Queijadas de Sintra

The queijada de Sintra is a small tart with a thin pastry, made only with flour and salt, that becomes crisp in the oven. The filling combines fresh cheese, sugar, egg yolks, a little flour and cinnamon. After baking, the crust turns golden and the filling is firm yet soft.

The Câmara Municipal de Sintra presents the queijada as probably the oldest sweet in the local gastronomy, with origins attributed to the 13th century, during the reign of D. Sancho II. According to the Câmara, until the mid-18th century queijadas were made at home and were even used to pay the foro, a kind of rent owed to the landowners. Later, they began to be produced in queijada bakeries in the town.

Larger-scale production began in the 18th century, and some of the houses that make queijadas in Sintra have more than a century of history. The arrival of the train at the end of the 19th century changed visitors' routes and brought the queijadas closer to the town center and the Palácio Nacional.

The sweet also appears in Portuguese literature. The queijadas of Sintra are mentioned in Os Maias, a novel by Eça de Queirós from the 19th century, and in texts by Ramalho Ortigão, linked to outings to Sintra.

They are sold individually or in small paper packets. They are eaten at room temperature, with the hands, while strolling through the town or with a coffee.