Secret Nun Cookies In Madrid: How To Find These Tasty Treats

Spoiler alert, the “secret” nun cookies in Madrid are not really a secret anymore. When Caleb and I were waiting for the nuns to buzz us in to buy our own, there was literally a guided tour standing outside, and the guide was telling a huge group about the cookies behind the doors.

But that doesn’t mean that they’re easy to find! We found that the cookies were hiding in plain sight, and Caleb and I wandered around for a looooong time before finally finding the door with the sign. In this short guide, we’ll give you everything you need to know so you spend less time wandering and more time eating.

Okay, that was dark, and you didn’t need to know it. But it’s interesting, no?

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Good thing cookies are a much less sinister use for the device these days.

• This Airbnb is one of our FAVORITE stays in Madrid (awesome host and AMAZING central location), and it’s right across the street, so you can do what we did and take your cookies right on back, make some (free) coffee and enter bliss.

Thank us later.

Getting To The Monastery: Finding The Cookies

You’ve used Google Maps before, which means you’ve already fought half the battle of getting your hungry mouths filled with cookies lovingly baked by nuns you can’t see. 

Simply route to “Corpus Christi Monastery” in your Google Maps, which is in the Plaza del Conde de Miranda and just to the back left side of the Mercado de San Miguel if you’re walking towards the Monastery. 

Once you’re in the main plaza, things get a little confusing unless you happen to time it correctly and run into a tour standing outside the door, which makes things easier for you, as we did. If you’re not that lucky, find the HUGE brown door with a square pattern that looks like the photo below.

It will also have a sign that says “Venta De Dulces,” as you can see in the photo, with the hours that the cookie-selling shenanigans take place.

After reading a ton of articles to figure out how to find the cookies during our 4-day stay, everyone seemed to say that you have to press the “monjas” button (this means nuns in Spanish) on the intercom and then wait for them to answer. From there, you ask the nuns if they have cookies today, and they will let you in if they do.

However, that is not how it worked for us. We simply pressed the “monjas” button and were immediately buzzed in without talking to anyone. I think that, as long as you go during the hours listed on the door sign, you can just get buzzed in with the button. 

Buying and Paying for the Cookies

Once you are inside, simply follow the signs for the “torno,” which will have you walk through a small courtyard with yellow walls and into another heft, game-of-thrones-looking brown door that will probably be open.

Don’t worry about getting lost or missing it, it’s literally like one turn. I know Google Maps has made us all directionally challenged, but we promise you can’t mess this one up. 

Chances are that there will be other people inside buying cookies. So, if you’re thinking that you’re going to have this whole “hidden gem experience” totally alone, you’re probably gonna be sad. Sorry to burst your sugar-coated bubble.

Don’t worry, the cookies are WORTH IT, though.

Once you walk into the main room, you will see the torno (which kinda looks like a lazy susan for my American friends)

Approach the torno and then use the menu to your right that has the offerings in both Spanish and English with prices for 1kg or ½ kg.

Then, tell the nuns which cookies you want and what weight (kilo for 1 kg or medio kilo ½ kg) and wait for your bag of cookies to appear in the torno. Now, DO NOT make the mistake we did, and take the cookies before paying. NO, NO, NO. 

Put your money right beside the cookies, and the nuns will turn the torno back around to give you change, then turn the cookies back to you again. Even if you don’t need to change, make sure to do this. Remember, these are cloistered nuns, so you can’t see them, and doing it this way ensures you’re not cheating the nuns out and running away with their cookies.

Although…who would cheat lovely cooking-baking-nuns out of a few bucks? Maybe we don’t want that question answered. 

BAM- now you get to leave with your freshly baked cookies and eat them every single day, multiple times per day because you had to buy ½ kg at the bare minimum, which is A LOT OF cookies for just two people over the course of a few days.

Or maybe that’s just how it worked for Caleb and me, and we’re not mad about it because calories don’t count on vacation, right?

I will say this: we can STRONGLY recommend the sherry-flavored cookies, which melted in our mouths and had a hint of lemon that was just *chef’s kiss.*

Can we also appreciate the irony of buying boozy cookies from Nuns? I love it.

Woo-hoo – that’s a wrap ya’ll! When you’re in Madrid, you have to try these cookies because they are fun to find and so simple and delicious! If you have any questions, just let us know in the comments and we’ll help you out!

After you eat your cookies, though, you need to experience the real food that makes Madrid so worth visiting: the tapas! For our fellow foodie couples, we put together this ultimate guide to the best tapas bars in Madrid. After going to the city almost 10 times, we promise you we know where to eat and where to go!

Other Madrid Posts for Foodies

• Tapas Tips: The Ultimate Guide
• Taberna La Concha: The Best Tapas Bar for Foodies
• Taberna El Sur: Where to Eat for an Epic Meal
• Calle Ponzano Madrid, 7 Best Tapas Bars:
• 10 Best Calle Cava Baja Tapas Bars