Peanut Butter Bala Baiana

I'm making a unique version of Bala Baiana inspired by Misha from 'Tis Rare We Get Out,' who I recently interviewed on Sprung On Food. This delightful treat is made with sweetened condensed milk, butter, peanut butter, and finely chopped pistachios. I'll show you how to cook the mixture to the perfect thickness, roll it into small balls, and then create a caramel syrup to coat them. Watch for my pro tips and a satisfying moment with the caramel tap. Don't miss out on this delicious recipe and check out the full interview with Misha on Sprung On Food!

Ingredients:

Dough*

  • 1 can sweetened condensed milk

  • 3 tablespoons butter

  • 1/3 cup peanut butter

  • 1/4 cup finely chopped pistachios

Hard Crack Syrup**

  • 1 cup granulated sugar

  • 1/2 cup water

  • 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar

Steps:

  1. Mix condensed milk, butter, and peanut butter in a sauté or medium saucepan on medium heat until melted and smooth, then add the pistachios

  2. Continue cooking and stirring intermittently until the mixture becomes the consistency of play-doh, around 10 minutes

  3. Remove from the heat and pan and let fully cool on a heat-safe plate of parchment paper, before forming the dough into small balls

  4. Once cool, roll the dough into balls (I used a 1/2 TBS size, or 2 tsp) and set aside on a tray lined with parchment or a silicon mat

  5. Without stirring or mixing, heat the syrup ingredients on medium-high heat until the mixture reaches the hard crack stage (around 300°F)

  6. Take the pot off the heat and turn the heat down to the lowest it can go (this is just to keep the pot and sugar syrup warm and workable, without cooking it too much more)

  7. Use a popsicle stick, bamboo skewer, or chopstick to pierce the dough balls and quickly dip them in the syrup and carefully transfer to a silicone matt (I used a skewer and removed it using the tines of a fork)

  8. Let cool a few minutes before serving (these are best within a couple hours after the candy coating is applied)

*This is the quantity written by Misha, but it does produce quite a number of these balls, so you could get away with halving this recipe or reducing it by 1/3. It will also be more compatible with the written quantity of sugar syrup.

**If you're keeping the dough quantity as written, I would recommend doubling the syrup quantity so that you have enough

katherine sprung