
When Brazilian-born Sabrina Pires-Kahn moved to the United States at the age of 18, she brought more than just her lilting accent with her.
She also brought a lifetime of practice making (and eating) Brigadeiros, a very popular sweet treat in her native Brazil.
Pires-Kahn, who has been living in Pacific Palisades with her husband Michael Kahn and their two sons Sammy and Benjy for 12 years, has since perfected the bite-sized gourmet chocolate desserts and turned them into a successful business, Simply Brigadeiro.
The venture is causing a veritable candy-coated stir – it was named a 2014 Wild Card Finalist in the Martha Stewart American Made contest and one of the 10 Rising-Star Food Artisans in LA on ZAGAT in 2014.

Rich Schmitt/Staff Photographer
Pires-Kahn said it wasn’t until her sons were born and she stopped working that she was able to devote the time necessary to fine-tune her recipes for the hand-rolled, all-natural, gourmet sweets made primarily out of sweetened condensed milk, butter and eggs.
The staple ingredients, which typically include 100 percent cocoa or shredded coconut, must be stirred constantly while cooking, she said.
The “dough” (though the treats contain no flour and are always gluten-free) then chills before Pires-Kahn hand rolls the sweets into bite-sized balls. The confections are then rolled in chocolate bits, shredded coconut or pure chocolate sprinkles.
“It’s the perfect marriage. They have to taste good and look good,” she said.
The finished product, which has a maximum of five ingredients, is soft and chewy with a texture like soft caramel.
Simply Brigadeiro offers treats in 20 flavors, including Classic, Dark Chocolate, Coconut Delight and Lemon as well as more adventurous ones like Chili Chipotle, Pink Salt and Caipirinha (a popular Brazilian cocktail).
The unique desserts are currently available online at simplybrigadeiro.com and for catered events, such as weddings and birthday parties. In the future, Pires-Kahn hopes to open a store with a visible kitchen so customers can see the process in action.
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.