A tasty treat for special occasions
Happy Valentines Day!!!!! I hope everyone at least gets a hug today!….or some chocolate!! I decided to treat myself and my coworkers with a little chocolate (and coconut) treat called brigadeiros!
For those of you who don’t know, I am half Brazilian. I have spent some time in Brazil, mostly when I was younger, and soon I will be heading back for the World Cup in June. It will be an exciting time full of soccer and celebrations. I am really looking forward to it….and especially the food. One of my most favorite foods in Brazil is brigadeiros. It is a soft, chewy chocolate ball covered in chocolate sprinkles. So tasty. So yummy. They are mostly served at birthdays, but I decided they might be a good treat for Valentines Day here in the US since today is a big chocolate day.
Brigadeiros are very easy to make. Just cook sweetened condensed milk mixed with butter and cocoa powder until thickened. Cool. Roll into small balls and cover in sprinkles. Tada! Super easy! And you can tweak the recipe for whatever flavor you want.
Lessons Learned:
- Maybe dissolve the chocolate in some water before adding to the sweetened condensed milk to avoid powder clumps.
- Don’t stop stirring!!! (mine almost burnt because I was trying to take pictures at the same time)
- Make sure the “dough” has cooled before trying to lick the pan. Remember that stuff was just boiling! I burnt my fingers a few times trying to get a little taste…
- Grease your hands when rolling the brigadeiros. They are extremely sticky.
- I used a cookie scooper to divide the dough. Super helpful! And it keeps the brigadeiros more uniform!
- 2-14 oz sweetened condensed milk
- 8 Tbsp butter
- 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp coconut extract
- ½ cup chocolate sprinkles
- ½ cup sweetened coconut flakes
- In two separate pans, melt 4 Tbsp of butter in each over medium heat. When butter is melted, add a 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk to each pan. For the chocolate brigadeiros, add 2 Tbsp of cocoa powder.
- Stir constantly. Cook for about 10 minutes. The brigadeiros will be done when you divide the pan in half with your spoon and it stays separate for a few seconds. When done, remove from heat. Add vanilla extract to chocolate "dough". Add coconut extract to the non-chocolate "dough". Put the contents of the pan into a container and into the fridge for about 30 minutes until cool and firm.
- While the "dough" is cooling, add sweetened coconut flakes to a pan over medium-high heat to toast. Stir every few minutes until about half of the flakes are golden brown. About 5-10 min. Put coconut flakes and sprinkles into separate bowls to use in the final preparation.
- When "dough" is cool, it is time to roll it into balls. During this process, grease your hands with oil, margarine, or butter. Scoop out about 1 Tbsp of the "dough" into your hands and roll into a ball. Drop ball into either chocolate sprinkles or coconut flakes depending on which type you are making. Or mix the toppings. Which ever you prefer.
- Make sure the balls are thoroughly covered, and put into mini-cupcake papers. Repeat until all the "dough" is used. If you are not serving immediately, I would store them in the fridge to make sure they last longer. Enjoy!
(adapted from Street Smart Brazil)
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