Broas de mel are one of my favorite Portuguese cookies. They're dense, sweet and satisfying... and simple enough to recreate at home with this easy recipe!
If you love these cookies, try these other Portuguese recipes for pastel de nata and Lisbon-style bifana.
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Introduction
My first encounter with broas de mel was born of a hunger emergency. I was in Sintra, a magical town in the hills north of Lisbon. After climbing up a mountain and exploring a fairytale castle, I was in serious need of sustenance. The only place selling food was a crowded café with sad-looking, pre-packaged sandwiches and not much else. In desperation, I grabbed a bag of oval-shaped, sugar-coated cookies that seemed like a promising snack for my descent to the town center.
I started down the trail, opened the bag, bit into a broa—and literally stopped in my tracks. It was an explosion of honey and cinnamon--a full mouthful of the best graham-cracker pie crust you can imagine. It was all I could do not to eat the whole bag before I made it down the mountain. Ever since, I've been obsessed with broas de mel, and with figuring out what makes them so amazing.
I developed this recipe to recreate these cookies at home, with minimal ingredients and effort. It requires hardly any prep time and just a few minutes in the oven. Enjoy!
Ingredients
The ingredients list for any broas de mel recipe isn't long, but there are a few key items that make all the difference. I like to think these cookies are healthier than average; half the sweetness comes from honey, and they're made with olive oil instead of butter.
- Honey: You'll want to use the best kind you can get your hands on. It's one of the main elements of flavor, so the better the honey, the better your broas will taste.
- Sugar: The kind of sugar you use matters. Most Portuguese recipes call for açucar amarelo (yellow sugar), which you might say is halfway between white sugar and brown sugar. If you don't have access to it, light brown sugar is your best bet.
- Olive Oil: This fat is used instead of butter to make the cookies. It adds a great flavor and lots of healthy fats!
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Broas de Mel
If you’d like to see the full ingredients and instructions, scroll to the bottom of the post for the printable recipe card.
- Pour the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl and stir until well combined. (image 1)
- Heat the honey and olive oil in a pan until warm but not hot. (image 2)
- Beat two of the eggs in a bowl, then add the oil and honey mixture and mix well to combine. (image 3)
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. (image 4)
- Mix to form a uniform, slightly wet dough, making sure all the flour has been picked up from the bowl. (image 5)
- Separate into 24 equal pieces, then roll each one into a ball or oval shape. (image 6)
- Brush each broa with beaten egg. (image 7)
- Roll the broas in sugar if desired. (image 8)
- Bake on a parchment-lined sheet at 350°F (180°C) about an inch apart for 10-12 minutes. (image 9)
- Let the cookies cool, then serve and enjoy! (image 10)
Recipe FAQs
Broas de mel are a typical Portuguese cookie, commonly eaten around holidays like Christmas or Easter. They can vary greatly in texture, shape and size, so don't worry if your cookies look a little different!
Broas de mel de cana roughly translates to "sugar and honey bread" in English. This name refers to the traditional Portuguese honey cookies that are oval shaped and coated in sugar.
Mel means honey, but the word broas is more complex, as it can refer to many different foods in Portugal. The most common is broa de milho, a type of bread made with cornmeal, sometimes combined with wheat flour as well. It's savory, but in its purest form it takes on a slight sweetness from the corn. Broa de milho is a traditional accompaniment for caldo verde, grilled sardines, and many other classic dishes.
Broas can also refer to any number of sweet confections, which usually have a certain bread-like consistency. There are broas de noz (walnuts), broas de canela (cinnamon), broas de batata doce (sweet potato) and many more. But my all-time favorite kind is broas de mel: delicious little honey-flavored gems that never fail to satisfy a sugar craving.
Serve
These Portuguese honey cookies are a favorite treat at holidays like Christmas and Easter, but can be enjoyed anytime! Enjoy them as is or with a café con leche for a refreshing afternoon pick-me-up.
Expert Tips
- Use the best quality honey you can find. It will make a big difference in the final flavor of the cookies.
- Broas de mel are usually either round or diamond-shaped—but feel free to get creative! You can decorate with granulated sugar, raw sugar or even nuts if you like. Sometimes dried fruits and nuts are also added into the dough!
- I find it's easier to use your hands to combine the wet and dry ingredients into a dough, but feel free to use a stand mixer if you want.
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Broas de Mel Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup honey
- ¾ cup olive oil
- 3 eggs
- granulated or raw sugar for decoration (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Mix the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and salt in a large bowl until combined.
- Heat honey and oil in a small saucepan over low heat until warm, but not hot.
- Beat two eggs in a medium bowl, then add the honey and oil mixture and mix to combine.
- Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until you have a uniform, slightly wet dough. Divide into 24 equally sized pieces, and form into small spheres or ovals.
- Beat the remaining egg in a small bowl. Brush the top of each broa lightly with egg, then roll in granulated or raw sugar if desired.
- Place on the parchment-lined baking sheet, spaced at least an inch apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown—watch closely to make sure they don't burn.
- Let the broas cool, then enjoy!
Notes
- Use the best quality honey you can; it really makes a difference in the final flavor.
- Broas de mel are usually either round or diamond-shaped—but feel free to get creative! You can decorate with granulated sugar, raw sugar or even nuts if you like. Sometimes dried fruits and nuts are also added into the dough!
- I find it's easier to use your hands to combine the wet and dry ingredients into a dough, but feel free to use a stand mixer if you want.
Nutrition
Photography by Giulia Verdinelli
Simon
I have recently discovered these in a Portuguese bakery in my new home town of Plymouth here in the UK and have become addicted to them! Their version is very dark brown, not too sweet, and with sliced almonds on top - they go perfectly with coffee.
They also seem to have some other spice in there which I can't identify, I will ask next time I am there.
I am wondering if your recipe would freeze well?
Caryn Davies
These look great. We were supposed to be going to Madeira this but COVID put paid to that so will definitely be making these. Please could someone help me by putting the recipe into grams?