Some sweets belong to a place.
Areias de Cascais are one of them.
Small, round, almost fragile.
Flour, butter and sugar.
Nothing more than the essential.
Their name comes from the final gesture. Once baked, they are rolled in sugar and coated with a fine layer that resembles the pale sand of Cascais beaches.
Areias de Cascais.
It is said they first appeared in the kitchens of Cascais in the late nineteenth century, when the town was still largely a community of fishermen and houses facing the sea. The recipe was simple, made with ingredients every kitchen already had, and it quickly passed from home to home before finding its way into the local pastry shops.
Over time, they became part of the town’s identity.
One of the earliest written versions of the recipe appears in the book “A Cozinha Ideal” by Manuel Ferreira, published in 1933. By then, Areias were already part of Cascais’ culinary memory. Each household had its own version. Some made them with butter, others with lard. Almost all guarded their small secret.
The result is always the same.
A delicate biscuit that almost dissolves before it finishes.
In Cascais they are still sold in small paper bags.
Eaten slowly.
One after another.
Just a few minutes from Dream Guincho, they remain one of those small pleasures worth discovering.
At Dream Guincho, we also make them.
Sofia follows the traditional recipe with complete respect for the original. No inventions. No shortcuts. As with many things in Portuguese cooking, the secret lies simply in good ingredients and the right gesture.
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