Syrupy bakes, feast-day cookies, and Balkan sips

Desserts lean indulgent: syrup-soaked bakllava, kadaif, sheqerpare, tullumba, and the now-beloved trileçe. Feast-day ballokume—buttery cornflour cookies from Elbasan—anchors Spring’s “Summer Day” (March 14). These make a deep bench of bake-shop and home-style recipes with festival roots. To sip, start with raki (fruit brandy—most commonly grape in Albania) and çaj mali (mountain tea, Sideritis, a caffeine-free herbal infusion treasured across the country). Coffeehouse culture bridges Ottoman and Mediterranean influences, offering a natural home for sweets and small plates.