Medialunas, the Pastry that Takes a Day to Make

Graciela Mills, Editor-in-Chief

September 5, 2025

Freshly baked medialunas, a common Argentine pastry usually accompanied with ham and cheese.

Imagine this: a warm, fluffy croissant coated with a sweet honey glaze, fresh out of the oven. The heavenly caramelized pastry I’ve just described to you is known as a medialuna (half moon in Spanish), and is a common breakfast item in Argentina where my family is from. Unfortunately, as you might have guessed, they aren’t sold in American bakeries.

As such, I was faced with a decision: to have medialunas or not have medialunas. Needless to say, I chose the former. So, I rolled up my sleeves and rolled out the flour, sugar, and a how-to-make-medialunas video on youtube, which is really all you need if you want to make these Argentine goodies. And butter. Lots and lots of butter.

I remember this first time I made medialunas very vividly. I was ecstatic. That was, of course, until I realized that the process of making medialunas takes a little over a day. But, like a desperate salmon swimming against the current, I refused to give up.

First, I made the dough and the empaste (essentially a mixture of butter and flour) and left them in the fridge to rest the entire night. Then, I rose at the crack of dawn of 6 AM and put myself to work, starting with combining the dough and the empaste. Then, in intervals of 1 hour, I would take out the dough from the fridge, roll it out, beat it, fold it, and put it back in the fridge. Needless to say, it was a tiring process. After repeating this part three times, I rolled out the dough again, this time cutting the dough into triangles. Then, yes you guessed it, I put the dough triangles back in the fridge for an hour. Once taken out of the fridge, these triangles would be hand formed into their classic medialuna shape and left outside for about an hour or two to rise. Finally, after this last step, they are coating with a bit of raw egg and put in the oven. For the final touch, an almíbar (or sugar, honey, and boiled water) is made to glaze over the golden brown delicacies.

Today, I consider myself somewhat of a medialuna expert, and have made medialunas for my friends and family on multiple occasions. When asked about my medialunas, Alba Belenguer ‘26 affirmed that they are “delicious and authentic” and “bring a taste of Argentina to California.” According to Madi Hammer ‘26, you “can honestly taste the love and care that goes into them. I look forward to them every time Gracie decides to put the time into them, and they’ve honestly become one of my favorite treats!” Personally, medialunas have become something that connects me not only to my culture, but also to the people I share these sweet treats with.

About the Contributor

Graciela Mills, Editor-in-Chief

Graciela Mills is a Senior at Mayfield Senior School. This is her second year as a writer for The Mayfield Crier, now as the co-editor-in-chief, covering topics she is passionate about, such as languages and culture, Bioscience, and the environment. She has three years of experience writing in the Creative Writing Conservatory where she has won multiple honorable mentions from the Scholastic Arts & Writing competition. Outside of school, she enjoys taking walks with her dog, learning japanese, reading, drawing, and medialunas, and Messi.