Lightly grease an 8x8-inch baking pan with butter or nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the sweetened condensed milk, cocoa powder, butter, and salt.

Place the pan over medium heat and whisk often to melt the butter and dissolve the cocoa powder.

Once the mixture comes to a bubble, reduce the heat to low and cook, whisking often, until it reaches the consistency of a thick brownie batter and slides in a soft mass from one side of the pan to the other when the pan is tilted (15-25 minutes).

Stir in the vanilla extract.

Pour the candy into the prepared baking pan.

Chill in the refrigerator until the candy is somewhat firm, about 1 hour.

Pour your desired coatings onto individual plates.

Use your fingers or a small ice cream scoop to portion out bits of candy and roll them into 1-inch balls.

Drop each ball into a dish of coating and roll to coat.

Set the finished candies on a small baking sheet, or place them into small paper candy cups.

Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.