Christmas has officially arrived in Lanzarote! Talk a walk through any market, visit any supermarket or gaze into the window of any bakery, and you’ll see a very special variety of sweets that locals crave during the holidays.
In addition to the elaborate lighting displays and the traditional Belenes (Nativity scenes), there are lots of traditional festive sweets, biscuits and desserts to enjoy – give in to your sweet tooth and try out some of these delights.
Turrón
Moorish in origin, these delicious candy bars are really popular at Christmastime. There are many different kinds of turrón and you will see shelves and displays of them in any Spanish supermarket leading up to Christmas Day.
Don’t miss out on the Jijona (Xixona) or Alicante varieties. The hard Alicante (turrón duro) is like crunchy almond nougat covered in sugar paper. Jijona (turrón blando) is a ground almond paste softened by the addition of olive oil, and has a smooth consistency similar to taffy.
There are a wealth of other varieties including chocolate, raisins with rum, whiskey, truffles, coffee, fruits, etc.
Polvorón
Polvorónes are shortbread cookies traditionally made with flour, sugar, milk and nuts, they are also available in a variety of flavors (vanilla, cinnamon, lemon, etc).
Served with a dusting of icing sugar polvorónes have a subtle flavor and melt-in-your-mouth, hence their Spanish name of “powdery cake”. One bite and you’ll understand why the recipe hasn’t changed for centuries!
Marzipan sweets
If you like marzipan, you’re going to love these! A pasty blend of almonds, egg yolk, and sugar, Marzipan is always one of the most popular Spanish Christmas sweets at the table. Shaped creatively into figurines you will see these in bakery windows, making them hard to resist.
