Alfajores are delicious little bites of crumbly buttery cookies that sandwich a creamy and rich dulce de leche! Traditionally found in lots of countries in Latin America, this recipe will transport you there from the comfort of your own home!
I enjoyed Alfajores so much when I lived in Peru that I decided to create my own recipe for them! The cookie is the most tender and crumbly cookie I’ve ever made and the dulce de leche…..is utter perfection. So let’s get into it!!
Looking for more sandwich cookies? Try my:
This Alfajores recipe is pretty straightforward so I’ll keep this section short–below you’ll find a few extra tips that I think will be helpful for you to make the best Alfajores!
If you’d rather watch a video for instructions watch here!
- Don’t overmix the dough! We want a soft and short cookie so mix the ingredients just until they’re mixed.
- Split the dough into two equal portions, wrap with plastic wrap and flatten them a bit so that they chill in the refrigerator better.
- If you don’t want to make your own dulce de leche you can likely find a can or jar at your local hispanic food market. However if you want to make your own…
To make the Dulce de Leche
I followed John Kanell’s youtube video on How to Make Dulce de Leche from a can of sweetened condensed milk and it worked well! It involves simmering the can of sweetened condensed milk for roughly four hours so that it caramelizes and creates that gorgeous milky caramel. Just be sure to:
- Buy a completely sealed can, not the pop top kind with the hook for your finger.
- Remove the paper label from the can before submerging in water.
- Keep the water levels at least 1-2 inches over the top of the can.
- Make sure your water is actually simmering–I made the mistake of turning the water too low the first time and it didn’t caramelize properly. Save yourself the frustration and learn from my mistake!
- Try not to eat it all because it’s going to be difficult! I may be speaking from personal experience here…
If you make these Alfajores, be sure to write me a comment here and let me know how they turned out!
Happy Baking!
Alfajores
Ingredients
For the Alfajor Cookies
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter 1 1/2 sticks, room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large egg yolks room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup cornstarch
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
For the Dulce de Leche
- 1 can dulce de leche OR 1 can sweetened condensed milk (see notes)
Instructions
For the Alfajor Cookies
- If you are making your dulce de leche from scratch, it would be wise to prepare it the day before you make the cookies.
- In a medium bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together 3/4 cups (1 1/2 sticks) of room temperature unsalted butter with 1/2 cup of granulated sugar for about 1-2 minutes.
- Add 3 large room temperature egg yolks and 2 tsp of vanilla extract and mix again until combined.
- In a separate bowl, combine 1 cup of corn starch, 1 1/4 cups of all purpose flour, 1 tsp of baking powder and 1/4 tsp of salt and whisk until incorporated.
- Add the dry mixture to the wet batter and mix until combined making sure not to overmix.
- Divide the dough into two equal parts and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Towards the end of the hour preheat the oven to 350°F (roughly 180°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator, unwrap it and roll it out to about 1/4 inch thick.
- Place the cookies on your lined baking sheet and bake for a total of 10 minutes, rotating the pan at the 5 minute mark.
- Once baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
For the Assembly
- Pipe dulce de leche onto cooled alfajor cookies, sandwich with another alfajor cookie on top, dust with powdered sugar and enjoy!
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