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Family-friendly meals made easy!
Make everyday family moments count, with easy recipes that everyone will love. Join our email community to receive tested recipes and tips.
Make everyday family moments count, with easy recipes that everyone will love. Join our email community to receive tested recipes and tips.
These Easy Concha Cinnamon Rolls are a clever, comforting mashup that brings together two iconic treats: a plush Pillsbury™ cinnamon roll and the beloved panadería classic, the concha. In this shortcut-inspired twist, the cinnamon roll steps in for the traditional brioche-style bun and gets crowned with the signature buttery, cookie-like topping of the concha. Finish it off by scoring the topping in the classic shell pattern for the full concha treatment.
Here’s everything you’ll need to make Easy Concha Cinnamon Rolls at home.
Pillsbury™ Original Cinnamon Rolls: With warmth, sweetness, and structure built in, cinnamon rolls are the perfect stand-in for traditional yeast dough. Don’t substitute another variety of cinnamon rolls.
Butter: Use softened butter to make the concha topping. The butter should be soft enough to press with your finger, but not melted or greasy. This helps create the topping's classic cookie-like texture and makes it easy to mix.
Powdered Sugar: Because it contains a bit of cornstarch, powdered sugar sweetens the topping while keeping it smooth and cohesive.
All-Purpose Flour: Flour gives the topping structure, transforming the butter and sugar into a soft, moldable paste that can be pressed and scored.
Strawberry Powder: This adds natural color and bright berry flavor to the topping. It’s worth seeking out or making at home.
Red Gel Food Color: Just a drop or two gives a bold pink hue to the topping. Gel color is concentrated, so you get vibrant color without thinning the topping.
Other Ingredient You’ll Need: Vanilla extract.
Here’s a peek at how to make this cinnamon roll-concha mashup. See the recipe for details!
Mix the topping ingredients and knead gently to get a smooth dough. Separate into 8 equal portions and roll into balls.
Pop open the cinnamon rolls and spread them out on a parchment-lined baking pan.
Flatten each topping ball into a small disk and pat on top of the cinnamon rolls.
Score the topping with long curved lines to resemble a shell, then bake until puffed and golden around the edges. Serve warm!
If you have any leftover concha cinnamon rolls, here’s how to store and reheat them.
Store cooled concha cinnamon rolls in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Transfer cooled concha cinnamon rolls into an airtight container, and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Transfer concha cinnamon rolls to a baking sheet, and loosely cover with foil. Heat in a 325°F oven for about 5 minutes, until just warm. Alternatively, heat in the microwave on high for 10 to 15 seconds, until just warm.
Heat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, combine butter, powdered sugar, flour, vanilla, strawberry powder, and red gel food color. Using a rubber spatula or gloved hands, knead the mixture until a firm sugar paste forms. The texture should resemble cookie dough.
Separate the mixture into 8 equal portions, about 2 teaspoons each, and roll each portion into a ball.
Open the can of cinnamon rolls and separate the rolls, placing them about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Reserve icing for serving.
Place one ball of topping in between 2 layers of parchment paper. Use the palms of your hand or a rolling pin to gently flatten one ball of topping and shape into a thin disk about 2 1/2 inches in diameter (the same size as the cinnamon roll). Carefully peel the disk off the parchment paper. Place the disk on top of a cinnamon roll, and gently pat it to adhere. Repeat until all the cinnamon rolls are covered.
Using a paring knife, gently score about 5 curved lines in the topping to resemble a seashell, trying not to cut all the way through. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, until golden brown.
Let the concha cinnamon rolls cool slightly before serving warm, dipping in the reserved icing if desired.
A small tortilla press is a great tool to shape the topping into a disk. If you have one, give it a try!
Gel food color gives the most vibrant color. Liquid food color works, too; you’ll just need to add a few more drops to get the same vibrant pink color.
Freeze-dried strawberry powder can be purchased online or easily made at home! Simply crush or blend freeze-dried strawberries into a fine powder. Through our testing, we found that approximately 5 full freeze-dried strawberry slices yield 1 teaspoon of powder. For this recipe's 1 1/2 teaspoons, you'll need about 7 to 8 slices crushed into a powder.
