Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie.

Conchas

* 3 teaspoons active dry yeast
* 1/2 cup warm water (105 degrees F to 115 degrees F or 40 to 46 celsius)
* 1/2 cup lukewarm milk (scalded, then cooled)
* 1/3 cup granulated sugar
* 1/3 cup butter, softened
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 egg
* 3 1/2-4 cups all-purpose flour

Flavored Topping Dough

* 1/3 cup granulated sugar
* 1/4 cup butter or margarine
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 1/2 teaspoons orange zest

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water in large bowl.
2. Stir in milk, sugar, butter, salt, egg and 2 cups of the flour.
3. Beat until smooth.
4. Stir in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle.
5. Turn onto a lightly floured surface.
6. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.
7. Place in a large greased bowl, then turn greased side up.
8. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double, about 1 1/2 hours.
9. The dough is ready if it leaves an indentation when touched.
10. Meanwhile, prepare Flavored Topping Dough.
11. Punch dough down; divide into 12 equal pieces.
12. Shape each piece into a ball; place on greased cookie sheet.
13. Beat sugar and margarine until light and fluffy.
14. Stir in flour until mixture is the consistency of thick paste.
15. Divide into 3 equal parts.
16. Stir cinnamon into one part, vanilla extract into one part and orange peel into one part.
17. Divide each part of dough into 4 equal pieces.
18. Pat each piece into a 3-inch circle.
19. Place 1 circle of Topping Dough on each ball of dough, shaping it down over the ball.
20. Make 5 or 6 cuts across the topping, using a table knife, to form a shell pattern.
21. Cover and let rise until double — about 40 minutes.
22. Heat oven to 375 degrees F (190 celsius).
23. Bake buns until golden brown, about 20 minutes.


**I have no idea if this recipe is worth making, I will find out soon, and report. When I was a kid, and burned off enough calories to eat anything I wanted, my mother would get these for me at the store pretty frequently. I loved them. I didn't even know what they were, but I thought they were fantastic. (I was a very trusting kid, I guess...)

Thanks to Martha Stewart for featuring San Antonio in a recent issue of her magazine, but not including the recipe for Conchas!