Healthy Brazilian Truffles with Homemade Condensed Milk

Calvin, Oliver and I love hosting international students at our house. One of the perks is getting to try new foods (I am now a sucker for Arabic coffee). This week, our current house guest, Felipe, taught me how to make Beijinho - a quick and easy coconut truffle that is popular in Brazil.

The original recipe is:
Stir together 1 can of sweetened condensed milk, 1 Tablespoon of butter and a 1/4 cup unsweetened, flaked coconut. Microwave for 3 minutes. Stir, and microwave for 3 more minutes. Cool. Then roll into little balls, like a truffle, coating in more coconut if you wish.

I decided to My Idea of Happiness-erize it.

Did you know you can make your own sweetened condensed milk? Use this simple recipe that can be easily customized.

Homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk

Yields "one 14 oz can"

3 cups milk (I would be interested to try coconut, almond or soy)
2/3 cup sweetener (It calls for white sugar but I prefer raw sugar)
3 T butter (To veganize, substitute Earth Balance or coconut oil)

In a small saucepan, working slowly, boil the milk down until it has reduced in volume to a 1/3rd. (I.e. It is approximately a cup of liquid.)

Add the sweetener and butter, and continue heating for 1 minute. Make sure the sugar has dissolved. It should look syrupy.

Amy's Healthy Coconut Truffles (Brazilian Beijinho)

In a small saucepan, whisk together 14 oz of homemade sweetened condensed milk (see above) with 1 T coconut oil and 1/4 cup unsweetened flaked coconut.

You could also add: dried fruit, hemp seeds, crushed pistachios or pepitas, cinnamon...

Warm, on medium for 10 minutes, stirring constantly. You are aiming for a consistency that is almost like cookie batter.

Take off of the heat and allow to cool.

Roll into truffle-sized balls and coat in additional coconut. Eat fresh (warm) or up to a week old.