Pumpkin Conchas

Ingredients & Measurements:

Pumpkin Concha Dough
Yeast Starter:
120 ml (130g) warm milk
2 ¼ tsp.(4g) or 1 packet active dry yeast
1 tsp. (4g) Sugar

Dough:
3 ¼ cups (500g) all purpose flour + ⅓ for dusting and kneading the dough
⅔ cup (140g) granulated sugar
2 whole eggs
¼ cup (60g)  pumpkin puree
2 tsp. (8g) vanilla extract
½ cup (114g) or 1 stick unsalted butter
1 ½ tsp. (5g) salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
⅛ tsp. cloves
¼ tsp. Ginger
Fresh nutmeg or ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg

Topping:
114 g butter
1 cup (110g) powdered sugar
1 cup (145g) all purpose flour
½ tsp. Cinnamon
¼ tsp. Cloves
¼ tsp. Nutmeg
¼ tsp. Ginger
¼ tsp. salt

Orange and green food coloring

Instructions
Step 1: Yeast Starter
Warm milk up to 105-110 degrees F. add the yeast and sugar to the warm milk, mix and set aside to rise/activate for 10 minutes. 

Step 2: Concha Dough
In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, and salt. In a small bowl combine the eggs, pumpkin puree and vanilla. Work the butter into the flour, then add the egg mixture followed by the yeast mixture, combine until it begins to form a rough shaggy ball of dough, pour out onto a work surface and knead for 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and no longer sticky. Place the dough in a buttered bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm draft free spot, I prefer to place it in the oven with the light on. Let the dough rest for 2 hours.

Step 3: Make Topping
In a bowl combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Work the butter into the flour mixture until it comes together into a ball. Take about ⅛ of the dough and set it aside. Add orange food coloring to the larger portion of dough. Add more than you think, you want a vibrant orange color. Add a little green food coloring to the smaller portion of dough. Wrap up each in plastic wrap and set it aside.

Step 4: Shape Conchas
After the dough has risen for 2 hours, pour it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Using a kitchen scale try to portion the dough out into 8 equal pieces. Roll each portion of dough into a ball, place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. 

Roll out sugar topping and cut out pieces large enough to cover the entire top and sides of the concha dough ball. Using a concha cutter, press down on the sugar topping gently to cut the shapes into the topping. Wrap the cookie sheet loosely in plastic wrap to keep the conchas from drying out as they rise for a second time. Allow these to rise for 45 minutes. 

Step 5: bake Conchas

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and remove the conchas from the oven while it preheats. Once the oven is at 325 degrees F. place the conchas in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, until the conchas have puffed up and the bottoms are slightly golden brown. 

Once baked, remove the cookie sheet from the oven and allow the conchas to cool slightly on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack. Once they have cooled down you can enjoy! These will last up to three days in an airtight container on the counter, they tend to get stale after 3 days. These are best enjoyed the day of.