This post was written by my foodie sister Robin, who is now sharing all of her favorite recipes and kitchen tips regularly on the new “Make It and Love It – in the KITCHEN” portion of this blog. Try a few of her recipes…your belly will thank you! -Ashley
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Ashley and I are the youngest of 7 children. I am number 6 and Ashley is number 7. (Yeah, she’s the rotten baby of the family, don’t let her fool ya! Haha.) Number 5 of the family is our sister April. She lives in Alaska too (like I do) and is married to Ben, who is a die-hard soccer fan. Ben has been anticipating this year’s World Cup for quite a while. (Viva la USA….did you see them win yesterday?) In fact, he planned a trip to Brazil with two other buddies, so they could experience much of the action up close. (I know, pretty lucky guys!) For the past month or so, he has been so excited watching old soccer highlights, sharing his plans for which games he will be going to, telling us all which cities he’ll be at, which jerseys he wants to purchase, and you know …. bragging about all the yummy food he’ll eat! Grrrr…..I so wish I could go!
However, to join the excitement, I wanted to celebrate the thrill of the World Cup by sharing these little guys — Brazilian Coconut Truffles. Or, better know as Beijinhos (pronounced in English bay-jee-nohs).
Hey, they are round like little soccer balls, right? And they’re Brazilian. Aaaaaand……..well, okay, I can’t really make any more connections with the World Cup, but that is enough right? Ha.
Normally they are a coconut-y, caramel-y-ish round ball of goodness, covered with a little bit more coconut. But I also wanted to try the option of covering them in chocolate. So that is why you see a few covered in chocolate. Trust me…..totally worth the effort!
Here is the thing. I am a coconut fan and the closest equivalent would probably be the macaroon. However, you know how macaroons are, well, dry? Every time I make one or pass one by at a specialty bakery, I always think “maybe this one will be better” —only to be disappointed. Never again. From now on, I will never eat a macaroon again, because now I know that these little nuggets of coconut gold exist. Seriously.
One more thing……these little treasures only require 3 ingredients. That’s it!! For being so simple, they really shouldn’t be this delicious, but I’m telling you, these are a MUST TRY!
Mmmmmm—yummy little Beijinhos! Get in my belly!!
So here is what you need for about 20 balls.
Shopping List:
If you want to cover yours in chocolate, you’ll also need (for about 10 of the balls):
Yep that’s it. That is all. Such a yummy treat… and a lovely little truffle gift to give to a friend.
Here we go.
Put the butter, sweetened condensed milk, and coconut in a sauce pan.
Stir that in and cook on medium heat for 10-15 minutes. (10-15 minutes starts when you put the pan on the stove and then turn on the heat, not 10-15 minutes of boiling)
OK I will preface this next picture. I could not get good lighting since I had a combo of flourenscent and incandescent lighting near the stove. I was able to fix the incandescent, but the flourescent I was not victorious. SO it gave a green tinge to the mixture but really it is light tan. Sorry….still learning the camera. But I wanted to include this so you could see what it looks like when it’s ready.
You see how it is pulling away into ball instead of liquid oozing around? This tells you that it is done and ready to pull off the heat to cool. Smear it around on a cookie sheet either lined with parchment paper or just very lightly buttered. The bigger you can spread it around the faster it can cool.
When it is cool start making little balls. I use the smaller cookie scoop that makes them into approx. 1 1/4 inch balls.
Now, you can roll each of the balls around in coconut…
-OR-
…you can make the dipping chocolate and cover them in Chocolate.
To make the chocolate,heat your cream to scalding. Heat an empty glass microwave-safe bowl in the micro wave for about a few minutes. Then add your chocolate chips and cream to this hot bowl.
Mix together until melted and smooth. If you have a few lumps that is not melted all the way, place in the microwave for 10 second increments, stirring in between until smooth. The cream is what will make the chocolate have a beautiful shiny finish to it.
Now, dip your balls in the melted chocolate and place on parchment paper to harden. At this point you can sprinkle a little kosher salt over the tops if you so choose before it hardens. I am a little impatient and I like to pop the pan in the freezer for 5 minutes to harden. The nice thing is that because of the added cream, the chocolate won’t turn dull. (See how shiny these are below? Believe it or not, these are hardened and ready to pull off the pan.)
….. and that is it. You are done, as quick as a jackrabbit!
I’m serious, macaroons will never cross these lips again—EVER. These are the way they should be…not sure why they aren’t. Wanna start a revolution with me? At least our bellies will be happy!
Enjoy!
-Robin
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Brazilian Coconut Truffles (AKA Beijihnos) – Recipe Card
makes 20 balls
chocolate covering: (enough for 10 balls)
Mix together the butter, sweetened condensed milk, and coconut in a saucepan. Turn on the heat and cook for 10-15 minutes. When it starts pulling away from the pan, it is done. Spread out mixture on a lightly buttered or parchment paper lined pan to cool. Form into 1 1/4 inch balls roll around in coconut.
For chocolate dipped balls: heat a microwave safe bowl in the microwave (not too hot to touch) and scald your cream in another bowl. Pour your scalded cream and chocolate chips and into your heated bowl, and stir until melted. If there are lumps, microwave for 10 second intervals, stirring in between. Cover the balls in chocolate, garnish with kosher salt (optional), and let harden on parchment paper. Enjoy!
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