On my pastillas de leche post two weeks ago, a reader (thanks, Neil!), was kind enough to share his no-cook version which uses condensed milk and full cream milk. Pastillas without the cook time? I was duly intrigued. These milk candies are my favorite treats and if I can enjoy a batch with less work, I am all for it.
Unfortunately, the weekend I decided to try Neil’s recipe, I didn’t have condensed milk on hand. Fortunately, I did find deep in the pantry a lone can of dulce de leche which I meant to use for something and have totally forgotten. This should work, I thought. Afterall, dulce de leche is nothing more but sweetened milk that’s slowly heated until it changes color and flavor. And work it did! The resulting no-cook caramel pastillas were delicious beyond my expectations. They were soft and silky and absolutely amazing. The chopped peanuts I added didn’t hurt either as they gave the otherwise chewy candies a delightful crunch. My peeps, you need to try these caramel pastillas ASAP, like, right now. Super easy to make, they can be a fun kitchen activity for the whole family. Enjoy!
Ingredients
1 can (14 ounces) dulce de leche
2 ½ cups powdered full cream milk I used Nido
½ cup dry roasted peanuts chopped
½ cup sugar
Equipment
White paper cut into 1-½ inch squares
colored Japanese paper cut into 2-inch squares
Instructions
In a large bowl, combine dulce de leche, full cream milk and peanuts. With a spoon, stir together until well-combined. Refrigerate for about 10 to 15 minutes to firm up a bit for easier handling.
Divide mixture into about 40 portions and roll each portion into logs of about 1-inch long. Roll pastillas in sugar until fully coated.
Wrap each pastillas with a piece of white paper (resulting into a “tube”) and then wrap with the colored Japanese paper. Insert the sides of the Japanese paper into the white paper “tube” to completely seal pastillas.
