Pé de moleque

Pé de moleque (Portuguese: [ˈpɛ dʒi muˈlɛki], lit. 'Brat's foot') is a traditional candy from São Paulo cuisine, originating in the Captaincy of São Vicente, with the arrival of sugar cane in Brazil in the mid-16th century. It is made from a mixture of peanuts and rapadura or molasses and is associated with the tradition of caipira cuisine in the state of São Paulo, and is also widespread in Minas Gerais and Paraná.

The candy is prepared by mixing roasted, peeled peanuts with melted brown sugar, with or without the addition of macerated peanuts as well. The mixture is gently stirred over low heat until it gets close to crystallizing. Then the mixture is placed on a plain stone or metal surface (preferably thinly oiled with butter to ease removal) in pieces similar in size to cookies. This traditional preparation results in soft, irregularly-shaped sweets of a dark brown color. Softness results from the incorporation of peanut oil.

There is a derivation of the candy in the version of a cake, common to festa juninas from places in the Brazilian Northeast. Pé de moleque cake is also called Bolo preto (black cake), in which cashews can replace peanuts, rapadura is kept and puba (fermented cassava mass) and other ingredients.