Description
Alfajores are delicate, buttery sandwich cookies filled with luscious dulce de leche, perfect for a sweet treat or festive occasion. These traditional Latin American cookies are lightly crisp on the outside and melt-in-your-mouth tender inside, often rolled in desiccated coconut or dusted with powdered sugar for an extra touch of elegance.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookie Dough
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar, firmly packed
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
Filling and Finishes
- 1 ½ cups dulce de leche
- Desiccated coconut for rolling (optional)
- Powdered sugar for sprinkling (optional)
Instructions
- Beat the Butter: In a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer or stand mixer, beat the softened butter alone until creamy and smooth to prepare the base for the dough.
- Add Sugars and Flavorings: Add the powdered sugar, light brown sugar, cornstarch, vanilla extract, and salt to the creamed butter, then beat again until the mixture is creamy and well combined to ensure even sweetness and flavor.
- Incorporate Flour: Gradually add the all-purpose flour in about four parts, stirring gently after each addition until just combined to avoid overworking the dough and creating tough cookies.
- Chill the Dough: Divide the dough into two halves, form each into a disk shape, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 5 days, to firm up the dough making it easier to roll and cut.
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Baking Sheet: Once chilled, preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper to prevent sticking and ensure even baking.
- Roll Out Dough: Lightly flour a clean surface and roll out one disk of dough at a time to about 1/8 inch thickness for thin, delicate cookies.
- Cut Cookies: Using a round cookie cutter about 1 ¾ inches in diameter (2 inches works too), cut the dough into circles and place them on the prepared baking sheet spaced about 1 inch apart.
- Bake the Cookies: Bake in the preheated oven for 8-9 minutes, just until the edges begin to turn a light golden brown, indicating they are perfectly baked without becoming too hard.
- Cool Completely: Let the cookies cool entirely on the baking sheet to firm up and prevent breakage when removing or handling.
- Assemble the Alfajores: Spread approximately 1 ½ teaspoons of dulce de leche onto the bottom side of one cookie, then sandwich with another cookie on top to form pairs.
- Add Finishing Touches: Optionally, roll the sides of the cookie sandwiches in desiccated coconut by pressing gently so the dulce de leche sticks, or dust the tops lightly with powdered sugar for extra sweetness and decoration.
- Repeat: Repeat the rolling, cutting, baking, cooling, and assembling process with the remaining dough and filling.
Notes
- Alfajores are traditionally made with rich butter and filled with dulce de leche for a creamy, sweet center.
- For variation, roll the assembled cookies in coconut, drizzle with chocolate, or dust with powdered sugar as preferred.
- Making homemade dulce de leche requires advance preparation, ideally making it the day before to allow it to cool and thicken properly.
- Re-roll dough scraps gently to maximize yield without toughening the cookies.
- Make sure never to place dough on a hot baking sheet to avoid dough melting and irregular shapes.
- Watch closely when baking to prevent over-browning the delicate cookies.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 sandwich cookie
- Calories: 87 kcal
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 34 mg
- Fat: 5 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 1 g
- Trans Fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 9 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 14 mg
