have to try. Thank you!
I’ve never seen these before. They are so nice.
Hélène´s last blog post -> Brownies with Brown Sugar Sauce
WOW! This looks amazing. I love bread! I will definitely have to try it out!
Also, I loved the changed outlook of your blog! It looks fantastic!
my husband loves pan dulce… i’ll definitely be making these!
I only have dry yeast at home. do you know how much dry yeast I can use instead?
Thanks!
Denise – Instant/Rapid Rise yeast is dry yeast. Do you mean you have Active Dry yeast? If that is the case then you would simply increase the amount of yeast in the recipe by 25%.
Hi Ariela
I am looking for a mexican bread book.
Do you know of one?
Cesar.
Not off the top of my head, but Beth Hensperger has a great book on Southwestern breads that include several Mexican recipes.
Oh wow! I’ve never seen these before, but they look like something I’d love to eat! I’m saving this recipe!
i have never had these before but they look wonderful. yummmmmmmmmmm.
This reminds me of the buns I used to buy, except they’re flavored with coffee, would be interesting to try this one! I must say YOure one great baker!
Candy – Ooo, coffee flavored pan dulce. You’ve got my thinking!
As always, fantastic looking. I’ve not heard of these before but would love to try them.
Scott at Realepicurean´s last blog post -> Swine Flu Outbreak Kills 80+
These look gorgeous. Pretty and quite unusual.
So good! I’m drooling, and sad that the panaderia down the street is closed (not enough people to eat all of those buns- especially since I just made our bread and muffins for the week!) I guess I”ll just have to wait to make these until next sunday….
Wow. I think I’m going to have to try these.
Amazing, these looks delicious. Thank you for sharing. I will try to make them sometime soon and will let you know.
Qte´s last blog post -> Have Some Turkish Style Fun!
I made these over the weekend and they were a big hit! My husband loved that they were so soft with just the right amount of sweetness. They are so much better than the conchas at our local panaderia. Thank you for the recipe!
I’ve been trying to recreate these for decades with no success. Every recipe I’ve tried is the wrong texture.
Do yours “hold on” to the milk when you dunk them?
Yes, they hold together but for my tastes they go better with coffee or hot chocolate.
Just made these and they came out soooo goooood!
I have a penchant for skipping over whole sentences when reading directions, which frequently makes my efforts in the kitchen quite amusing for my housemates as I first curse, then mutter to myself as I try to correct my mistakes. This time I didn’t read the sentence about the slicing the tops with a knife and giving them a second rise until after I’d spread the cinnamon sugar topping on them. Whoops. Flash to me jamming a knife into the sides of the buns, whilst attempting to neither squash them nor get the topping all over myself. I was mostly successful. Then I just covered them and let them ‘rise’ for an hour with the topping on them…they didn’t do much rising. After I put the first pan in the oven to bake, I read the sentence saying to put the topping on and then let rise for another 30 min. Whoops again. I chose to pretend this sentence didn’t exist and baked them anyway. So, you can perhaps imagine my surprise when I pulled them out of the oven and they looked perfect, just like your pictures! And they’re delicious! Thank you for coming up with a great yeast bread recipe that can withstand a few mishaps!
I am saving this recipe right now!! These Mexican morning buns sound deeeelish. I’m so glad you were able to recreate your childhood favorite. The image of you floating down the stairs because these buns smelled so good–well, let’s just say, that’s all the convincing I need to know this recipe is a keeper!
Elyse´s last blog post -> SMS: Strawberry Shortcake (!)
Wow these look amazing.
katie´s last blog post -> Roasted Tomato Salad with Herby Crumbs
I saw these Mexican buns in Arthur(children movie) but have not tried them. Thanks for sharing!
YUMMY!!
Barbara´s last blog post -> Mattonella di zucchine
Just found your site. Love it, can’t wait to try some of the food. Can I be a taster for you?
Have a great week!
Everyone’s a taster! If you try a recipe I’d love to hear how it goes.
These look so delicious! I love cinnamon on bread so they should be perfect!
Oh my, this will so help me recreate this delictable treat. There goes my healthy diet…thanks for this
How completely wonderful these look! It makes me want to run into the kitchen and get baking! Thanks for sharing your delicious recipe with us, and for all the work you put into getting the recipe just exactly right.