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Easy Cuban Coconut Balls

Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 9
Calories 115

Ingredients

  • 3 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
  • 2 14 oz cans of sweetened condensed milk
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

  • To make the dulce de leche you first need to pierce the top of one of the cans of sweetened condensed milk. Place the can with the pierced side up in a large pot.
  • Fill the pot with water until just below the top of the can.
  • Place the pot over medium heat and let it simmer for a minimum of four hours. While the pot simmers, some of the water will evaporate. Keep adding more water to keep the water level at just below to top of the can. Try not to let the water spill into the can of sweetened condensed milk. Don’t leave the can unsupervised! I mean, you can leave the room, but don’t leave it alone in the house and keep checking on it.
  • There’s no real way of being able to check the dulce de leche, so I like to leave it going as long as possible. When you’ve decided it’s done, remove it from heat and let it cool enough to touch.
  • To make the actual coconut balls, add the shredded coconut, other can of sweetened condensed milk, and the vanilla extract to a pan.
  • Heat the pan over medium heat and stir constantly for 15 minutes. The mixture will begin to thicken and it will be done when it has the consistency of cookie dough.
  • Remove the coconut from heat and let it cool until it is safe to touch.
  • Use a small cookie dough scoop or tablespoon, spoon out the coconut into your hands and roll into balls. If it starts to stick to your skin, lightly wet your hands.
  • Empty the sweetened condensed milk that cooked for hours into a bowl. It should be incredibly thick and a toffee-brown color.
  • You can dip each coconut ball into the dulce de leche and place them on a parchment lined baking tray, or you can put the plain balls on a parchment lined baking tray and use a spoon to drizzle the dulce de leche over them.
  • Serve at room temperature and enjoy!

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 115kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 30mg | Sodium: 234mg | Potassium: 31mg | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 253IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 189mg | Iron: 1mg