Teenie Cakes™

| food, photography, edible gardening & more!

Besos (Kisses) – A Mexican Sweet Bread

Besos (Kisses)
Besos (Kisses) – A Mexican Sweet Bread

I’ve borrowed the recipe to these little Mexican breads, called Besos, from Joseluis Flores’ new cookbook “Dulce: Desserts in the Latin-American Tradition“.    There were some slight adjustments.   Rather than Besos (which means “kisses”), I’m calling my batch Besitos (“little kisses”) because I made them smaller than what was instructed out of personal preference.

Sometimes these Besos are called cookies and then other times referred to as sweet breads.  They were definitely more bread related than a cookie.   The Chef of Dulce accurately describes them as “almost scone like breads”.     They are not donut-like or as sweet as they look.    These tasty little breads are versatile in that you can use your favorite marmalade/jams/preserves, choose to coat them in sugar or not.  They’re perfect to serve for brunch and enjoy with your cup of  java, tea or maybe a cozy mug of Mexican hot chocolate!

Teenie Notes

  • There was an omission of the oven temperature in this recipe. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and baked for 10-13 minutes when using my smallest cookie scoop (3/4 teaspoon) to measure out the dough portions.
  • When incorporating both the wet and dry ingredients together, the directions instruct to mix on medium speed for 15-20 minutes. This was a long time and I worried the batter/dough would get tough.    Cut that mixing time down to 3-5 minutes.
  • When coating the breads, a nice addition could be to add some cinnamon to the granulated sugar that you roll the butter-coated bread in.
  • Used apricot marmalade as the filling for most of the besos. Also tried a cranberry relish.
Besos (or Besitos!)
source adapted from Dulce: Desserts in the Latin-American Tradition by Joseluis Flores

Makes about 30 breads or 15 sandwiched Besos
(Note: Yield will vary depending on the size you make the breads)

Ingredients

For the breads:
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks butter, softened but still firm)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
2 tablespoons vanilla extract

For the filling and coating:
1 1/2 cups marmalade or jam
1 cup butter, melted (for coating)
2 cups granulated sugar (for coating)

Directions

In the bowl of an electric mixer with paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy and pale yellow. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until combined after each addition.

In another large bowl, combine the flour, yeast, and baking powder. Add the flour mixture, 1 cup of water, and the vanilla extract to the butter mixture and mix on low speed until combined. Then mix on medium speed until the dough becomes smooth and soft, with a thick, batter-like texture, 15-20 minutes (my results differed – I mixed for a total of 3-5 minutes).

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Using a 2-ounce ice cream scoop or a 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop half spheres of dough 2 inches apart onto a nonstick baking sheet or line the baking sheet with parchment paper. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown (Your time will vary depending on how large your dough spheres are. I used a small cookie scoop that measured 3/4 teaspoon and baked between 10-13 minutes). Let the small breads cool completely.

Spread about 1 tablespoon of marmalade or jam on the bottom-side of one bread.    Place another small bread, flat side against the filling to assemble the beso.    Using a pastry brush, coat the assembled besos with melted butter.    Roll into sugar and , tap off the excess sugar.

Store in an airtight container.

Besos (Kisses) - Mexican Sweet Bread

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. caroluski says

    Okay, so I’m making these today and I noticed that there is yeast as an ingredient
    But no instructions on blooming is that what the cup of waters for?
    Also, is there a rise time? Do they expand during baking or can I put them fairly
    close together? Thank you can’t wait to hear from you : )

    • Cristina says

      Hi Carol:

      You’re combining the dry ingredients (flour, yeast & baking powder) and then adding the water, etc. No need to get the yeast going ahead of time w/the water. Watch the mixing time and baking time as it was trial & error/experimenting with the recipe when I made this (there were omissions and editing issues in the original recipe).

      Hope you enjoy these besitos! 🙂

    • Teenie Cakes says

      Muchas gracias, Linda! I liked them very much too…they’re great for brunch & w/tea or coffee and I can see how they might become a traditional bread baked during holidays like Alba from “Ingredients of a Woman” mentioned in the comment before.

  5. Ingredients of a Woman says

    I adore Besos, specially from my husband 😉
    My Mom and I always make besos around Christmas time, our recipe is a little bit different.

    Love your pictures!

    Alba H. Rodriguez

    • Teenie Cakes says

      That so cute, Alba!

      I hadn’t heard of these besos before this recipe in “Dulce” I’m interested in how your Mom makes them too. A future post from you? I’m looking forward to it! =)

  6. Teenie Cakes says

    Thanks all my foodie friends for the nice comments on these Besitos. Please let me know if you give ’em a try and how you liked ’em!

    xoxo (Besos!) 😉

  12. Roti n Rice says

    I would love some of these with my tea. Whenever I visit your blog, I have to get my cup of tea ready. Love your little sweet treats 🙂

  16. citronetvanille says

    Oh I love those little kisses, and they do look like kisses actually! how cute those are and really tempting with the sugar crystals on the outside. I wish I could have one right now with my tea!

  19. denise @ quickies on the dinner table says

    I love how you guys have so many food related celebrations over there – Thanksgiving, St Patricks, Mardi Gras, Cinco de Mayo just off the top of my head!

    These baby sized breads are adorable Cristina! I swear I’d give them each a beso before eating them LOL Love the photos 🙂

[instagram-feed]