JAMONCILLO DE LECHE

Jamoncillo de Leche image

Jamoncillos come in different shapes and sizes, but they are always deliciously sweet (very sweet), fudgelike candies. Some of the best I've had are prepared by the Hernandez family in Toluca. This three-generation family-run business is set up in their home. The copper pots are filled with raw cow's or goat's milk, and while some stir as it cooks down with sugar for many hours, other members of the family are busy pouring or cutting different candies out on the sunny patio. The flavors they have never cease to surprise me, including lime, pine nut, coffee, papaya, guava, and coconut, to name a few. I wanted to include at least one candy recipe in the book that wasn't as time-consuming as the others, so this is a modern adaptation of a classic. It will definitely not be as good as the ones the Hernandez family makes, but they did inspire me to play around with a few variations that will surely please anyone with a sweet tooth.

Yield makes about 2 dozen

Number Of Ingredients 5

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Ingredients

2 (14-ounce) cans condensed milk
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated goat's or cow's milk
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Steps:

Lightly grease a 9 by 9-inch square pan. Line the pan with a piece of parchment paper or aluminum foil, leaving about a 1-inch overhang on all sides.
Combine the condensed milk, evaporated milk, butter, vanilla, and salt in a saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula, until the mixture has thickened and starts pulling away from the sides of the pan, 20 to 30 minutes. When ready, it will slide easily out of the pan when tilted.
Pour into the prepared pan and allow to set, about 2 hours. Cut into rectangles or desired shapes.
Add 6 tablespoons unsweetened natural cocoa powder (preferably Dutch processed) along with the other ingredients.
Replace the vanilla with 1 teaspoon grated lime zest and add 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice and a few drops of green food coloring (if desired) once the mixture has been removed from the heat, making sure you add them slowly and stir well so it doesn't separate.
Add 2 teaspoons coffee extract along with the other ingredients.
Replace the evaporated milk with the same size can of coconut milk.
Add 1 tablespoon white or reposado tequila once the mixture has been removed from the heat, making sure you add it slowly and stir well so it doesn't separate.
You can mix and match flavors as you like, and you can do it quite simply. Pour half of the mixture into the prepared pan, stir another flavor-such as coffee extract or any kind of flavored oil with a few drops of food coloring-into the other half, then pour that on top. Alternatively, you can make two separate flavors and make half a batch of each.