The story of the sweets from Riacho Doce Beach – its name allegedly derived from there – has not been properly told. However, it is an ancient tradition that combines indigenous techniques of preparation, Portuguese ingredients, and African ways of selling. For more than four generations, women like Dona Cristina and her nieces have been making traditional Northeastern sweets in rustic flour houses with clay ovens. They make cassava cake, corn cake, meringue, beijus, cornbread, pé de moleque (not the peanut version, although it borrowed the name), grude, various flavors of coconut candies, tapioca, cornbread, and other delights. Tourists come from Maceió, a 30-minute drive away, to buy the sweets by the roadside, where they are sold by the women on weekends. They also come to visit the famous beach itself, known for inspiring the novel “Riacho Doce” by José Lins do Rego.