What an afternoon making queijadinha… My two little ones came to help me in the kitchen — voluntarily. Nope, I didn’t even ask for help or try to pique their curiosity… but they came anyway. The reason: queijadinha, a Portuguese treat very popular in Brazil.
The help was sort of happily efficient– more happy than efficient– bursting with questions, and full of declarations of “me first,” “now it’s my turn,” and of course, “I did it better!” Oh, and how could I forget: “Do you pinky promise that I can eat as many as queijadinhas as I want?”
Phew! After a while, the queijadinhas were finally baking in the oven. Even still, I did not rest a bit. Need I mention that “the help” was waiting impatiently to devour them?
Well, I sure am glad that we made two batches…
Snacktime was unusually quiet. It was milk and queijadinha, then more milk and queijadinha. And then, just one queijadinha right after the next. I cannot blame them. The apple never falls far from the tree… 🙂
What can I say? Without a doubt, now queijadinha has become a family affair… and how!
xx
Queijadinha (Brazilian Coconut "Muffins")
Ingredients
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk 14 oz
- 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
- 2 egg yolks at room temperature and passed through a strainer to remove the clear yolk membrane
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F ( 180 C). Line a mini or standard-size muffin baking pan with paper baking cups.
- In a medium bowl, mix all the ingredients together until obtaining a homogeneous mixture.
- Using a cookie or ice cream scooper, fill 3/4 of the paper cups with the batter. Clean off any stray drips from the baking pan with a wet paper towel. Bake for about 13 minutes (mini) or for 20 minutes (standard-size). Remove from the oven, let cool and enjoy! Note: It can be served warm or at room temperature. Yield: About 24 mini queijadinhas or 8-10 standard-size
Recipe Notes
1. STORAGE: Store queijadinhas in an airtight container or ziploc bag at room temperature. Consume within 2-3 days.
2. Queijadinha is a kind of baked goodie that originated in Portugal, and is popular in Brazil. There are many types of "queijadinhas", but the traditional one is prepared with grated coconut, cheese, sweetened condensed milk, sugar, butter, and egg yolks. As you can see, my type doesn't take cheese, butter, and sugar!
3. If you would like to add 1 or 2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese to our recipe, go ahead. It will make our queijadinha de laranja a bit less sweet. As for me, I prefer mine as it is!
Jaime
What cute assistants you have! 🙂
Denise Browning
Thanks, Jaime! They are the best ones. Love to cook with them. I already promised them that we’ll cook again on spring break. We will be making their favs: Brazilian cheese rolls and brigadeiros (chocolate truffles). The excitement is high here… 🙂
Rachel
Com essas duas graciosas assistentes, deu vontade de provar agora mesmo!
Vou fazer em casa a versão básica e a de maracujá.
Obrigada pelas receitas. Beijos nas fofas
Denise Browning
Obrigada, Rachel! Espero que voce goste. A de maracuja e a minha favorita.
MARGARITA CANO
ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO BE MOIST? DO THEY FALL APART BECAUSE OF NO FLOUR???
THANK YOU
Denise Browning
Hi, Margarita!
They are moist and gooey (not fluffy). The texture is similar to a FIRM coconut custard pie filling. They will not fall apart at all — not even when they are still hot! The coconut flakes provide enough structure to this baked goodie. I hope you try and enjoy. It is a family favorite!
Magda
I leave my queijadinhas in the oven until they are golden on top.
Denise Browning
Hi, Magda! Welcome to FBTY and thanks for stopping by!
Although mine are also golden on top, I prefer to time them in the oven because if they are left for a longer time they can become dry once cooling down. I prefer mine moist and creamy yet firm. If desired, you can add 1 tablespoon of grated Parmesan cheese to the recipe but I prefer mine like these ones that are sweet. 🙂
I hope you can try this recipe and enjoy! Wishing you an awesome day!
Wafa
My husband decided to make these, and added Chocolat chips! They tasted absolutely amazing, but we couldn’t get them out of the muffin wrappers! They were stuck to them! Any idea what’s the reason? We had to scrape them out of the wrappers 🙁
Denise Browning
Wafa:
Thank you for trying this recipe. I am glad you guys enjoyed it. They are suppose to be sticky because the texture is more similar to a custardy pie filling. In order to take them out of the paper baking cups, I let them cool down completely before eating. I have found this to be the only way I am able to peel away the paper without the queijadinhas sticking to the sides. Even still, it is almost unavoidable that some will stick to the bottom. You may try folding stiff beaten egg whites into the batter before baking (this will provide more structure to the batter) OR grease well with butter a muffin tin and bake the queijadinhas without the paper cups, letting them cool to a warm temperature before running a knife around the sides to loosen them. I hope this helps next time you make them! Have a wonderful weekend!
Wafa
We will definitely experiment with these options! Thank you so much 🙂