Brazilian Party Sweets: Strawberry Brigadeiros (Bicho de Pé)

Strawberry brigadeiros are another delicious Brazilian sweet.

Just like Brigadeiros and Beijinhos, this recipe is very easy to make and will definitely satisfy your cravings for a sweet treat!

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What are Strawberry Brigadeiros?

As you can imagine, these are a strawberry version of the famous Brigadeiros. They are creamy and chewy strawberry truffles covered in sugar, and the official name for them in Portuguese is “Bicho de Pé”.

Just like Brigadeiros and Beijinhos, Bicho de Pé is made with condensed milk and butter, and the strawberry flavor comes from strawberry gelatine.

In Brazil, Bicho de Pé is normally served at birthday parties, especially children’s parties. You can place them around the birthday cake with some Beijinhos and Brigadeiros so your guests can grab them as they get a slice of cake. They are a very tasty table decor!

Two methods of making Strawberry Brigadeiros

There are two ways to make this recipe: one is with strawberry gelatine powder and the other is with strawberry milk powder.

The main differences between them are the flavor and the color of the final product. The brigadeiros on the left are made with strawberry milk powder. The ones on the right are made with strawberry gelatine powder.

The milk powder ones have a more subtle flavor, while the gelatine ones have a stronger flavor. In my opinion the flavor of the milk powder brigadeiro is better, but if you are going for something colorful, I suggest making the gelatine ones. They both have the same consistency.

Ingredients

This is not an ingredient, but you will need candy cups. In Brazil we normally use candy cup #3, but I noticed that this is a very uncommon size in the US. I use the smallest one I can find on Amazon. Here’s a link for the candy cups #3 on Amazon.

How to make Strawberry Brigadeiros

The instructions for both methods are the same.

Rub some butter on a salad or dinner plate, coating the entire surface of the plate. This is so that later, when you place your finished dough on the plate to cool, it doesn’t stick to the plate.

Add condensed milk, butter, and strawberry gelatine powder (or strawberry milk powder) to a medium saucepan and stir, then bring it to medium heat.

Start stirring the mixture with a silicone spoon or spatula as soon as you turn on the heat. The mixture will start bubbling and then thicken. If you stop stirring during this process the bottom of the dough will burn, and the texture will change.

You’ll know the dough is done when you can tilt the pan and the dough slides to the side instead of flowing (like shown in the picture below). It should take about 5 minutes.

Transfer the dough to the plate you prepared in the beginning, then cover it with plastic food wrap (the wrap has to be in contact with the dough as shown below). Let it cool at room temperature for about 30 mins, then transfer to the fridge for about 30 minutes.

Don’t leave the dough in the fridge for too long. As the dough gets cooler, it also gets harder, which makes it more difficult to roll the truffles.

While you wait for the dough to cool, you can separate the candy cups. Place them in a tray, big food container, cookie sheet or plate.

Put granulated sugar in a small bowl.

Coat your hands with butter and start rolling the dough into balls about 1 inch in diameter! You can use a spoon to make sure all the truffles are the same size or just grab a little bit of dough at a time. If using a spoon, coat it with butter before starting.

To roll the dough into a ball place some dough on the palm of your hand. Put the other hand on top and make circular motions with each hand on opposite directions.

You might need to clean your hands with a paper towel and re-apply butter if they get too dirty. It’s always better to wipe your hands first before washing them because the dough is pretty sticky.

After rolling each truffle into a ball, place it in the bowl of sugar. Cover the outside of the truffle completely with sugar. The best way to do this is moving (rolling) it around in the bowl, so the sugar sticks to them. Take it out of the bowl and place it in a candy cup. Repeat this step until you have used up all the dough.

Enjoy your Brigadeiros!

How long are Brigadeiros good for?

I normally end up eating all the Brigadeiros within a few days, so I am not fully certain how long they take to go bad, but I would suggest eating them within 5 days.

How to store them?

You can store them at room temperature in any container (doesn’t have to be airtight) or refrigerate them.

My personal preference is to keep them at room temperature because the texture doesn’t change as much as when they are placed in the fridge.

From my experience, if you store them in the fridge, they will go from chewy and soft to crumbly and dry.