Name: Pastillas de Leche
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 55 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: 6 cups fresh milk (or carabao's milk); 6 tbsp sugar; 1 tbsp butter; 2/3 cup powdered milk

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Pastillas de Leche, or milk pills, are a sweet Filipino delicacy made by boiling milk with sugar and other ingredients. Follow this step-by-step guide to making this delicious treat.

There is a shortcut version of making these soft milk candies using condensed milk and powdered milk, and this is not it. This recipe takes slightly longer but yields an authentic taste like the Bulacan delicacies. Make a big batch as a gift-giving idea or just to satisfy your anytime cravings.

This pastillas de leche recipe only uses a few ingredients and is the perfect sweet treat. Making the candies will give you soft and creamy in texture combined with buttery, milky flavors. Enjoy these melt in you mouth, milk candies as dessert or snack.

What Is Patillas de Leche

Pastillas are also known as milk tablets or pastiyema that has many variations depending on the province. Some locals add peanuts, chocolate, mango, ube, when making pastillas de leche for variety.

These delicacies are traditionally made with carabao milk and sugar along with citrus extract like calamansi (Philippine lime) to balance the richness. You can find these confections usually sold in sari-sari stores or groceries along with other delicacies like yema balls and puffed rice.

Best Milk To Use

You can make the candies by using either carabao milk or fresh cow’s milk. Using fresh milk may be the first option most of us will try especially if living abroad since its available in any grocery store. Make sure to use whole milk to avoid it from curdling when boiling.

If you can find carabao (water buffalo) milk, then go for it because that is how it’s made traditionally. It also gives a richer taste due to carabao’s milk high-fat content. Whatever is available to you between the two, the cooking process is the same.

ingredients for making candy on top of table

Notes on Ingredients

Fresh Milk – Needs to be whole milk and not evaporated milk or non-fat milk. Carabao’s milk is recommended if readily available.
Sugar – Plain white granulated sugar is recommended. You can use light brown sugar but the candies will have a brownish color.
Butter – Unsalted butter works best for this recipe.
Powdered Milk – You can also use skimmed milk or full cream milk.

How To Wrap

There is no need to wrap the candies if your making them for personal consumption. But, if you plan on giving them out or selling them, I think it’s a good idea to make the look presentable. Here is a quick and easy way to do it!

You’ll need a couple of 2 inch X 2 inch bond paper or any white paper and 2 1/2 inch X 2 1/2 inch assorted colored Japanese paper, crepe paper or cellophane.
Place the pastillas on one side of the white paper then roll to wrap the candy.
Slip in the colored paper in the white paper the roll again until all of the white paper is covered.
Tuck in the edges of the colored paper in the edges of the white paper to seal.

Cooking Tips

1. Regularly stir and scrape the bottom and sides of the pan during cooking to avoid burning and film from forming.
2. Cook the milk in low heat to prevent scorching and lumps from forming.
3. Use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon with a non-stick pan to make cooking easier.
4. Let the cooked milk mixture cool down first before rolling.

candies in a plate with sugar coating on top of table

How To Serve And Store

Coat pastillas with sugar and give it a shake to remove excess sugar before serving.
Store the unrolled pastillas mixture by wraping in cling wrap and place in an airtight container. Refrigerate for up to 1 week or until ready to roll into small candies.
Place wrapped candies in a box when planning to give as a gift.