Salted Licorice Brigadeiros
Updated Sept. 20, 2022
- Total Time
- 25 minutes, plus chilling
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1box (7 ounces) soft black licorice
- 1(14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
- 1½ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
- Chocolate sprinkles
- Coarse sea salt, like fleur de sel
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Preparation
- Step 1
In a food processor, grind licorice until finely chopped, about 30 seconds (it will be noisy).
- Step 2
Transfer to a heavy-bottomed saucepan and add ¼ cup water. Cook gently over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until licorice is shiny and almost melted (a few remaining licorice nibs are O.K.), 5 to 7 minutes.
- Step 3
Add condensed milk and bring to a simmer, stirring. Scrape mixture back into food processor and add chocolate. Process until as smooth as possible (you will still have a few lumps but that’s O.K.), about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Step 4
Scrape mixture into a bowl and chill until very cold, at least 3 hours.
- Step 5
Pour sprinkles into a bowl. Roll teaspoons of licorice mixture into balls (you may want to lightly coat your hands with butter or oil) and drop them into sprinkles, turning to coat. Place balls into paper candy cups and sprinkle tops with coarse sea salt.
Private Notes
Comments
Rather than store-bought licorice, I will use 1/2 of recipe from http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Homemade-Black-Licorice. Stop heating at 245°F to 250°F to keep softer. Then add additional sweetened condensed milk and chocolate. May not need food processor.
WOW, stellar! Don’t be spooked — the licorice flavor is quite mild, a secondary note in what’s basically a chocolate caramel. (My husband hates licorice, but loved these.) I bungled the first batch by using a too-large saucepan and failing to stir constantly, resulting in some burned bits. The second batch came out perfectly though. Once you add the condensed milk, keep stirring, and heat the mixture all the way to softball stage. That should ensure a firm result, easily rolled into balls.
These are good. Definitely need the salt (just a couple of grains). Doesn’t need to be chocolate sprinkles. Make sure the mixture simmers enough to make soft ball stage.
A word of warning: The soft licorice quickly got underneath the food processor blade and dislodged it, sending it spinning within the bowl. I thought I must have made an error, but it happened again despite careful re-assembly; this has never happened with any other recipe. Nonetheless, these brigadeiros are delicious, though more work than the traditional Brazilian recipe. Rolled in sifted Dutch cocoa powder instead of sprinkles, the salted licorice flavor shines.
Mine held their shape just fine, but I cooked them for at least 5 minutes at a simmer - the mixture got nearly to 200 degrees. I was trying to get all the way up to “soft ball” stage, but I was getting nervous about it burning. My sister (who hates black licorice) actually liked hers, so I would say it’s not a super pronounced flavor. I liked these, however, I do prefer the original chocolate recipe over this adaptation.
For those who are saying that it's still too soft no matter how long you leave it in the fridge, just cook it for longer. At least, that's how normal brigadeiro works. Most of the time, we leave it like that so we can eat it with a spoon but when you want to roll it, cook it for longer. I'm not sure exactly how long but that should work. Don't take my word for it because I've never made this recipe though.
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