These are the finest and cheapest pastries we've bought lately, and they're locally made.

With so many products on the shelves of supermarkets, stores, and bakeries, it can sometimes be hard to choose a (good) product. Retailers tempt us with prices, and manufacturers with attractive designs, which, of course, say absolutely nothing about the product's quality. That's why we're so glad that we're increasingly resisting both, reaching for products that are shyly waiting for curious people like us.

On one of our visits to a ubiquitous retail chain, that's how we discovered the finest pastries we've bought in a long time. You see, ever since pastries and similar products went commercial, we've been making them ourselves for quite a while. But a long day, a lack of ingredients at home, unexpected guests, and the need to shop made it a necessity.

We first reached for the Kiflići, or rather, the tea pastries with carob and walnuts, and then for the Coconut Kiflići. In a 225 g package, in a plastic container with a lid like a food delivery container, the pastries are neatly stacked on top of each other. There are 24 of them per package. The ones with carob and walnuts are flaky, sweet just enough, and the chocolate the tips of these pastries are "dipped" in only enhances the fantastic flavor of the carob.

The coconut pastries also melt in your mouth. But don't expect a sweet bombshell when you bite into them; instead, you'll get a delicate tea pastry where the coconut flavor only comes through afterward. Admittedly, they might be a bit too delicate, but after you've eaten a few, it becomes clear how spot-on the recipe is, so we're quite sure you'll enjoy both of them with your favorite cup of tea.

A couple of these pastries from each variety were enough to remind us that we grew up on cookies just like these, so the motto of Fanole, the company from Kloštar Ivanić that produces them, rings true. Yes, these are flavors that capture a "love for tradition." Some might find them boring because they aren't overly sweet or flavored, but a cookie is a category all its own, and its charm is precisely in how it melts in your mouth, letting the ingredients it's made from shine more with each new bite.

What's even better, a pack of carob pastries costs €2.49, and the coconut ones are €2.35, which is significantly cheaper than commercial, and often overly sweet, cookies.

Content taken from the Dobra Hrana portal.