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1
Roast the peanuts
10 minutes
Oven 180°C (350°F)
Spread the shelled peanuts (300 g) in a single layer on a baking tray and roast in a preheated oven at 180°C (350°F) for 10 minutes, shaking the tray once halfway, until they are golden and smell nutty. Tip them into a clean tea towel and rub off the papery skins.
Watch the peanuts after 8 minutes — they go from golden to burnt very fast.
Done when: Peanuts golden, skins loose, nutty smell.
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2
Grind the peanuts
3 minutes
Room temperature, about 20°C (68°F)
Put the warm, skinned peanuts in a food processor and pulse in short bursts until they are a coarse, crumbly meal — not a smooth paste. Stop as soon as the pieces are about the size of coarse sand.
Pulse, do not run the processor — 10 short pulses are enough, and over-grinding makes peanut butter.
Done when: Coarse crumbly meal, no smooth paste, no whole peanuts left.
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3
Mix in the sugar and flour
2 minutes
Room temperature, about 20°C (68°F)
Tip the ground peanuts into a bowl and stir in the sugar (120 g), cassava flour (60 g) and salt (2 g) until everything is evenly mixed. Squeeze a handful — it should just hold together when pressed, and fall apart when you poke it.
If it will not hold together at all, add 1 tsp of water; if it is sticky, add 1 tbsp more cassava flour.
Done when: Evenly mixed, holds together when squeezed, crumbles when poked.
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4
Press into the tin
4 minutes
Room temperature, about 20°C (68°F)
Tip the mixture into the lined tin and press it down hard and evenly with the back of a spoon or a flat glass, until it is about 2 cm thick and firmly packed. Press the edges well so the bars do not crumble at the corners.
Press harder than you think — a loosely pressed slab falls apart when you cut it.
Done when: Firm, even slab about 2 cm thick, edges packed.
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5
Cut and rest
6 minutes
Room temperature, about 20°C (68°F)
Leave the slab to rest for 5 minutes so it firms up, then lift it out by the paper and cut it into 12 bars. Eat at room temperature, or wrap the bars in baking paper to keep them.
A sharp knife and one clean cut per bar — sawing back and forth crumbles the edges.
Done when: 12 firm bars, crumbly but holding their shape.
auto_awesome Finishing Touches & Plating
Let the pressed paçoca rest for 5 minutes so it firms up, then cut it into bars and eat it at room temperature — it should crumble softly when you bite it, not bend or stick.
Brazil
1h 5m
