Gizzada (or "pinch-me-round," for its crimped edge) is a Jamaican classic of Portuguese-Jewish origin: a short, crisp pastry cup filled with grated coconut cooked down in spiced sugar. Sweet, chewy and fragrant with nutmeg and ginger.

Ingredients

  • Pastry: 2 cups flour, ½ cup cold butter, ½ tsp salt, cold water
  • Filling: 1 dry coconut, grated
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tsp grated nutmeg + 1 tsp ginger
  • ½ cup water + 1 tsp vanilla

Method

  1. Make the pastry: rub the cold butter into the flour and salt until crumbly, then add cold water a little at a time to form a firm dough. Rest 20 minutes.
  2. Roll out and cut into rounds. Pinch up the edges all the way around to form little cups (that's the "pinch-me-round").
  3. For the filling, cook the grated coconut with the brown sugar, nutmeg, ginger, water and vanilla over medium heat until thick and sticky.
  4. Spoon the coconut filling into each pastry cup.
  5. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 20–25 minutes until the pastry is golden. Cool before serving.

🥥 Filling first, then pinch

Cook the coconut filling until it holds together — wet filling makes soggy pastry. The crimped edge isn't just pretty; it holds the filling in as it bakes.