Brigadeiros are Brazil’s favorite chocolate fudge balls, and they only take a few ingredients. But they’re easy to mess up! After years of making them and a cooking class in Rio, here’s how to get smooth, perfectly round brigadeiros every time.
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I Made Every Brigadeiro Mistake So You Don’t Have To
I made my first brigadeiro recipe in 2019, but the cooking class I took in Brazil in 2024 really perfected this recipe.
The secret I learned there is simple, but vital: Add all of your ingredients together BEFORE you turn the stove burner on.
Heating the sweetened condensed milk up before adding the butter and cocoa powder causes the cocoa to never fully combine with the milk, leading to lumpy fudge balls. You don’t want that.
Instead, pour your sweetened condensed milk into the pan and add the cocoa while it’s still cold. Use a spatula to mix the ingredients until the cocoa has dissolved and the sweetened condensed milk now looks brown. Add the butter into the pot. THEN turn on the burner and start mixing!
I’ve also made tons of other mistakes: overcooked chocolate, runny fudge balls, and sprinkles that won’t stick. This recipe describes each step so that your fudge balls turn out perfect every time!
Key Ingredients/Tools
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk: This is different than evaporated milk, so make sure you grab the right thing! You can use your leftover sweetened condensed milk from your Brazilian Açaí Bowls recipe.
- Cocoa Powder: Use unsweetened cocoa powder. If you don’t have cocoa powder, you can also sub chocolate milk powder, though it will be sweeter than the cocoa powder option.
- Butter: Don’t skip this. It makes the sweetened condensed milk melt into a rollable consistency that won’t stick to your pot.
- Sprinkles: It is traditional to use brown sprinkles, but you can really use anything you’d like. If you prefer a different color, feel free to experiment!
- Brigadeiro Cups: These aren’t necessary, but they are a fun way to add the finishing details to your fudge balls! They are the size of a mini chocolate peanut butter cup. I purchased mine on Amazon.
How to Make Brigadeiros
Step 1 – Make the Fudge: In a cold pot, combine the sweetened condensed milk and baking cocoa. Mix until combined, then add the butter and salt. Turn the heat on and stir continuously for 8-12 minutes, until thickened.
Step 2 – Cool: Transfer the mixture to a plate and allow it to chill in the fridge for about 1.5 hours (or about 30 minutes in the freezer if you’re impatient like me).
Step 3 – Roll and Decorate: Once cooled, break off 1 Tablespoon portions of the mixture and roll into one-inch balls in your hand. Roll the balls in your sprinkles and enjoy.
Watch the Process on YouTube
If you prefer a longer, more in-depth video and explanation to cook along with, my YouTube video will walk you through the process!
Other Toppings
Brigadeiro boutiques exist plentifully around Brazil and serve a fancier version of these homemade brigadeiros. And they really experiment with the flavors! The options for artisan brigadeiros in Brazil are endless, including options filled with cheese, nuts, dried fruits, alcohol, Nutella, and more.
If you want to add some more flavors to your brigadeiros, try some of these options:
- Coffee: Add some espresso powder into the mixture.
- Lemon: No cocoa powder. Instead, add the juice and zest of two lemons and roll in sanding sugar.
- Pistachio: Replace the cocoa powder with pistachio cream and roll in chopped pistachios.
- Coconut: Replace the cocoa powder with coconut milk and roll them in desiccated coconut.
Tips for Rolling the Perfect Brigadeiro
It can be hard to roll the perfect brigadeiro every time! After years of making this recipe, here are my favorite tips that make the process much easier:
- It is easiest to scoop the chocolate fudge with a spoon rather than a small cookie scoop or tablespoon measurement etc.
- Use a light coating of softened butter to grease your hands before rolling so that the chocolate doesn’t stick.
- If you find that the chocolate is sticking to your hands too much, you may need to put it back in the fridge so it can continue to chill.
- Sometimes the brigadeiro just looks too good, and Brazilians will eat it right out of the bowl with a spoon (without rolling it into balls!)
Make Ahead for Holiday Prep
Making these for a holiday party? Roll them up to 4 days in advance, store them in the fridge, then set them out about 30 minutes before serving so they soften back up. You can also change out the brown sprinkles for more festive colors.
Recipe FAQs
Why Won’t My Sprinkles Stick to the Brigadeiro?
If you are having a hard time getting the sprinkles to stick to the outside of your brigadeiro, it’s probably because you overcooked your chocolate before rolling it into a ball. No worries, your brigadeiro will still taste delicious! To fix this, use your hand to knead and warm up each piece of dough a bit before forming it into a ball. This will make the sprinkles stick to the outside of the fudge ball when you’re rolling it!
How Do You Thicken Brigadeiros?
The key to thickening your Brigadeiro recipe is simple: time and heat. Put your pot on the stove and stir consistently for about 8-12 minutes. The longer you stir, the thicker your mixture will get, and you want the thickness of a dulce de leche. You want to make sure that your Brigadeiro is sufficiently thick before allowing it to cool. If they aren’t, they won’t hold their ball shape and will instead melt into a puddle.
If you liked the Brigadeiro recipe, don’t forget to check out some of the other recipes on my site I’ve picked out just for you!:
- Sacher Torte from Austria
- Liege Waffles from Belgium
- Colombian Hot Chocolate with Cheese
- Chocolate Molten Lava Cake Recipe
- Chocolate Glazed Donuts Step by Step
If you tried this Brigadeiro Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
Brigadeiro Recipe (Chocolate Fudge Balls)
Equipment
- Brigadeiro Cups optional
Ingredients
- 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 pinch sea salt
- brown or colored sprinkles
Instructions
- In a medium pot, combine 14 oz sweetened condensed milk and 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder before you turn on the heat. Use a spatula to mix the ingredients together until the cocoa dissolves and the sweetened condensed milk looks brown.
- Add the 2 tablespoons unsalted butter and 1 pinch sea salt into the mixture.
- Turn the stove to medium high heat and place the pot over the flame, stirring continuously for about 8-12 minutes until the mixture thickens. You know that the mixture is done cooking when you can use your spatula to draw a line through the middle of the mixture and the mixture takes about 3 seconds before trying to mold itself back together.
- Transfer the mixture to a plate and allow it to cool for about an hour to an hour and a half in the fridge (or 30 minutes in the freezer).
- Once cooled, break off 1 Tablespoon sized portions of the mixture and roll into one inch balls in your hand. Roll the balls in your brown or colored sprinkles and enjoy.
Video
Notes
- Cocoa Powder: Use unsweetened cocoa powder (regular cocoa powder, not dark). If you don’t have cocoa powder, you can also sub chocolate milk powder.
- Sprinkles: It is traditional to use brown sprinkles, but you can really use anything you’d like! If you prefer a different color, feel free to experiment.
- Storage: You can store these at room temperature for 3-4 days or in the fridge for a week. If storing in the fridge, allow them to come to room temperature before enjoying or the texture may change.
hannah says
Loved these! They are so easy to make and fun to eat! I think the next time I make these I might even add chunks of berry in the middle. I was very nervous to make these because I have very little experience but they turned out amazing and everyone loved them!
Alexandria Drzazgowski says
What a great idea!! Raspberries would be DELICIOUS in the middle of these fudge balls. These are an easy recipe to make, even if you have no experience cooking at all. I’m glad that you loved them 🙂
Meghan Hallewell says
Soooooo good!!! I might’ve had 2….or 3!! Do they ship well? Or should I just make my own? ????
Alexandria Drzazgowski says
Haha!!! 5 ingredients and 20 min!!! Sounds like this is an easy one to make at home 😉