# Maltese Advent Recipes: Warm Snacks, Sweets and Christmas Preparation Source: https://www.malteserecipes.com/collections/maltese-advent-food/ Plan food for Advent visits and the weeks before Christmas: roasted chestnuts, homemade baci, warming drinks, and festive bakes to prepare ahead. Advent gives you time to enjoy a small seasonal bake, welcome visitors, and prepare for Christmas in stages. This collection focuses on those weeks of cooking and sharing; for the meal itself, use our [Maltese Christmas food guide](/collections/maltese-christmas-food/). [Visit Gozo's Christmas overview](https://visitgozo.com/2025/12/09/christmas-in-gozo/) describes the island's Advent celebrations and a festive table that includes treacle rings, date pastries, roasted chestnuts, and fruit cake. The recipes here turn those seasonal flavours into practical home cooking plans. Baci and almond macaroons are additional suggestions for a small sweet platter. ## Choose a Project That Fits the Day For a short evening visit, roast [fresh chestnuts](/recipes/qastan-mixwi/) shortly before serving. Score every shell before they go in the oven and peel once cool enough to handle. A pot of [Maltese coffee](/recipes/maltese-coffee/) completes a simple table. For a session with shaping and decorating, make [homemade baci](/recipes/homemade-baci/). The centres and coating need separate chilling periods, so plan something else to do while they set. Keep the finished sweets refrigerated. For a longer baking afternoon, choose either [treacle rings](/recipes/qaghaq-tal-ghasel/) or [mince pies](/recipes/christmas-mince-pies/). Making and cooling the filling is part of the job, even though it happens before the pastry reaches the oven. ## Prepare for Christmas in Stages Start by choosing the sweet you want to serve, then work backwards through soaking, cooling, and chilling. The [fruit cake](/recipes/christmas-fruit-cake/) can be baked the day before serving, or frozen in slices for longer preparation. The [Christmas log](/recipes/tronchetto-tal-milied/) needs at least four hours to firm up in the fridge. For homemade gifts, choose a recipe whose handling suits the journey and tell the recipient how to keep it. Chocolate-coated baci need refrigeration; roasted chestnuts are best enjoyed freshly warm. Use the individual recipe's instructions when planning storage. For autumn cooking before Advent, explore [All Saints, All Souls, and Halloween recipes](/collections/maltese-all-saints-halloween-food/). Browse [desserts and sweets](/collections/maltese-desserts-and-sweets/) for more small bakes and celebration cakes. ## Small treats for an Advent visit Roast a small batch of fresh chestnuts to peel and eat warm, or prepare chocolate-coated baci that set in the fridge. Almond macaroons are another manageable bake for a coffee table. Choose one or two rather than making every sweet at once. - [Qastan Mixwi (Roasted Chestnuts)](https://www.malteserecipes.com/recipes/qastan-mixwi/): Fresh chestnuts roasted until tender, with split shells and a gently sweet centre. A simple warm snack for autumn evenings and Advent gatherings. - [Homemade Baci (Chocolate and Hazelnut Sweets)](https://www.malteserecipes.com/recipes/homemade-baci/): Small chocolate-coated hazelnut sweets with a biscuit-and-cocoa centre. An oven-free treat for Advent visits, Christmas platters, or homemade gifts. - [Biskuttini tal-Lewż (Maltese Almond Macaroons)](https://www.malteserecipes.com/recipes/biskuttini-tal-lewz/): Traditional Maltese almond macaroons with a crisp outside and chewy centre. Simple, fragrant, and often served for celebrations. ## Warm drinks after an evening out Maltese coffee is a quick spiced drink. Imbuljuta needs dried chestnuts soaked the night before and simmered until tender. Use its own recipe rather than putting roasted chestnuts straight into the dried-chestnut cooking schedule. - [Kafè Malti (Maltese Spiced Coffee)](https://www.malteserecipes.com/recipes/maltese-coffee/): Strong, dark coffee gently spiced with cloves and citrus. A Mediterranean blend of Italian espresso culture and North African spice traditions. - [Imbuljuta tal-Qastan (Maltese Chestnut and Chocolate Drink)](https://www.malteserecipes.com/recipes/imbuljuta-tal-qastan/): A warming Maltese drink of tender chestnuts, cocoa, dark chocolate, orange, and cinnamon. Start the dried chestnuts soaking the night before. ## A pastry afternoon Treacle rings and mince pies both need a cooked, cooled filling before shaping. Date-filled Imqaret add a fried pastry option. Read the full method first and choose a project whose cooking and cooling stages fit the afternoon. - [Qagħaq tal-Għasel (Maltese Honey Rings)](https://www.malteserecipes.com/recipes/qaghaq-tal-ghasel/): Traditional Maltese honey rings filled with treacle, citrus, spices, and semolina. A fragrant festive sweet with a rich, sticky centre. - [Christmas Mince Pies (Spiced Fruit Pastries)](https://www.malteserecipes.com/recipes/christmas-mince-pies/): Buttery Christmas mince pies with a homemade apple, dried-fruit, citrus, and spice filling. Makes 12 small pies with pastry star tops. - [Imqaret (Maltese Date Pastries)](https://www.malteserecipes.com/recipes/imqaret/): Traditional Maltese fried date pastries scented with citrus, aniseed, and warm spice. Crisp outside, sticky and aromatic inside. ## Prepare a Christmas centrepiece Fruit cake needs an overnight soak, a slow bake, and complete cooling. The biscuit-and-chocolate log leaves the oven free but needs chilling. Follow each recipe's short make-ahead or freezing advice instead of assuming every festive sweet keeps for weeks. - [Christmas Fruit Cake (Dried Fruit, Almonds and Citrus)](https://www.malteserecipes.com/recipes/christmas-fruit-cake/): A rich Christmas fruit cake with raisins, sultanas, currants, cherries, almonds, and citrus. Soak the fruit overnight and bake gently in a lined tin. - [Tronchetto tal-Milied (Maltese Christmas Log)](https://www.malteserecipes.com/recipes/tronchetto-tal-milied/): A no-bake Maltese Christmas log made with crushed biscuits, nuts, chocolate, condensed milk, and candied fruit.