Coconut Kisses
Also known as: Coconut beijinhos · Little coconut kisses · Coconut kisses
Little mouthfuls of coconut and egg, golden-tipped and sweet enough to kiss.
- Origin
- Traditional sweet · across the country
- Region
- Nationwide
- Season
- Year-round
Beijinhos are little bundles of grated coconut bound with eggs and sugar, shaped by hand into mounds or balls and baked in a gentle oven until they take on a golden crust over a moist, fibrous heart. They are tray sweets through and through: they appear in pastry-shop windows, beside the meringues and coconut tarts, and on every celebration table.
The name is an affectionate diminutive — a beijinho, a little kiss — and the round, tempting shape explains it without a word. From north to south they are made with few ingredients and a good deal of hand-skill, always with coconut as the star.
- grated coconut
- sugar
- eggs (or egg yolks)
- lemon zest (optional)
- a pinch of salt
- water (for syrup, optional)
Very sweet and intensely coconut-scented, with a crisp, toasted edge set against a soft, moist, slightly chewy centre. The egg gives them body and a buttery richness; lemon zest, when used, cuts the sugar and freshens the finish.
Some beijinhos are made only with egg white and sugar, close to a meringue, while others are rich in yolk — denser and more golden. Some use a cooked sugar syrup, others just sugar folded in cold; some leave the oven pale, others deeply toasted. The best-known version abroad is the Brazilian beijinho de leite condensado, unbaked and rolled in coconut with a single clove pressed into the top.
In virtually any traditional Portuguese pastry shop, usually on the tray of dry sweets beside the coconut tarts and meringues, and at fairs and village festivals nationwide. Vila do Conde, home of the convent beijo de freira, is a worthwhile stop for anyone following the trail of coconut and almond sweets. The best beijinhos are fresh from the day, crisp at the edge and still moist within — steer clear of any that have dried out in the case.
An espresso or a strong coffee to balance the sweetness, or a small glass of Moscatel to round off a meal.
Coconut beijinhos belong to the broad Iberian family of coconut sweets, close kin to the cocadas, which took hold in Portugal mainly through the 19th and 20th centuries as grated coconut became a common pantry and pastry-shop ingredient. The Portuguese version stands apart for being bound with eggs and baked, unlike the Brazilian cocadas built on syrup or condensed milk.
The name echoes an older convent sweet, the beijo de freira (nun's kiss) — attributed to the Poor Clares of the Convento de Santa Clara in Vila do Conde — originally made with almonds, egg yolks and sugar syrup and shaped to resemble lips. It was that almond recipe that travelled to Brazil; there, with coconut in plentiful supply, the almonds gave way to the grated fruit and the beijo de coco was born, becoming in the 20th century the now-famous party beijinho of condensed milk crowned with a single clove. The baked coconut beijinhos sold in Portugal share the affectionate name and the love of coconut, but follow their own egg-based path.
Sources: iguaria.com · sobremesasdeportugal.pt · saboreiaavida.nestle.pt · cozinhatradicional.com · cozinhaeliteratura.blogspot.com · pt.wikipedia.org · cozinhaecultura.com