Cookies have taken over Sweet Kiss, but this mother-daughter brigadeiro shop has even more baked inside

For Jessica Harris, a brigadeiro offers a taste of home, she said, and for almost a decade, she’s been sharing those Brazilian truffles with Kansas City.

When the Sweet Kiss Brigadeiro co-founder relocated to the City of Fountains in 1996 — following her sister who moved the year before to play basketball for Penn Valley Community College — she found herself in the kitchen — missing Brazil.

“Brigadeiros were something that we always made at home,” she explained of the dessert, which she calls a cross between a truffle and fudge. “So when we were homesick, we used to make brigadeiros and eat them all the time.”

Harris co-founded Sweet Kiss — which now operates retail spaces within the Country Club Plaza and Lee’s Summit Made In KC marketplaces — in 2015 with her mother, Regina Antunes.

“I called my mom and was like, ‘Mom, every event that we have at work, every bake sale, everything that we have, I bring brigadeiros and people seem to really like them,” recalled Harris, who was working at Garmin at the time. “But I had no idea what we were doing or how to start a business. All I knew is that I knew how to make brigadeiros and I wanted to do that.”

Click here to shop Sweet Kiss Brigadeiro online.

Brigadeiros from Sweet Kiss Brigadeiro; photo by Anna Petrow

The mother-daughter duo started off selling their Brazilian treats as a side hustle online and at local popups and fairs, she continued; it’s where she initially met Made In KC co-founder Keith Bradley, who ultimately helped her access the local retailer’s shops.

But going full-time on Sweet Kiss actually was an unexpected outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic, Harris said, recalling how the global health crisis helped shift her mindset.

“Anytime I was at work, all I could think about was Sweet Kiss — how we could grow, new flavors, and all that,” she said. “When the pandemic came, it changed a lot of things for a lot of people.”

“I don’t want to go on wondering what if,” Harris continued, recalling a conversation she had with her husband. “If we do this and it doesn’t work, then at least we tried and we know the outcome. But if we don’t, I’m going to go on wondering. I was like, ‘But I’m going to need you to pay the bills if I’m gonna go on this little adventure.’ And he was like, ‘Go for it.’”

A 3D sculpture of Regina Antunes and Jessica Harris created by Country Club Plaza neighbors 3DHQ sits at Sweet Kiss Brigadeiro; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

So in November 2020, Harris and Antunes tried their hand at a holiday popup on the Plaza, and after it was a success, they opened up a standalone storefront and cafe — also on the Plaza — in 2021.

“It was a hit,” Harris added. “People loved it. It’s something different, something unique.”

Cookies from Sweet Kiss with a brigadeiro baked inside

In September, she said, Sweet Kiss was given the opportunity to set up shop in the Made In KC Plaza Marketplace and serve its brigadeiros — and new cookies — alongside Betty Rae’s Ice Cream.

“It’s the perfect spot, the perfect size,” she explained. “It gives us the opportunity to launch new products.”

On top of the 14 flavors of brigadeiros (plus seasonal flavors), Harris continued, they now also serve nine flavors of cookies, each baked with a Brazilian truffle inside.

“They’re huge,” she noted. “They’re crunchy outside and gooey inside, and then you add a brigadeiro, it just melts in your mouth.”

“The cookies have kind of taken over,” she added, “ It’s just the perfect combination of American and Brazilian culture together.”

When Sweet Kiss’ lease was up for its Plaza storefront in early 2024, Harris said, they decided not to renew. Instead of continuing two shops on the Plaza, they moved the cafe to the Lee’s Summit Made In KC location in March. There, they offer sweets as well as coffee drinks and cocktails.

Sweet Kiss Brigadeiro's space at the Made in KC Marketplace on the Country Club Plaza

Sweet Kiss Brigadeiro's cafe space at the Made in KC Marketplace in Lee's Summit

Joining forces with Made In KC, Harris said, just made sense and has brought her entrepreneurial journey full circle. She remembers getting to know Bradley nearly 10 years ago when they both started out doing pop-ups at the former HMK on the Plaza. 

When Made In KC opened its first location, Sweet Kiss was invited to do popups there.

Harris also remembers dismissing Bradley’s idea that she should open a cafe in the future.

“He was like, ‘I totally see this, Jessica: a little cafe with Brazilian music in the background,’” she recalled. “I was like, ‘no.’ But that was me being afraid. So now 10 years later, here we are, with a little cafe, playing music with them.”

“We have always connected, so we have really enjoyed working with them,” Harris added. “They really care about small businesses and local products. So it’s been great. We’re really happy.”