One minute we are masking taping our sweatpants to make Spiderman costumes and the next has us using loads of glitter glue on our Calaveras.
Have you seen this beautiful video made by Yvette from Muy Bueno? If you know some to nothing about Day of the Dead or even if you know everything about it, this video is a gorgeous representation of how special and important the holiday really is to Mexican culture. The make-up alone is reason enough to spend 5 minutes out of your day watching it.
I would love to have a Dia de los Muertos party with plenty of papel picado and paper flower decorations. I would serve these delicious seeded rolls that are perfect for little hands to tear off and dip into warm, cheesy green chile queso. They are shaped around a large biscuit cutter or whatever heat-proof thing you have that will work as a space holder for your queso bowl. When they come out of the oven they are golden and crisp and loaded with an array of seeds and big flakes of sea salt. You can use as many or as few seeds as you like. I went all out and used everything from chia to sunflower seeds. Louisa’s favorite was the sea salt and Hiro’s was the sesame (the pumpkin seeds he picked off and threw over his shoulder).
If you do summon up enough gusto to have a fiesta, this is perfect party food whether its a party of one (plenty of queso dip for me!!!) or more.

Seeded Pull-Apart Rolls + Warm Green Chile Queso Dip
Warm green chile queso dip is the perfect cheesy accompianment to homemade pull-apart rolls sprinkled with pepitas, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and sea salt.
Ingredients
For the Rolls:
- 1 1/2 cups warm water (about 105-110°F)
- 1 (7 gram) packet dried yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
- 3 cups white bread flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup hulled (green) pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
- 1/4 cup poppy seeds
- 1/4 cup sesame seeds
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/4 cup chia seeds
- 1 tablespoon flaky sea salt
For the Dip:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 2 ounces (about 1/4 cup) cream cheese
- 8 ounces (about 2 1/2 cups) shredded Chihuahua cheese (or Monterey Jack)
- 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chiles
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon dried ground mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
For the Rolls:
- Place water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Sprinkle yeast over the top and let sit about 10 minutes or until yeast begins to dissolve and look foamy.
- Add flour, salt, and sugar, and mix on low until combined. If the dough seems dry, add a couple tablespoons of water. The dough should be sticky. Turn the mixer to medium and knead for 8 minutes. The dough should be very soft and supple.
- Coat a large bowl with the oil. Flour your hands and remove dough from mixer. Place dough in the bowl; turn to coat in oil. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot to rise for 1 hour.
- Heat oven to 425°F and arrange rack in the bottom of the oven. If you have a pizza stone, place that on the bottom rack to heat as the oven heats up. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Flour a clean work surface then remove dough with floured hands onto the surface. Flatten the dough and cut into 32 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, pinching the dough together at the bottom to make firm.
- Place the balls in a row on the parchment lined sheet or if you want to make a ring, place a large biscuit cutter in the middle of the baking sheet (this is where the dip will go) and place the rolls in a circle around the cutter, leaving about 1/2-inch space between them.
- Beat the egg with a tablespoon of water and brush the top of each roll with the egg wash. Sprinkle the different seeds and salt among the rolls, you can use as many or as few seeds as you wish. Bake on the heated stone, or oven rack, for 20-25 minutes or until the tops are golden and rolls are firm. Remove the biscuit cutter and serve with warm queso dip.
For the Queso Dip:
- Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and cook 1 minute, whisking constantly.
- Slowly add milk, whisking continuously, until smooth. Bring to a simmer, then add the cream cheese and half of the Chihuahua cheese; stir to melt. Add remaining cheese and remaining ingredients and stir until cheese is melted and combined. Remove from heat, pour into a serving dish and serve with bread.
Nutrition Information:
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 0Total Fat: 0g
Your bread looks fantastic with all the different seed texture and color variations! The dip sounds delicious. What a great snack/appetizer!
Thank you Amy! I hope you give it a try!
Kate! you are on fuego with your recipes (drawing on my spanish here). These look delicious and fun to make.
LOL! Katie you are too funny! Thanks for the kind words.
these are really seriously amazing! I absolutely love what you did with these rolls!
Thank you so much Heather!! xo
That is a FANTASTIC idea. So beautiful!
Thank you so much, Melissa! I hope you get a chance to make them.
I want to make these, but the day I need them is crazy; can some of this be made ahead?
Hi Marilyn,
You could make and form the dough up to the point of baking and then freeze. Bake from frozen the day you want to bake them. Give them an extra 10 minutes in the oven. 🙂