Beijinho Tradicional Recipes

{BEIJINHOS DE COCO} BRAZILIAN COCONUT TREATS

Steps:

• In a pan add the condensed milk, 100g of coconut flakes and the butter. Now the fun begins! Over medium heat start stirring. And keep stirring until the mixture thickens and you can see the bottom of the pan for a good few seconds before the mixture levels out again. This is really important. This process should take at least 6-7 min, don't rush it or it won't be the right consistency to roll into balls.
• Leave it to cool, about 15min or enough so that it is cool to handle and it has hardened up a little.
• Grab the flakes you had reserved for rolling. You can do 2 things here: 1) Use them as they are to roll or 2) Blitz them so that they are super fine. I blitzed them as I like the outside texture to be soft. But it is totally up to you if you decide to do this.
• Coat your hands in a little butter (just so that the mixture doesn't stick) and start making your balls. I like mine the size of a little smaller than a measuring tablespoon. Once all rolled out put one clove in the midle for decoration. This is traditional and for decoration. Remove it before eating and it does leave a nice taste.

BEIJINHO DE COCO (BRAZILIAN COCONUT BALLS)

Steps:

• Put all the ingredients in a heavy saucepan over medium heat and mix constantly with a wooden spoon (about 15 minutes).
• When mixture begins to thicken and begin to loosen from the bottom of the pan when you scrap it with the wooden spoon you know the mixture has completed the cooking cycle.
• Remove from heat and transfer to a greased plate and cool for 15 minutes. Grease your hand very well and roll into 1 inch balls. Drop balls into a plate full of sugar and completely cover the ball.
• These balls are usually served on miniature paper liners.

BEIJINHO DE COCO (COCONUT LITTLE KISS)

Steps:

• Bring milk and butter to a simmer in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Continue to cook, stirring often, until the milk has reduced to half and thickened, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in the 1/4 cup coconut, and allow to cool a bit before pouring into a buttered bowl. Chill in the refrigerator until cold, about 2 hours.
• With buttered or oiled hands, form milk mixture into tablespoon-sized balls, and roll in coconut flakes. Stick a clove into each beijinho as decoration.