Turrón de doña Pepa

This anise cookie coated with fruit syrup confection has become a national icon. There are varying stories about its origin. One tells that doña Pepa, a black slave named doña Josefa Marmanill, received the recipe directly from the saints in her dreams. It is the traditional holiday pastry eaten throughout the ‘purple month’ of October when hundreds of Limeños wearing purple robes parade through the streets to celebrate the feast of el Señor de los Milagros. One version is