Cook with Compassion: Beijinho de Coco (Coconut Kisses)

The second I read the title of this dessert, I was in — coconut kisses. Mmm!

I also liked it because it used so few ingredients, things that I often have on hand in the pantry—butter, coconut flakes and sweetened condensed milk.

So, despite my tumultuous history with candy-making — I have cried over many a pan of ruined fudge — I decided to give these little Brazilian kisses a try.

View a larger image of the ingredient list

First, I put the butter and condensed milk into a small saucepan and brought it to a simmer over medium low heat.

It took maybe 10 minutes to reach a simmer, and once it was there, it moved directly on to a rolling boil. I was worried about burning it, so I turned it down to low and stirred it constantly.

It took about 15 minutes until it had reduced by half and was at, what we call in the biz, the “soft ball” stage.

I took it off the stove and buttered a glass bowl. Then once the mixture had cooled a bit, I poured it in the bowl and stuck it in the fridge to cool for two hours.

Next up — buttering the hands! Do you know how hard it is to take a picture with buttered hands? But I did it anyway, for you.

I rubbed that pat of butter all over my hands until I was ready to go … but the second after I took this picture, my baby woke from her nap. And the candy went back in the fridge for an entire day, until I had some more uninterrupted time. I don’t think this hurt the recipe at all.

So, re-greased the next day, I started making little balls with the candy.

The recipe says to make them tablespoon sized, but after making a couple, I started making them smaller and smaller — they are rich little kisses, so a little goes a long way.

Then I rolled them in coconut, and voila!

These were easy to make and didn’t end in me crying over the stove. I think they’d be a great recipe to make with kids, as it involves lots of stirring and lots of getting your hands messy.

They are very sweet and simple, but still tasty and a nice way to make a treat that someone in Brazil might enjoy!