Cajuzinho

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 2-liter saucepan
• •Wooden spoon or heatproof spatula
• •Food processor, mortar and pestle, or rolling pin
• •Shallow plate for cooling
• •Teaspoon or small cookie scoop
• •Small paper candy cups, optional

Instructions

1. 1

   Grind the peanuts

   Put the roasted peanuts in a food processor and pulse until they look like coarse sand with a few tiny pebbles left. Stop before they turn shiny and pasty. That shine means the peanuts are releasing oil, and then you're making peanut butter instead of a candy with a good crumb.

   No processor? Pound them in a mortar or put them in a sturdy bag and crush with a rolling pin. A little uneven texture is welcome here. Perfect dust is not the goal.
2. 2

   Mix off heat

   Grease a shallow plate with a little butter and set it nearby. In a heavy saucepan, combine the condensed milk, sifted cocoa, butter, and salt before the pan goes on the heat. Stir until the cocoa disappears into the milk. Doing this cold saves you from bitter cocoa lumps that refuse to behave later.

3. 3

   Add the peanuts

   Stir in the ground peanuts until the mixture is thick, speckled, and evenly damp. Scrape the corners of the pan with your spoon. Dry pockets of peanut scorch first, and scorched peanut tastes bossy in the worst way.

4. 4

   Cook to ponto

   Set the pan over medium-low heat and stir constantly, scraping the bottom and sides, until the mixture thickens and pulls away from the pan in one heavy mass, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drag the spoon across the bottom. If the line stays open for a second before slowly closing, you're there. Stop too soon and the sweets slump; cook too long and they turn dry and stubborn.

   Keep the heat modest. High heat feels efficient for one minute, then it burns the bottom while the middle is still soft. A Tuesday is a Tuesday, yes, but burnt condensed milk is not dinner solved.
5. 5

   Cool the dough

   Scrape the hot mixture onto the greased plate and spread it into a thick layer. Let it cool until firm and comfortable to touch, about 30 minutes. Warm dough sticks to your hands and lies to you about its shape; cooled dough rolls cleanly.

6. 6

   Shape the cajuzinhos

   Butter your hands lightly. Scoop about 2 teaspoons of dough, roll it into a short oval, then pinch one end so it looks like a little cashew. Press one whole peanut into the wider end. If the dough cracks, knead that piece once between your palms; if it sticks, use less butter on your hands and wait five more minutes.

7. 7

   Roll in sugar

   Drop each shaped sweet into the granulated sugar and roll until coated on all sides. Shake off the excess, then set each one in a small paper cup or on a plate. The sugar gives a clean finish and keeps the surface from sticking, which matters when these are traveling to a party in somebody's lap.

Chef Tips

• •Use roasted unsalted peanuts that smell fresh and sweet. Stale peanuts taste dusty and bitter, and no amount of condensed milk can fix that.
• •Buy skinned roasted peanuts if you want the honest shortcut. You lose the warm smell of roasting them yourself, but you still get real peanuts. What I won't use is a mystery dessert mix pretending to be cajuzinho.
• •Use unsweetened cocoa, not chocolate drink mix. The drink mix brings extra sugar and filler, and this candy is already sweet enough. Let peanut be peanut.
• •If your cajuzinho is too soft to shape after cooling, return it to the pan for 2 more minutes, stirring the whole time. Ponto can be corrected. Panic cannot.
• •Shape them small. Docinho de festa is a bite, not a tennis ball. Make thirty little ones and people will take two, which is exactly how these parties work.

Advance Preparation

• •The peanut mixture can be cooked up to 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate, then let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before shaping.
• •Finished cajuzinhos keep for 3 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Roll in sugar the day you serve them so the coating stays dry and pretty.
• •You can grind the peanuts 1 day ahead and keep them covered at room temperature, but don't go much longer. Ground peanuts lose their good smell quickly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 26g)