Pastéis de Nata (Portuguese Custard Tarts)

Golden, flaky, custard-filled bites of heaven. Sweet enough to ruin your diet, small enough that you’ll convince yourself it doesn’t count.

Pastéis de Nata weren’t invented by some Michelin-star hipster chef. They were born in a Lisbon monastery, baked up by monks who clearly had too much time and too many egg yolks on their hands (the whites were used to starch clothes). When the monastery ran out of money, the monks did what any smart hustler would do: they sold their tarts to the local bakery.

Fast forward a couple centuries and you’ve got tourists lining up outside Pastéis de Belém like it’s a holy pilgrimage. But here’s the truth: you don’t need to fly to Portugal to get your fix. With puff pastry from the store and a hot oven, you can whip up your own batch that’s dangerously close to the real thing.