Amendoados

Description: Dry cakes, with a crispy and compact dough, about 2,5 cm in diameter and weighing approximately 20 g. They have a golden-yellow color. From these small balls stands out an appetizing crown of coarsely chopped almond pieces. They are sold in 0,5 kg packages.

Region: Lisbon and Tagus Valley.

Special feature: Small dry, ball-shaped cakes of golden-yellow colour, profusely decorated and crowned with coarsely chopped almonds.

History: The history of the Almonds is lost in the memories of time. Its current «maker» — Mrs. Zélia Pereira — learned the recipe from her mother-in-law, who in turn learned it from her mother and grandmother. Only through this description — proven by the existing handwritten cookbooks — can it be seen that the manufacture of Almonds dates back to at least the beginning of the nineteenth cen-tury in this region.

Use: Much appreciated at any time of the day, Almonds are particu-larly consumed in the morning and afternoon intermediate meals.

Know-how: The butter is beaten with the sugar and flour. After much beating, small balls are tended, which are wrapped in egg white in order to properly "hold" the almond. All operations are done manually, including the almond peeling. Almonds are cooked in a hot oven, and the temperature of the oven is of the utmost importance, both for the color of the cake and for its friability and duration.

Source: Produtos Tradicionais Portugueses, Lisboa, DGDR, 2001