Heat the milk in a microwave safe bowl in 20 second intervals until the milk is warm to the touch (approximately 110-115 degrees F).
Stir in the yeast and half of the granulated sugar.
Cover with plastic wrap and let the mixture sit for 5 minutes until the mixture is bubbly. Note: If the mixture is not bubbly, you will need to pour it out and start again with a new package of yeast.
In the bowl of a stand up mixer, stir together the flour, remaining sugar and salt. Place the bowl in your stand up mixer and attach the dough hook to the mixer.
Then add in the melted butter, eggs and yeast mixture. Mix on medium speed for 5-7 minutes until the dough comes together. The dough should be tacky but not sticky.
If the dough is still sticky, gradually add in more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough is smooth and just tacky.
Coat a large bowl with oil. Shape the dough into a ball and place it in the oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with a kitchen town and let it rise until it has doubled in size (approximately 2 hours).
.Then divide the dough into 12 even pieces and roll them into balls. Place them on 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
While the balls are rising, prepare the topping. With a hand held mixer, cream together the flour, butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy.
Then separate the mixture evenly into 2 bowls. Mix the vanilla extract into 1 bowl to form the white vanilla topping and mix the cocoa powder into the other bowl to form the cocoa topping.
Form each topping into approximately 6 balls that are approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons big. Then flatten them into large disks that are large enough to cover your dough balls.
Place each disk over a dough ball on the baking sheets. Lightly pat it down to secure the topping to the dough.
Use a sharp knife to cut grooves into the topping in a clam shell pattern.
Then cover with kitchen towels and allow the dough to rise for 30-60 minutes until they have doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 18-20 minutes until the bottoms are golden brown.
Allow them to cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheets and then move to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Then they are ready to serve and enjoy!
Notes
Make sure that your yeast is not expired as expired yeast will not activate correctly. I make the topping disks by flattening them out with my hands, but you can use a rolling pin or tortilla press if you prefer. You can easily add in food coloring to the topping if you want to make different colors of this delicious Mexican sweet bread. Store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.