Maltese Desserts: Sweets to Try and Where to Find Them

What Maltese desserts are actually like

The sweet repertoire is short and built on plain pantry ingredients. Almonds, sugar, egg white, dates, honey and lemon juice do most of the work, and the results are chewy, crisp or syrupy rather than creamy. Expect small biscuits and pastries rather than plated puddings, and expect to eat them with coffee.

Sicily is close enough that some of the most familiar sweets eaten in Malta are Italian in origin, cassata and cannoli among them, while other recipes have been given a local twist. That mix is useful to know when you are choosing what to order: a pastry counter may hold both Italian classics and distinctly Maltese biscuits in the same case. For the savoury equivalents, the best restaurants in Malta lean on the same short, ingredient-led approach, and the Malta Street Food guide covers the everyday snacks.

Imqaret: deep-fried date pastries

Imqaret are deep-fried pastries filled with dates, and the filling is spiced and fruity rather than plain sweet. The pastry is thin and crisp at the edges, and the date centre stays dense and sticky, which makes them heavier than they look. They are counted among the most loved traditional Maltese sweets.

The same source traces the pastry to the Maghreb, which explains the spice profile: warm, slightly aromatic and closer to North African date sweets than to a British fruit pie. Order one first to judge the size, because the oil and density make a second sitting heavy. If you are pacing yourself through a day of Malta street food, imqaret work best as a single shared portion.

Biskuttini tal-Lewz: the almond cookies

Biskuttini tal-Lewz are small almond cookies made from ground almonds, sugar, lemon juice and zest, egg white and vanilla, topped with a whole blanched almond. The dough comes together in about a minute, the cookies bake at 170°C for 10 to 12 minutes, and they finish crisp outside with a slight chew inside. Bake them longer if you want them drier and crunchier.

Because they contain no flour or butter, these cookies are naturally gluten-free and dairy-free, which makes them a reliable option for mixed groups. Traditionally they are baked on rice paper, which is available in Italian and Maltese delis and specialty food stores, though parchment paper works as a substitute. They keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days, so they travel better than cream-filled pastries.

They are described as a traditional Maltese treat prepared for Christmas, Easter and other holidays rather than as an everyday bake. That is the timing the recipe attaches to them, so treat them as a festive sweet rather than a summer snack.

Qagħaq tal-Għasel: the honey rings

Qagħaq tal-Għasel are ring-shaped sweets built on honey, which puts them in a different texture category from the almond biscuits. They appear on a list of festive treats that Maltese households look forward to over Christmas, sitting alongside sweets such as pudina, almond pastini and baci balls. Ask at a confectioner for them.

Honey-based sweets keep well and are easy to carry, which makes them a sensible edible souvenir if you are buying at the end of a trip. They are also sweet enough that a small ring goes a long way with coffee.

Almond pastini and pasta frolla from the sweet counter

At a sweet counter you can buy a mixed bag by weight rather than a single packaged item. Almond pastini is one name to look for among festive treats, and the mixed approach lets you compare textures before committing to a larger box as a gift.

Buying loose is also the practical route for a souvenir: you choose the quantity, the sweets are already portioned, and a mixed bag suits people who want to try several things rather than one. Ask for a mix of the almond and honey items and keep the bag cool and flat on the way home.

Christmas sweets: pudina, imbuljuta, Christmas log and panettone

The Maltese Christmas table is where the sweet list widens considerably. Pudina, a Christmas log, panettone, baci balls and Oreo balls all appear among the treats Maltese households look forward to, alongside the almond and honey sweets already covered.

Imbuljuta is the outlier: it appears as a warm drink among the festive treats rather than a pastry, so it is something to try rather than to buy as a gift. If you are visiting in December, the sweet counters and bakeries change noticeably, so it is worth looking before you settle on what to bring home.

What to bring back as an edible souvenir

The sweets that travel best are the dry ones: almond cookies, honey rings and almond slices. Cream-filled pastries and anything with fresh fruit or cream should be eaten on the trip rather than packed. Cookies kept in an airtight container last a few days in the fridge, which is enough for a short flight home.

If you want something more substantial for a food-minded friend, the savoury side of the islands is easier to explain and easier to transport. Maltese bread and qassatat are the everyday staples, and the best restaurants in Malta show how far a short ingredient list can go.

How to eat them well

Portion size is the main thing to get right. These sweets are dense and sweet, so buying two or three small items from a counter beats committing to a box, and sharing a portion lets you try more without overload. Freshness varies by shop: a biscuit that snaps is a better sign than one that bends.

The almond warning is worth stating plainly. Many of the sweets described here are built on ground almonds or whole blanched almonds, including Biskuttini tal-Lewz and almond pastini, so anyone with a nut allergy should ask before buying from a mixed counter where items sit close together. A Malta food tour is one way to try several sweets in a guided sequence while someone else explains what is in each one.

Which Maltese sweet should you try first?

Start with imqaret if you want the most distinctly Maltese experience, then move to Biskuttini tal-Lewz if you prefer something crisp with coffee. Buy honey rings and almond slices when you want a gift, and keep the cream-filled items for eating on the spot.