'Dead Men's Bones' cookies are just one way that the island nation remembers the dead. Check out the recipe here.https://t.co/KrD4Fmkgce
— Atlas Obscura (@atlasobscura) October 12, 2022
Malta, the island nation in the Mediterranean, marks November as the Month of the Dead. One of the traditions associated with the Month of the Dead is a cookie called Għadam tal-mejtin, which translates to Dead Man's Bones. Thanks to the influence of Halloween, these cookies start showing up in Maltese bakeries in late October.
They are more than bone-shaped. The outer layer is a sweet vanilla cookie with a consistency that you're used to in regular shortbread cookies. Inside, however, is the "marrow." It is a chewy yet crumbly dough made of almond flour with spices like cardamom and cloves. The baked cookie is often decorated with icing. Għadam tal-mejtin is more than a treat; it serves as a memento mori, a reminder that we are all destined to die one day. That reminder spurs people to remember and honor those that have gone on before them.
That said, who wouldn't want to try one of these cookies? You'll find the story of Għadam tal-mejtin, plus a recipe so that you can make your own, at Atlas Obscura.