Alfajores
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!
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!
Notes
If you are able to find dulce de leche in a grocery store or bodega near you, you can use that to fill the cookies. However if you can't find it, or prefer to make your own, use 1 can of sweetened condensed milk and follow the instructions in the blog post.