Cascais Sands

Also known as: Sands of Cascais · Cascais Sand Cookies

Beach sand that melts on the tongue.

Origin: 19th century · Fishing town of Cascais
Region: Cascais
Season: Year-round

Sweetness

Richness

Difficulty

Areias de Cascais are small, round shortbread biscuits so tender and friable that at the first bite they crumble into a cloud of fine crumbs — hence the name, which evokes the sand of the town's beaches. On the outside they come generously coated in sugar, which gives them a crystalline sheen and a lightly granular surface.

In the mouth there is no resistance: they dissolve almost instantly, leaving a trail of butter and citrus or cinnamon fragrance. They are unassuming little things, walnut-sized, made to accompany rather than to take centre stage.

They are served at room temperature, piled on plates or in bowls, in the mid-afternoon or after a meal, and usually several at once — because one is never enough.

Ingredients

Butter (or lard, in the traditional version)
Sugar
Wheat flour
Lemon zest
Cinnamon
Sugar for dusting

Taste & texture

Crumbly and buttery, it melts in the mouth almost without chewing, carrying the crystalline sweetness of the sugar coating over a perfumed note of lemon and cinnamon.

Variations

The old fishermen's version used lard, which keeps the biscuits longer without changing the flavour; the urban version uses butter, which is more fragrant. Some recipes scent the dough with cinnamon, others only with lemon zest or vanilla.

Where to try it

You will find them in the traditional pastelarias and confectioners of Cascais town and the wider Lisbon region, often sold by weight in little bags. The best, made with real butter, tend still to be homemade.

Pairs well with

They call for a strong coffee or an afternoon tea; they sit equally well beside a glass of Setúbal Moscatel or a sweet wine.

History

A popular pastry confection rather than a convent sweet, the Areias have been associated with Cascais since at least the 19th century. Alberto Pimentel, in Sem Passar a Fronteira (1902), was already remarking on the town's fine confectionery. Tradition holds that they were born in the hands of fishing families, who made them with lard rather than butter — a humbler and longer-lasting version — which may help explain the beach-linked name, though the precise origin remains uncertain.

The first written recipe under the name "Areias de Cascais" appears in 1933, in A Cozinha Ideal by the master baker Manuel Ferreira. Over the 20th century the recipe changed and lost some quality with the spread of margarine in Portuguese bakeries, which is why the most faithful versions, made with butter and its characteristic aroma, survive chiefly in home baking.

Sources: virgiliogomes.com · tradicoesdoces.com · cozinhatradicional.com · viagens.sapo.pt

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