Coconut Brigadeiros

An invitation to a going away party for a co-worker and a recipe from the New York Times seemed destined to wed. The recipe is for Coconut Brigadeiros, a Brazilian desert that looked both interesting and easy.

First, a note on the coconut. Use unsweetened finely shredded coconut. I found some at the local Asian supermarket. The sweetened baker's coconut available at stores is too sweet. So says the recipe.

Sweetened condensed milk, coconut milk, butter, corn syrup and coconut are brought to a boil over medium heat. The heat is reduced and the mixture is stirred constantly over low heat until it becomes fudge-like. The recipe says 8 to 10 minutes. It took me closer to 20. My low must be lower than the recipe's low. I turned the heat up a bit and that seemed to do the trick. The mixture became a single soft piece.

The mixture is slid into a bowl. Do not scrape the sides or the bottom of the pan. Any residue should be left behind. The recipe says so. So I obeyed.

I refrigerated the blob overnight and the next morning formed balls of the thick mixture. I use a small scoop to help ensure uniformity of size, finishing each ball with my hands.

The finishing touch was too roll each ball through some of the unsweetened coconut until completely coated. I did half this way, and rolled the other half through chocolate sprinkles. What the heck. Some very finely chopped nuts might be good as well.

Back into the refrigerator to firm up again. They can be stored at room temperature in a sealed container for up to two days. This just seems wrong. At least with the batch I made. They got a little too soft at room temperature. In the refrigerator they can keep up to a month. Like they'll last that long.

Bon appétit!