No Brazilian birthday party is complete without brigadeiros. This fun sweet treat is found throughout the country, and it is highly popular for its delicious taste, simplicity, and variety. Not only are they fun to make and eat, but brigadeiros also have a fascinating history.
In 1932, after a long suffragist movement, Brazilian women finally obtained the right to vote. Yet it wasn’t until 1945, when Brigadier Eduardo Gnomes ran for president, that it became mandatory for women, as it had been for men, to vote for a presidential candidate. According to popular belief, a confectioner and supporter of Gnomes’s campaign named Heloísa Nabuco de Oliveira cooked up a concoction and named it “doce de brigadeiro,” which means “brigadier’s candy,” in Portuguese. She needed a way to sweeten her candy, but in 1945, the world was still recovering from the devastation wrought by World War II. Brazil continued to ration many goods, so instead of using typical foods like sugar and milk, Nabuco de Oliveira used sweetened condensed milk as the main ingredient of her brigadeiros. To show their support, female partisans of Gnomes would sell or serve the candies at rallies and public meetings. Gnomes quickly caught on and tried to take advantage of the new laws allowing women to vote by changing his campaign slogan to “Vote no brigadeiro, que é bonito e solteiro,” or, translated, “Vote for the brigadier, who’s single and handsome.”
Contrary to what one might have expected, Eduardo Gnomes lost the 1945 Brazilian election to Eurico Gaspar Dutra. Nevertheless, brigadeiros continued to gain popularity throughout the country, and they now hold the title of National Truffle of Brazil.
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 can (1 ounce) sweetened condensed milk
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- Toppings of your choice: sprinkles, crushed candy canes, crushed oreos, or nuts
- A tiny pinch of salt for flavor
Instructions:
- Combine the butter, sweetened condensed milk, cocoa powder, and salt in a saucepan.
- Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly. Don’t stop stirring!
- Take the mixture off the burner when it has the consistency of very thick pudding or dough. This takes a while, but note that the mixture will continue to thicken as it cools.
- Once the mixture has cooled enough to touch, grease your hands with cooking spray, butter, or margarine. Taking clumps of brigadeiro dough, roll it into small balls. If you’ve cooked it long enough, the dough won’t stick to your greased hands.
- Cover brigadeiros in sprinkles or whatever other topping you chose.
- Chill in the refrigerator or serve right away!
Suggestions:
- Brigadeiros are quite rich, so I suggest making the candies no larger than a ping-pong ball.
- For fancier occasions try putting the brigadeiros in chocolate candy wrappers (the kind that look like miniature cupcake holders).
- While chocolate is the most classic flavor, there are plenty of recipes out there for other brigadeiro flavors: churro, coconut, vanilla, mint, and pistachio are just a few.
Works Cited:
Maruci, Hannah. “Women’s struggle to vote in Brazil: Same Fight, Different Strategies.” Oxford Human Rights Hub, 24 February 2018, ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk/womens-struggle-to-vote-in-brazil-same-fight-different-strategies/.
Mesquita, Olivia. “Traditional Brigadeiros (Brazilian Fudge Balls).” Olivia’s Cuisine, 20 September 2014, www.oliviascuisine.com/traditional-brigadeiros/.
ROMINA_BR. “Brigadeiro.” Allrecipes, 2 May 2023, www.allrecipes.com/recipe/24052/brigadeiro/.
Photo Credit:
Jericho Church
I LOVE BRAZIL. I’ll be sure to ask my mom to make these!
Cool, Hanan!
I need some!
😁
I love these! Living in Brazil, I am not surprised I eat more of them because you find them at any bakery, grocery store, or people selling them on street corners. My favorite is to make the brigadeiro, but instead of rolling it just put it on the plate, which is known as brigadeiro de colher, and eat it with a spoon. I like this, because to make the brigadeiro it has to reach a perfect consistency, whereas brigadeiro de colher does not need to be perfectly cooked. Whatever is left over, just store it in the fridge to eat in increments.
One of my favorite brigadeiros to eat at a party are brigadeiros that have a grape inside. The combination is amazing!
¡Gracias Sra. Silva! Estoy muy contento de que este artículo resonated (I don’t know the Spanish word for that:) con usted. I’ll have to try your suggestion of putting a grape inside sometime!
nice! they look yummy!