Autumn is not only a time for blankets and hot tea… Those with a sweet tooth get to enjoy special sweets around this time of year.
Panellettes, Buñuelos and hot chocolate are delicious traditional desserts that are particularly popular in Mallorca in November.
The latter is well known, but the rest deserve a thorough explanation:
Panellettes are traditional sweets of Catalonia, Valencia, the Balearic Islands and Aragon, especially many of them at the Fiesta de Castañada (1 November). The festival symbolizes the end of autumn collections and the commemoration of the dead, and at this time in Catalonia you can often find street stalls with chestnuts and sweets. Panellets are made from almond flour, sugar and eggs, often sprinkled with pine nuts or coconut flakes, and sometimes with citrus zest. These sweet, tender cakes with soft texture inside and light outside are created as part of the festive table in Catalonia. They symbolize the end of autumn, the harvest of nuts and the onset of a colder season. They are often served with baked chestnuts and sweet wine, for example, a moccasín.
Buñuelos are eaten in different regions of Spain on All Saints’ Day, but on sale these fried air-dough products, similar to doughnut dough, stay all autumn. Usually they are sprinkled with sugar powder, eaten with butter or different jams, especially delicious with bitter orange or apricot jam. Buñuelos are sold in small kiosks, where they are usually cooked.
We wish everyone a cozy and delicious autumn!
