From Adriana Baking

I have been wanting to try brigadeiros ever since I saw them on 17 and Baking. A cross between a truffle and fudge, they sounded too good to pass up.

I was especially tired when I came home from a long day at school today, and needed to bake as a way of relaxing. I headed straight to the computer, and checked out a couple food blogs for inspiration. I didn’t have much time to spare, but wanted to make something that would be just as good as something time consuming. So I turned to brigadeiros. I had all the ingredients needed to make them: sweetened condensed milk, cocoa powder, and butter. They are really that simple. And I don’t know how I managed to mess them up.

From Adriana Baking

Ginger brigadeiro rolled in ground ginger

It might have been because the exact temperature the dough is supposed to reach wasn’t mentioned, or because I found out just before making them that I don’t like the taste of sweetened condensed milk at all. Maybe it was because I was expecting the dough to be more like fudge.

I have never had a real brigadeiro before, but I’m pretty sure they are not supposed to be as soft as mine turned out. I was a bit too careful not to burn the dough, so they came out stickier than I would have liked. They tasted fine though, more caramel-y than chocolatey, and with a dash of cinnamon sprinkled on top, they were pretty good, but still not what I hopped they would be.

From Adriana Baking

Cinnamon brigadeiro rolled in ground cinnamon

Instead of throwing out the brigadeiros, I stuck them in the refrigerator.

The next day, I had completely forgotten about them, and I was surprised when I saw them in the fridge.
Curious to see if the dough had firmed up to the consistency it was supposed to be at the beginning, I bit into one. They were much, much better, and no longer coated my mouth with goo as I finished eating it.

From Adriana Baking

Plain brigadeiro rolled in cocoa powder

To me, they tasted more like a cross between a caramel and fudge. While I didn’t enjoy them as much as I thought I would, you might still like them!

Recipe from 17 and Baking

Base Brigadeiro Dough
2 (14 oz) cans of sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

Combine sweetened condensed milk, cocoa powder, and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly until the mixture comes together into a thick batter. [Really do stir constantly. It'll take 10-15 minutes and you might want to have a book or something.] When you tilt the pan, the mixture should not stick to the bottom of the pan, but slide cohesively like a dough. Cook further for another minute or so.

Remove from heat and roll into walnut size balls.

From Adriana Baking

Inside of the ginger brigadeiro; I hid piece of candied ginger in its middle

I rolled mine in cocoa powder, (because I thought they were not chocolatey enough, cinnamon, and ground ginger. For the ginger ones, I hid a piece of candied ginger in the middle.

I didn’t get very creative with these, but there are so many flavor combinations you can try out. Elissa at 17 and Baking has some delicious sounding combinations if you are interested!