- 1 (14-ounce or 396 g) can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes, plus more for dredging
- 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, softened (plus more for greasing a plate and your hands)
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract (optional)
- Cloves for garnishing (optional)
- NOTE: You can use unsweetened coconut flakes instead, if desired — especially for dredging the coconut kisses. Actually, I personally prefer small, unsweetened coconut flakes for dredging coconut kisses, for a more refined touch.
Mix the condensed milk, coconut flakes, and butter together.
Cook in a medium non-stick saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture starts to show the bottom of the pan when you scrape it with your wood spoon (about 7 minutes). The coconut kisses mixture should be thick enough to reveal the bottom of the pan for a couple of seconds before the mixture levels out again.
When coconut kisses ‘dough’ is ready, remove from the heat, mix in the vanilla extract, and spread mixture onto a greased plate.
Let cool to room temperature before starting to roll them into balls with greased hands. Use a ½ Tablespoon as measurement. Then, dredge gently in the coconut flakes until totally covered.
Place into paper bonbon cups. Stick a clove atop (center) of each coconut kiss if desired.NOTE: The clove is only for decoration and must be removed right before eating!!!