Easter Dessert from Brazil: Paçoca de Amendoim

Add a little exotic flavor to your Easter menu this year with this super easy Easter dessert from Brazil!  Paçoca de amendoim is a peanut candy common to the rural areas of the southeastern parts of Brazil, around the states of Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais.  Since so many kids have peanut allergies, I’ve made a peanut-free version using almonds instead – still delicious!

Last year we really enjoyed making an Easter bread from Ethiopia, but with a newborn I knew that this year we’d need something much simpler.  There are many different recipes out for paçoca de amendoim, all slightly different, but most use peanuts, sugar, condensed milk, and manioc (cassava) flour.  Traditionally the peanuts were pounded in a mortar, but most cooks today use a food processor. Basically you just throw everything in and mix: I love any recipe that only requires that I push a button!

The toughest thing is getting the consistency right, which is always difficult if, like me, you’ve never tried the real thing.  It should be dry but not too crumbly – just wet enough to come together without turning into a paste.  If yours turns out too wet, try mixing in extra flour or putting it in the refrigerator over night – if you can wait that long!  The best thing, though, is to start too dry and add the condensed milk only a very little bit at a time.

Either way, it will be delicious!  Happy Easter and enjoy!

Easter Dessert from Brazil: Paçoca de Amendoim

Inspired by these two versions: from Cyber Cook and About.com (the latter was one of only English versions I found).

Ingredients:

1 cup of peanuts or almonds

1/2 cup manioc (cassava) flour or coconut flour*

2 T brown sugar (I used coconut sugar)

1 can of sweetened condensed milk (you will not need the entire can)

pinch of salt

*look for manioc flour or manioc starch in international grocery stores.  Ours unfortunately did not have it, so I substituted coconut flour instead.

Add all ingredients except condensed milk to your food processor and grind to desired consistency.  (I did ours into a fine powder, but some prefer to leave slightly larger bits of nuts).  Add the condensed milk just a little bit at a time until the mixture starts to come together.  Press into an 8 x 8 pan or other mold then cut into pieces.

Explore the diverse traditions of Easter around the world with us, and don’t miss our series from last year and this wonderful overview of global Easter traditions. You can also find these posts and more on our Easter Around the World Pinterest board:

Follow Multicultural Kid Blogs’s board Easter Around the World on Pinterest.

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