Concha Sopapilla Bars, inspired by the Mexican dessert called sopapilla originally served at Pancho’s Restaurant in Corpus Christi Texas, has a sweet, creamy cheesecake filling, diced conchas between layers of cinnamon-dusted crescent crust.

Sopapillas Baby! Y’all know I love them, so por supuesto I had to give them a twist by adding conchas. Soft, fluffy conchas diced nestled over a sweet cream cheese filling are sandwiched between two layers of buttery cinnamon crescent rolls. They are SO good!

I’m highlighting my childhood love for Conchas with a new series called TODAS LAS CONCHAS. 14 days of new concha recipes leading up to the sweetest day Valentine’s Day, featuring our beloved concha.

The sweet smell of conchas reminds me of my childhood. Nothing made me happier than walking to the panaderia with my Abuelito to buy pan dulce – the pink ones were my sister’s favorite; I preferred a chocolate concha. They were soft, fluffy, and sweet just like my Abuelito.

I grew up with conchas – and I am now raising my daughters on conchas – todo el amor

No other pan dulce represents our heritage culture, love of Mexico and reminds us of home and family like the concha.

The concha is SO much more than just a delicious pastry, it is part of our childhood, our memories of time with the family and the sweetest gift we share with our children.

What I also love is that talented bakers & bakeries are continuing to bake, share and experiment with our beloved concha gifting us with amazing new flavors, new concha designs and desserts featuring the concha – todo el talento

TIPS ON MAKING CONCHA SOPAPILLA BARS

Lightly pinch the perforations of the crescent roll to seal. This help to keep the filling from seeping through the crescent rolls.
This recipe calls for 1 ¼ cups sugar – 1 cup for filling and ¼ cup to make cinnamon sugar.
Half the cinnamon sugar will be used for each layer of the crescent – you can use all or as much as you like.
Add any additional flavor to the cinnamon sugar – I like to swap out pumpkin spice when making pumpkin sopapillas or a little nutmeg when making blackberry sopapillas.
Allow the cream cheese to soften overnight, this help when blending with sugar and vanilla to create a fluffy cream cheese filling.
Allow bars to cool for 30 minutes, this helps when slicing.
Keep bars stored in the fridge, for up to 4 days.

Concha Sopapillas Bars

Concha Sopapilla Bars, inspired by the Mexican dessert called sopapilla served at Pancho’s Restaurant in Corpus Christi Texas, have a sweet, creamy cheesecake filling, diced conchas between layers of cinnamon-dusted crescent crust.

Author: Vianney Rodriguez

Ingredients

2 8 ounce refrigerated crescent rolls
2 8 ounce cream cheese, softened
1 ¼ cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 conchas diced
1/4 cup butter melted
3 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375F
Combine ¼ cup sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl, set aside.
Unroll one can of crescent rolls and place at the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Seal the perforations with fingers.
Lightly brush crescent roll with half the melted butter, and sprinkle with half the sugar-cinnamon mixture.
Using a hand mixer blend softened cream cheese, remaining 1 cup sugar and vanilla until well combined. Using a spatula spread filling onto the dough. Scatter diced conchas over cream cheese.
Unroll second can crescent rolls and carefully place over conchas, seal the perforation with fingers.
Brush with remaining melted butter and sprinkle with remaining cinnamon sugar.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is golden brown
Remove from oven, allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Store in the fridge.