My family is from Cyprus, the land of citrus orchards, almond blossoms, and miles and miles of vineyards. I’ve grown up eating Cypriot treats, some of them more obscure than others (see #4). Below are a series of sweet delights you may not have encountered before. If you’re ever in Cyprus, make sure to hunt some down!

1. Candied orange peel preserved in syrup. Not as bitter as you’d imagine.

2. This is soutzoukos, a sweet sausage of sorts, made of thickened grape juice.

3. These are loukoumades, Greek honey puffs served with cinnamon.

4. These are trimithopites: traditional, brittle cookies studded with trimithia*.

5. Wedding sweets! Chewy almond cake and sugared almonds. Traditionally, girls put the sugared almonds under their pillow… in order to dream of their future husband.

* You know something is old-school when you can’t find a proper reference online! My great aunt makes trimithopites, which is why I know what they are. Trimithopita means ‘pie made from trimithia’. Trimithia are crunchy peppercorn-like balls which are baked into the already brittle cookie, giving it an extra crunch. I have no idea how my great aunt manages to eat these, all dentures considered.