Brigadeiros are a candy beloved by Brazilians. They are served at children’s birthday parties, and sometimes grown up parties too. They are made from just four simple ingredients. As long as you’re careful with what you buy, these delicious chocolate bites are gluten free too! I have Legend’s mom’s recipe for a sweet treat from Brazil.

Gluten free brigadeiros

1 can (US = 14 oz, UK = 397 g) of *condensed milk

1 tablespoon / 14 g butter

¼ c / 28 g *Nesquik powder or similar

1 jar of gluten free *chocolate sprinkles

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Heat on low, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. After a while (it felt like 10 minutes) the mixture will thicken. You’re done when you can scrape the spoon across the bottom of the pan and see the bottom; the mixture should be pulling away from the pan slightly. Turn off the heat when this happens, and then let the mixture cool completely.

Once cooled, make small balls from the mixture and roll them in sprinkles (I used a spoon to drop the mixture into a bowl full of sprinkles, then gently rolled it around.) Make sure the whole ball is covered in sprinkles. Set aside (either on wax paper or in tiny cupcake papers) and repeat until you’ve used all the mixture. That’s it!

Store in an airtight container, preferably in the refrigerator, for a couple of days (if they aren’t eaten before then!)

Beijinhos

Beijinhos, or coconut kisses, can be made in almost the same way. Simply swap the chocolate for coconut flakes.

1 can (US = 14 oz, UK = 397 g) of *condensed milk

1 tablespoon / 14 g butter

¼ c /23 g *finely shredded coconut (coconut flakes)

plus more coconut flakes for rolling

Follow the same instructions as above, rolling the finished mixture in coconut flakes.

Other ways to customize

These are both pretty simple recipes, so they leave lots of room for creativity. I’ve seen brigadeiros rolled in crushed nuts, like pistachios or hazelnuts. I’ve seen them with rainbow sprinkles. I once tried making them with vanilla extract instead of chocolate (not bad, but not as good as the original.) I suggested rolling a brigadeiro in crushed peppermint candy and Legend looked horrified, but I think it would be good! You can also choose your sprinkles and add embellishments to the top. I read about a woman who made beijinhos for her daughter’s Frozen-themed party because they look like tiny snowballs – what a great idea!

Have you ever tried gluten free brigadeiros or beijinhos? Are you tempted to make them now?

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