How to make authentic
Brazilian brigadeiros.
The real recipe, from Andressa, founder of Divine Delights — the same traditional recipe her mother taught her growing up in Brazil. This is how brigadeiros are made in Brazilian homes, with only four main ingredients and no shortcuts.
Prep
10 min
Cook
15 min
Yield
20 pieces
Origin
Brazil
“Every Brazilian child learns brigadeiros before they learn to ride a bike. This recipe is my mother’s — the same one she made for every birthday party in our family. The secret is patience: you have to stir until the mixture pulls away from the pan, not a second earlier, not a second later.”
— Andressa, founder of Divine Delights
Ingredients
- 1 can (14 oz / 395 g) sweetened condensed milk
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch-process preferred)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus extra for rolling
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
- 1 cup chocolate sprinkles (granulado) for rolling
Instructions
- 1
Combine the ingredients
In a medium non-stick saucepan, combine the condensed milk, cocoa powder, butter, and salt. Whisk everything together off the heat until the cocoa is fully incorporated and no lumps remain.
- 2
Cook the mixture
Place the saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir continuously with a silicone spatula, scraping the bottom and sides of the pan to prevent burning. Cook for 10–15 minutes until the mixture thickens and starts to pull away from the bottom of the pan when you draw the spatula across it.
- 3
Cool the mixture
Transfer the brigadeiro mass onto a greased plate and let it cool completely to room temperature, about 30–45 minutes. Do not refrigerate at this stage — cooling it too fast makes it hard to roll.
- 4
Shape the brigadeiros
Lightly grease your palms with butter. Scoop about 1 teaspoon of the mixture, roll it between your palms to form a small ball (about 2 cm in diameter), and place it on a plate. Repeat until all the mixture is shaped.
- 5
Coat in sprinkles
Pour the chocolate sprinkles into a shallow bowl. Gently roll each brigadeiro in the sprinkles until fully coated. Place in traditional paper cups (or directly on a serving tray) and serve at room temperature.
Chef’s tips from Andressa
- •Use a non-stick pan — the mixture is sticky and a regular pan will burn before the brigadeiro thickens.
- •Never stop stirring while cooking. The moment you stop, the bottom burns and ruins the whole batch.
- •The pull-away test — tilt the pan: when the mixture slides across without leaving residue, it’s done.
- •Use real chocolate sprinkles (granulado), not the rainbow jimmies. Real Brazilian granulado is softer and melts slightly, which is part of the authentic texture.
- •Serve at room temperature. Brigadeiros are supposed to be soft and fudgy. Refrigerating them makes them hard and changes the texture.
Don’t want to cook them yourself?
Andressa hand-rolls every order fresh for you. Ships nationwide across the United States.