Mexican pan dulce, or sweet bread, is more than just a bakery item; it’s a cultural icon, a daily indulgence, and a delicious representation of Mexico’s rich culinary heritage. Walk into any panaderia (Mexican bakery), and you’ll be greeted by an enchanting aroma and a visual feast of countless shapes, colors, and sugary toppings. The sheer variety can be overwhelming, sparking curiosity about the names, flavors, and stories behind these tempting treats. This guide will take you on a journey through the fascinating world of pan dulce, exploring its history, diverse types, and why it holds such a special place in Mexican culture.
A vibrant basket overflowing with various types of Mexican pan dulce, showcasing the wide assortment available.
The history of pan dulce is a sweet blend of cultures and culinary innovation. Before the Spanish arrived, indigenous Mexican diets were vastly different, lacking wheat and the baking traditions we know today. The Spanish conquest brought wheat and European baking techniques to Mexico. Over time, Mexican bakers began to incorporate local ingredients and adapt European recipes, creating unique and delightful pastries. The influence of the French, who also arrived in Mexico later, further enriched the pan dulce repertoire, adding sophisticated pastry techniques and flavors.
This cultural fusion led to an explosion of creativity in Mexican baking. Pan dulce names often reflect this playful and imaginative spirit, drawing inspiration from animals, objects, and even people or places, often with a touch of Mexican humor and wordplay. Regional variations add another layer of complexity and deliciousness to the story of pan dulce. Different regions of Mexico boast unique recipes and styles, influenced by local ingredients and the traditions of immigrant communities. Some estimate that there are hundreds, perhaps even over a thousand, different types of pan dulce across Mexico, a testament to the country’s incredible baking heritage.
The foundation of pan dulce lies in the diverse doughs used to create them. You’ll find varieties ranging from cake-like textures to airy brioche, crumbly shortbread styles, and flaky puff pastries. Each dough type offers a unique eating experience, contributing to the vast spectrum of flavors and textures within the world of pan dulce.
This guide will introduce you to some of the most common and regionally beloved pan dulces you’ll encounter in panaderias both in Mexico and the United States. Prepare to embark on a flavorful adventure and discover your own favorites in the captivating world of Mexican sweet bread!
A Guide to Mexican Pan Dulce: From Alamar to Trenza
Alamar
These pretzel-shaped breads are a rare find, characterized by their dry crumb and a simple decoration of coarse white sugar. Their unique shape sets them apart, but their scarcity makes them a special treat for those lucky enough to encounter them.
Almejas y Cacahuates
Taking their names from “almeja” (clam) and “cacahuates” (peanuts), these pan dulces are cookie-like in nature. Instead of being hand-shaped, the dough is piped to resemble clam or peanut shells, resulting in a pillowy soft texture that bridges the gap between a spongy bread and a buttery cookie. Typically, two of these cookies are lovingly sandwiched together with a layer of sweet whipped cream, creating a delightful creamy center.
Banderilla
These long, slender breads are crafted from flaky puff pastry dough and generously coated with sugar. As they bake, banderillas rise into crispy, layered delights, with the sugar melting into a shiny, sweet glaze. Subtly sweet, the touch of sugar provides just the right amount of sweetness to complement the flaky pastry.
A close-up of Banderilla pan dulce, showcasing its flaky layers and glistening sugar glaze.
Berlínes or Bolas de Berlín
These are Mexico’s take on filled donuts. Berlínes are fried donut balls, typically filled with luscious pastry cream or sweet fruit jam, and then generously coated in sugar. They are a testament to the global appeal of donuts, with a delicious Mexican twist.
Besos or Yoyos
Known as “kisses” (besos) or “yoyos” (like the toy), these pan dulces consist of two rounded, cake-cookie hybrids. They are joined by a sweet layer of strawberry or apricot jam, or crema pastelera (pastry cream), and then adorned with whipped cream and granulated sugar. The name besos aptly describes their resemblance to two sweet kisses joined together. Variations, sometimes called duraznos (peaches), feature raspberry or strawberry jam fillings, with an extra coating of jam on the outside before being rolled in coconut or sugar.
Bigote
“Bigote” means mustache in Spanish, and this pan dulce lives up to its name with a shape reminiscent of a handlebar mustache. Similar to a cuernito (croissant), but with a distinctive mustache form, bigotes are light and airy breads, often finished with a sprinkle of granulated sugar on top.
A tempting Bigote pan dulce, highlighting its unique mustache shape and sugary topping.
Bisquete
A close relative to scones and American buttermilk biscuits, bisquetes offer a delightful balance of savory and sweet. These dense yet flaky round breads are perfect enjoyed simply with butter or jam, or as a breakfast treat alongside coffee or hot chocolate. The same versatile dough is also used to create semáforos (stoplights), rectangular breads with three circular markings resembling traffic lights.
Brocas
Brocas are twisted puff pastry treats elevated with a layer of the same buttery-sweet topping found on conchas. These delicate pastries are further dusted with granulated sugar and can be found in flavors like chocolate and strawberry, adding a colorful and flavorful twist. They are sometimes categorized under pan fino, indicating their refined nature.
Buñuelos (de rodilla & de viento)
Buñuelos are a classic fried dough treat. Buñuelos de rodilla are made from dough rolled into thin circles, similar to flour tortillas, and then fried and coated in a cinnamon-sugar mixture. For a lighter version, buñuelos de viento are made using a thin batter and a special rosette mold (buñuelera), resulting in delicate, crispy fritters.
Campechana
These circular or rectangular pastries are essentially made from pie dough baked with a sugar coating. Campechanas rise into multiple crumbly, flaky layers, and as they bake, the sugar melts to create a beautiful shiny glaze. Their crispiness and sweet glaze make them an irresistible treat.
A golden-brown Campechana pan dulce, showcasing its flaky layers and caramelized sugar glaze.
Canasta
“Canasta” means basket in Spanish, and this Danish-style pastry is indeed shaped like a small basket. These delicate pastries are filled with a sweet and creamy custard, known as crema pastelera, adding a rich and smooth center to the flaky basket.
Cemita or Semita
Cemitas or semitas are essentially round sandwich rolls, available in both savory and sweet versions. Sweet cemitas vary regionally, but common ingredients include wheat flour, anise, cinnamon, cloves, and sweeteners like piloncillo or sugar. Some sweet variations also incorporate raisins and nuts for added flavor and texture.
Chilindrina
Chilindrinas bear a resemblance to conchas but are distinguished by a generous sprinkling of coarse sugar over their buttery sugar coating. Unlike conchas, chilindrinas lack the signature seashell pattern. In some regions, the term chilindrina may also refer to a pan dulce similar to the beso.
Chinos
Chinos are essentially muffins, but in the world of pan dulce, they come in a delightful array of flavors. You can find chinos with nuts, chocolate, raisins, and various other additions, making them a versatile and satisfying treat.
Churros
Globally popular, churros are fried choux pastry treats best enjoyed with a cup of rich hot chocolate. While the dough itself is not overly sweet, rolling them in cinnamon and sugar elevates their deliciousness. Churros are typically hollow inside but can also be filled with melted chocolate, cajeta (caramelized goat’s milk), or pastry cream (crema pastelera).
Cocol
Cocol is a unique bread flavored with anise and cinnamon and generously topped with sesame seeds. Believed to be one of Mexico’s oldest breads, cocol offers a glimpse into the country’s long and flavorful baking history.
Conchas
“Conchas,” meaning shells in Spanish, are perhaps the most iconic and beloved of all Mexican pan dulce. These pillowy soft, brioche-textured round breads are topped with a distinctive buttery-sugar flavored coating, typically scored with a seashell-like pattern. Traditional flavors include vanilla and chocolate, but the toppings can come in various colors, from white and brown to pink, yellow, and festive combinations.
A close-up of chocolate Conchas, highlighting the signature seashell pattern and soft, brioche texture.
Cono or Corneta(o) or Barquillo
These names refer to a flaky pastry shaped like a cone, reminiscent of an ice cream cone. Conos are filled with either smooth crema pastelera or light and airy whipped cream, creating a delightful contrast of textures.
Cortadillo
The ever-popular cortadillo is a square slice of cake instantly recognizable by its bright pink frosting and colorful sprinkles. This simple yet cheerful cake is a staple in many Mexican bakeries and celebrations.
Cubilete
Cubiletes are charming small pies shaped like muffins. They feature a shortbread pie crust and are filled with a sweet cream cheese mixture. Baked without a top crust, the cubilete is molded, filled, and baked to golden perfection.
Cuernito or Cuerno
The Mexican sibling of the French croissant, cuernitos or cuernos (horns) are another incredibly popular pan dulce. While not always as intensely buttery and flaky as a traditional croissant, cuernitos are typically airy breads with a simple egg wash. Sweet versions often boast a glossy sugar coating, and sometimes you’ll find them filled with chocolate for an extra treat.
A tempting Cuernito pan dulce, showcasing its horn shape and golden-brown crust.
Danesa
Danesas are flaky Danish-style pastries filled with sweet fruit jam/jelly or crema pastelera. They come in a variety of shapes, showcasing the versatility of Danish pastry techniques in Mexican baking.
Donas
Donuts, or donas in Spanish, are immensely popular in Mexico. Found in bakeries, grocery stores, convenience stores, cafes, and restaurants, Mexicans love donas just as much as Americans love their donuts. Mexican donas come in all the familiar variations as their American counterparts, from glazed to filled and frosted.
Elotes
Elotes are charming little corn-shaped pastries with a shortcrust texture and a granulated sugar topping. Classified as pan fino, elotes are delicate and flavorful, capturing the essence of corn in a sweet pastry.
Empanadas
Empanadas are popular turnovers enjoyed with both savory and sweet fillings. Sweet empanadas are filled with fruit jams like pineapple, strawberry, apple, peach, pumpkin, or cajeta. The dough can be either a shortcrust type or a buttery and flaky pastry dough, offering variations in texture.
Espejo
“Espejo” translates to mirror, and these pan dulces are indeed glossy round cookies topped with either melted chocolate or a white vanilla glaze, creating a mirror-like sheen.
A pair of Espejo cookies, their glossy chocolate glaze reflecting like mirrors.
Galletas
In Mexican bakeries, galletas generally refer to shortbread-like cookies that are slightly drier and less sweet than typical American cookies. The variations are endless, including galletas de nuez (pecan cookies), watermelon-shaped and colored cookies, and galletas caritas (smiley face cookies), a favorite among children. Polvorones are also often categorized as galletas.
Colorful caterpillar galletas, showcasing the whimsical and playful side of Mexican cookies.
Garibaldis
Garibaldis are small, vanilla-flavored thimble-shaped pound cakes. After baking, they are coated with warm apricot jam and completely covered in white sprinkles. These cakes have a dense yet moist texture and are notably sweet.
Gendarme
“Gendarme” is a French and Spanish term for a law enforcement officer, but in the context of pan dulce, it refers to a vanilla-flavored crumbly polvoron or shortbread cookie. This uniquely shaped cookie is moister than a typical polvoron due to the addition of egg, resulting in a slightly less crumbly texture.
A Gendarme pan dulce, highlighting its unique shape and crumbly texture.
Gragea
Grageas are cookies with a texture similar to, but drier than, shortbread cookies. They are generously sprinkled with a colorful mix of small, round sprinkles called nonpareils, or grageas in Spanish.
Gusano
“Gusano” means worm in Spanish, and these pan dulces are little worm-shaped breads spiced with cinnamon and anise seed. The dough variations can range from crumbly and dry to bready and almost flaky. Some gusanos are filled with sweet fruit jelly or custard cream, adding an extra layer of flavor. They are classified as Pan Fino.
A Gusano pan dulce, showcasing its worm-like shape and cinnamon-sugar coating.
Hojaldras
Hojaldras are round, buttery, flaky bread rolls that are not overly sweet. If you prefer simple breads without excessive sweetness, hojaldras are an excellent choice.
Mantecada or Magdalena
Mantecadas or Magdalenas are small muffin-shaped breads, almost always wrapped in a distinctive red paper wrapper. More akin to mini pound cakes than muffins, they have a buttery and creamy texture, always with a vanilla flavor. A popular modern twist is mante conchas, combining the mantecada base with the sugary topping of a concha.
A Mantecada pan dulce, highlighting its muffin shape and red paper wrapper.
Marranitos, Puerquito, Cochinitos
These beloved pig-shaped cookies are known by various endearing names meaning “little pigs.” With a cake-like texture and a brown color derived from piloncillo (unrefined cane sugar), marranitos are perfect companions for coffee or hot chocolate. They hold a special nostalgic value for many, often being a childhood favorite.
Merengues
As the name suggests, merengues are meringues. These light and airy sweets come in a myriad of shapes, colors, and sizes, offering a delicate and sugary treat.
Moño or Corbatas
Moños or corbatas (bows or bowties) are similar in texture to conchas. This brioche-type dough is cut into rectangles and twisted to resemble a bow or bowtie. These pan dulces are coated with granulated sugar for a touch of sweetness.
A Moño or Corbata pan dulce, showcasing its bow-tie shape and sugary coating.
Niño Envuelto
Niño Envuelto translates to “wrapped baby,” and this cake is similar to a Swiss jelly roll cake. It is filled with fruit jelly, both inside and sometimes on the outside. The exterior can be coated with shredded and sweetened coconut or, in a variation, apricot jelly with white whipped cream frosting.
Novia
Novia, meaning bride in Spanish, is believed to be inspired by Swedish rolls (like cinnamon rolls). It’s said to be named novia because its swirl shape resembles the train of a bride’s wedding gown. The texture is similar to a brioche concha, and its large swirl makes it fun to unravel and eat. Novias are finished with a dusting of granulated sugar.
A Novia pan dulce, showcasing its swirl shape and sugary topping.
Ojo de Buey
Also known as ojo de pancha in some regions, ojo de buey translates to bull’s eye. In some areas, brightly red cookies resembling besos are also called ojo de buey. The outermost layer is a sugar-coated puff pastry, encasing a soft and sweet bread with an almost cake-like texture.
Oreja, Abanico, Manoplas, or Palmeras
Known by various names like oreja (ear), abanico (fan), manoplas (glove or mitten), or palmeras, these pastries have a flaky pie dough texture. Sometimes simply brushed with sugar, other times the ends are dipped in melted chocolate. They are the Mexican version of French palmiers.
Oreja, Abanico, Manoplas, or Palmeras pan dulce, showcasing their ear or fan shape and flaky texture.
Pan Fino
Pan Fino encompasses two types of doughs and countless shapes and sizes. One dough is similar to the brioche-style concha dough but shaped differently and often includes the concha‘s signature sugar coating. The second dough variation is a crumbly shortcrust type, also shaped into various forms and often featuring the buttery sugar coating. Flavorings for pan fino include vanilla, cinnamon, and chocolate, often combined in different breads. Examples of pan fino include tortugas, cuernos finos, nueces, chamucos, bigotes finos, granadas, mordidas, elotes, gusanos, nevado, brocas.
Pan de Muerto
Pan de Muerto, or bread of the dead, is a seasonal pan dulce made for Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebrations. It is a pan de huevo (egg bread) or brioche-type bread flavored with anise and/or orange blossom water and dusted with granulated sugar.
Pan de Muerto, bread of the dead, a seasonal pan dulce for Dia de Los Muertos.
Panquécitos or Panqué
Panquécitos or panqué are small pound cakes, either in muffin shapes or other cake-like forms. They taste just like the familiar pound cake, offering a simple and comforting sweetness.
Peinetas
Peinetas are flaky pastry dough pan dulce filled with fruit jam and shaped like a small hair comb, which is the literal translation of peineta in English.
Piedra or Ladrillo
Piedra (rock) and ladrillo (brick) are named for their very dry and hard texture, resembling rocks or bricks. Traditionally made to avoid wasting leftover bread, piedra is a crumbly bread created by combining broken pieces of day-old bread with sugar or piloncillo, vanilla, shortening, cinnamon, and milk, before shaping and baking. A sugar glaze or melted chocolate is often added to the top. The texture is similar to a dry scone.
Pinguinos or Pinguis
Pinguinos or pinguis are Mexico’s version of Hostess Cupcakes. These small cakes are filled with cream and topped with a chocolate coating and a swirl of white frosting. They are a constant presence in Mexican panaderias and pre-packaged sweet aisles in grocery stores.
Pinguinos or Pinguis pan dulce, the Mexican version of Hostess Cupcakes.
Polvorón
Polvorón is a crumbly shortbread cookie, typically drier and less buttery than American or European shortbreads. They can be simple round shapes (sencillo) in one color or more elaborate, like the three-colored tricolores (also called payasos) or two-colored cookies (sol y sombra). Vanilla-flavored polvorones, either white or pink and coated in powdered sugar, are called Sevillanos. Variations include nuts or ground peanuts.
Rebanada de Mantequilla (or simply rebanada) or Lengua
Rebanada de Mantequilla (butter slice), or simply rebanada or lengua (tongue), is a long slice of bread generously coated with butter and then granulated sugar. This simple pan dulce is incredibly delicious despite its minimal ingredients. In some regions, it may also be called mantecado.
Rebanada de Mantequilla or Lengua pan dulce, a simple yet delicious buttered and sugared bread slice.
Rehilete
Rehiletes are star-shaped Danish-like pastries with a center filling of fruit jams or pastry cream. They are light, airy, and crumbly, offering a delightful combination of textures.
Rieles de Fruta
Rieles de Fruta (fruit rails) are rectangle-shaped flaky puff pastry treats filled with pineapple or strawberry jam. Their rectangular shape and fruit filling make them a distinct and tasty pan dulce.
Rol de Canela
Rol de Canela is a round, wreath-shaped cookie flavored with cinnamon and coated with granulated sugar. This cookie has a drier consistency and is best enjoyed with a warm beverage.
Rosca Apastelada
Rosca Apastelada is a round bread made from puff pastry dough and coated with granulated sugar. Baking creates a shiny, sticky glaze on top, adding to its appeal.
Rosca Apastelada pan dulce, showcasing its round shape and shiny sugar glaze.
Rosca de Reyes
Rosca de Reyes (Three Kings Bread) is a must-have for Three Kings Day (El Día de Reyes Magos). This round or oblong bread has a brioche-type texture and is adorned with candied fruits. Hidden inside are small baby Jesus figurines; whoever finds one in their slice is tasked with hosting the Candlemas Day (Día de la Candelaria) meal.
Tacos de Piña
Tacos de Piña are rolled-up puff pastry treats stuffed with sweet pineapple jam. Flaky, buttery, and sweet, they are a fun and flavorful pan dulce to enjoy.
Tacos de Piña pan dulce, rolled puff pastry filled with pineapple jam.
Torcidos de Feite
Torcidos de Feite are braided puff pastry sticks coated with a melted sugar glaze. Their braided shape and sweet glaze make them a tempting and crispy treat.
Trenza Danes
Trenza Danes (Danish braid) is a braid-shaped bread very similar to American Danish pastries. The trenza is filled in the center with sweet creamy custard or crema pastelera, or sometimes with fruit jam.
Trenza Danes pan dulce, a braid-shaped Danish pastry with a creamy filling.
To further explore the captivating world of pan dulce, watch this video showcasing some of the most common types you’ll find in Mexican panaderias.
Originally published: April 2019.
