Brigadeiros | Brazilian Caramels

These brigadeiros are certain to be deliciouso! Brigadeiros are traditional Brazilian caramels made with just a few simple ingredients that make for a delightfully rich and chewy dessert.

Brigadeiros can come with a variety of toppings. I just so happened to have Brazil nuts, cashews and white crystal sprinkles on hand. I also used a cheese grater to make a powder from the chocolate chips for a semi-sweet chocolate coating on the brigadeiros.

Combine the cocoa powder, sweetened condensed milk and butter together in a sauce pan. When you first start stirring, it feels like it will never thicken up and come together! But keep going, I promise the pay off it worth it!

You’ll need to stir for fifteen to twenty minutes to get a nicely textured brigadeiro that’s thick enough to work with. When a smooth-but-fudge-like consistency is reached, and the batter pulls away from the sides of the pan, you’ll know you’ve reached the right texture. Just take care not to burn it – keep on stirring on.

Let the brigadeiro batter cool until it can be handled. I let mine rest for about twenty minutes but it probably could have used another ten minutes. You want the mix to be thick enough to roll into a ball and not just spread out on your hands.

Roll into small, quarter sized balls. I gently tossed mine in spinkles, crushed cashews and chocolate chips, then dipped the Brazil nuts in melted chocolate and affixed it to the top of each ball.

Definitely feel free to get creative with the toppings – this is just what I happened to have on hand. Aproveite!