Bejinhos De Coco Little Coconut Smooches Recipes

TURRONE DE COCO

Steps:

• Grease an 8-inch baking pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper, allowing overhang on all sides, then grease the paper.
• Put the chocolate in a heatproof mixing bowl and set over a pot of gently simmering water. Heat, stirring constantly, until the chocolate is completely melted. Off heat, stir in the coconut oil, cinnamon and salt. Pour half of the chocolate into the bottom of the pan, spread evenly with a small offset spatula and place in the freezer for 10 minutes to set. Reserve the remaining chocolate.
• In a medium-size heavy saucepan, combine the shredded coconut, condensed milk and 1/4 cup water over low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the coconut softens, about 10 minutes. Let cool.
• Remove the pan from the freezer and spread the coconut mixture evenly over the chocolate with an offset spatula until smooth. Chill in the freezer for 30 minutes.
• Pour the second half of the melted chocolate over the coconut mixture and spread in an even layer. Chill in the freezer until set, about 1 hour.
• Remove the turrone from the pan, peel off the parchment, cut into rectangles and wrap in wax paper. Return to the freezer until ready to eat.

BEJINHOS DE COCO: LITTLE COCONUT SMOOCHES

Steps:

• Thoroughly butter a plastic tray or cutting board and set aside.
• In a small heavy saucepan, combine the condensed milk and butter and cook over very low heat on a heatproof pad, stirring frequently, for about 15 minutes, until the mixture thickens. Use a rubber spatula to reach all the way into the corners of the pan so that none of the mixture scorches, as it is very delicate and easy to burn. If it seems to be getting too hot, remove it from the heat for 30 seconds to cool slightly. When the mixture is quite thick, remove from the heat and cool for about 25 minutes, then stir in the coconut. Using a tiny ice cream scoop (about 1 1/2 tablespoons capacity) or 2 teaspoons, scoop out little balls one by one and immediately drop them into a bowl of confectioners sugar. Roll around gently to coat them evenly and transfer to the buttered tray. Continue until you have used all the mixture and then stud each smooch with 2 or 3 cloves. Store in a tightly covered container.

COCONUT-RICE COOLER: HORCHATA DE COCO

Steps:

• One day in advance, combine the rice, crumbled cinnamon, and hot water in a bowl. Cool, cover, and set aside. Refrigerate if the weather is hot.
• The next day, stir the nuts and coconut milk into the soaked rice. Working in batches, add the rice mixture to a blender and process until quite smooth. Each batch should take about 5 minutes. Strain through a medium-mesh sieve and pour into a pitcher.
• In a saucepan over low heat, combine the sugar, cold water, and lime zest. Cook stirring, until the sugar is just dissolved. Let cool. Then remove the lime zest. Pour the cooled syrup into the pitcher and mix well. If the drink is too thick for your taste, add more water. Cover and refrigerate until chilled.
• Stir well and pour over ice cubes in tall glasses. If desired, add a splash of rum to each glass before adding the horchata. Garnish with a mint sprig and a piece of cinnamon bark.

PUDIM DE COCO (COCONUT PUDDING - EAST TIMOR)

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Heat 1 cup of sugar, slowly, in a heavy skillet, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until sugar melts and is free of lumps. When the sugar turns a caramel color, remove it from the heat and pour it into a 6-cup mold. Set aside.
• Beat the eggs with 2 cups sugar, until fluffy. Place flour in a small bowl and add 2 tablespoons coconut milk, one at a time until mixture is smooth. Add the flour mixture to the coconut milk, mix well and then add to the egg mixture. Pour mixture over into mold over caramelized sugar. Place the mold in a large baking pan filled with 1 inch of hot water to create a bain-marie. Bake for 40 minutes. Remove from water bath immediately. Cool for 20 minutes then invert onto a serving dish and chill for 6 to 8 hours. To serve, sprinkle with freshly grated coconut if desired.
• Cook's Note: Instead of grating a fresh coconut I have used frozen fresh coconut found the freezer department of most supermarkets. It works just as well.

TURRON DE COCO

Steps:

• Grease an 8-inch baking pan and line with parchment paper, allowing overhang on all sides.
• In a medium-size heavy saucepan, combine condensed milk, coconut milk, butter, orange zest and shredded coconut. Stir constantly over medium heat until it begins to pull away from the pan and clumps together, about 10 minutes. Off heat, stir in the vanilla while still warm.
• Pour into the prepared pan then spread evenly with an offset spatula until smooth. Bring to room temperature then wrap and chill until firm, at least 2 hours.
• Place chocolate in a heatproof mixing bowl and set over a pot of gently simmering water. Stir constantly until the chocolate is completely melted. Off heat, stir in the grapeseed oil.
• While still in the pan, pour half of the melted chocolate over the coconut mixture and spread in an even layer. Chill in the freezer until set, about 10 minutes. Lift out of the pan and gently turn onto a layer of parchment or wax paper. Pour remaining chocolate over coconut and spread in even layers so that it is coated on both sides. Return to freezer until set, an additional 10 minutes. Peel off of wax paper, trim on all sides, and cut into two rectangular tablets. Cut into desired shapes.

BESITOS DE COCO (COCONUT SMOOCHES)

Steps:

• Combine the water and sugar in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until it becomes like a hard ball or reaches 275 degrees F. Add the coconut and continue cooking until no steam rises from the pot and all the liquid has evaporated. Using a tablespoon, drop the coconut smooches onto a greased cookie sheet and let cool.

{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 (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.