Christmas Brigadeiro

Christmas Brigadeiro

If you like a traditional Brazilian sweets, you will love these Christmas Brigadeiro then! They are dressed up in festive sprinkles. Plus they also have a wonderful aroma of winter spices and a hint of orange liquor. So cozy and delicious!

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Christmas Brigadeiro

Hello everyone and happy Monday! Do you already feel a holiday vibe? In my book, the anticipation is the best part of any holidays (Because holidays come and go ridiculously fast!) So I hope you’re enjoying these last days before the holiday weekend. Please don’t stress out – keep it stress-free! :)

Brazilian Brigadeiro

I am also excited to share this luscious and easy to make dessert – Brigadeiros. Have you heard of (tried) it? I have this basic recipe on the blog – Brigadeiro – Brazilian Sweets and also these Pumpkin Spice Brigadeiro for Halloween.

Basically, a Brogadeiro is a chocolate truffle with the texture of soft (but chewy) caramels and dulce de leche flavour.  You will only need a few simple ingredients such as sweetened condensed milk, dark (unprocessed) cacao powder, and butter. Also, you will need jimmie sprinkles for coating.

Brigadeiros are easy to make, but it will require a lot of vigorous whisking. That’s a perfect arm workout :) Please note you should use a heavy-bottomed pot or saucepan for making Brigadeiros because the cooking mixture can easily stick to the bottom and burn.

Christmas Brigadeiro

Usually, chocolate sprinkles are used, but for the Christmas edition I opted for this festive variation. I also added cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom, and clove. These spices are a perfect holiday blend, and they also work perfectly with dulce de leche.

I also added a good drizzle of Cointreau because why not?! :) While I haven’t tried this myself, I believe you can use other strong spirits such as bourbon or dark rum.

Pro-Tips

If you feel the mixture is boiling too fast or you see little caramelization bites (They are totally fine and delicious – unless they are burnt) appear, simply remove the pan from the heat for 20-30 seconds. Reduce the heat and then return the pot back. I also tend to add a small amount of extra butter, to cool down the cooking process (Perhaps an extra teaspoon or so.) And for this recipe a little extra splash of orange liquor will help, too! Thanks to the addition of Cointreau, the cooking process could be a minute or two longer, too.

More Christmas Recipes

And please check more recent holiday recipes from my blog:

Mini Pistachio Nut Roasts

Orange Clove Cookies

Christmas Buckwheat Crêpes

Candy Cane Cookies

Cheese Chestnut Biscuits

I hope you like these Christmas Brigadeiro, and you will make them a try. If you make it, let me know in this post or send me an Instagram message or share your photos adding the hashtag #havocinthekitchen.

Cheers!

Christmas Brigadeiro
Christmas Brigadeiro

Christmas Brigadeiro

Recipe by Ben | HavocinthekitchenCourse: Dessert
Servings

16-24

servings
Prep time

10

minutes
Cooking time

12

minutes
Chilling time

1

hour

If you like a traditional Brazilian sweets, you will love these Christmas Brigadeiro then! They are dressed up in festive sprinkles. Plus they also have a wonderful aroma of winter spices and a hint of orange liquor. So cozy and delicious!

Ingredients

  • Christmas Brigadeiro
  • 3 tbsp. softened butter, divided + 1 extra tbsp. (optional, see step 5)

  • 400 ml. sweetened condensed milk

  • 3 tbsp. dark unsweetened cocoa powder

  • 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

  • 1/2 tsp. ground ginger

  • 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

  • 1/8 tsp. ground cardamom

  • a small pinch of clove

  • a pinch of salt

  • 2 tbsp. Cointreau + 1 extra tbsp. (optional, see step 5)

  • ~1/2 cup festive sprinkles (preferably jimmies)

  • Equipment
  • medium, heavy-bottomed pan or saucepan

  • whisk

  • spoon or spatula, preferably wooden

Directions

  • Grease a heavy-bottomed saucepan with 1 tablespoon of butter (both the bottom and sides).
  • Place the condensed milk, cocoa, spices, 2 tbsp. of Cointreau, and 2 tablespoons of the butter.
  • Bring to a slow boil over medium heat, constantly stirring with a whisk first then with a wooden spoon or spatula.
  • Reduce heat to low and continue cooking, constantly stirring, for about 14-16 minutes. First 8-10 minutes or so you won’t see serious changes, but very soon the mixture will become creamy and fudgy. It’s important to keep stirring the mixture even more vigorously as that’s the point it can easily burn.
  • Pro-Tip: If you feel the mixture is boiling too fast or you see little bites of caramelization (They are totally fine and delicious – unless they are burnt) appear, simply remove the pan from the heat for 20-30 seconds. Reduce the heat and then return the pot back. You can also also add a small amount of extra butter, to cool down the cooking process (You can add up to one extra tablespoon – at once or divided and used throughout the cooking process.) You can also add an extra splash of orange liquor (up to 1 extra tablespoon.) to cool down the mixture.
  • Pro-Tip 2: Pay attention to the bottom of your pan as it can easily start burning. If that happens (significantly), transfer the mixture into another pan, without scratching the bottom. However, during the cooking process you can see some tiny caramelized ‘drops’ develop in the mixture – they are totally fine and delicious – just chewy bits that makes Brigadeiros not as homogeneous yet equally good. However, if such pieces turn brown and you feel the burning smell – there is no much you can salvage the recipe. Bottom line: vigorously mix the mixture most of the time, and don’t leave the pot for a second, especially after 8-10 minutes have passed.
  • As soon as it has thickened enough – until you can see the bottom of the pot for 2-3 seconds when dragging a spatula through – turn the heat off and remove the pot from heat. The overall cooking time should take between 12 and 14 minutes (or up to 16 minutes if you added extra Cointreau). Don’t overcook or you will have hard handy. Keep in mind the mixture thickens even more once cooled.
  • Chill the mixture in the fridge for an hour.
  • When the mixture has cooled, lightly wet your hands (or apply some butter), put a tablespoon of the chewy mixture on your hands, and roll into a small ball. Roll in the jimmies sprinkles.
  • Refrigerate a bit and enjoy it! Keep refrigerated for up to one week. For the best result, remove from the refrigerator 10-15 minutes prior to serving.

5 thoughts on “Christmas Brigadeiro

  1. Marissa says:

    Ben, you are always introducing me to new things! Before today, I’d never heard of brigadeiro, but clearly I’ve been missing out. These are so pretty and sound so deliciously rich and loaded with spices.

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