Alfajores (Argentine Dulce de Leche Sandwich Cookies)
Alfajores began as a medieval Andalusian sweet brought to Spain by Moorish confectioners, but the round, pillowy sandwich-cookie form that people recognize today was shaped in 19th-century Argentina and Uruguay, where the recipe drifted far enough from its origins to become its own thing. The defining characteristic is the dough: heavily weighted with cornstarch relative to flour, it produces a cookie that does not snap or crunch but dissolves the moment it meets the tongue. Two rounds sandwich a thick layer of dulce de leche - slow-cooked milk caramel with a toffee depth and a consistency somewhere between fudge and butter - and the cookie itself is deliberately made plain so it does not compete with the filling. Rolling the exposed dulce de leche along the edge in shredded coconut adds a dry, fibrous contrast to the sticky center. A dusting of powdered sugar on top provides a brief, clean sweetness before the caramel asserts itself with each bite. In Buenos Aires, bakery windows stack them into towers, and the debate over which brand makes the best alfajor is treated with the seriousness Argentines reserve for football and steak.
Adjust Servings
Instructions
- 1
Cream butter and sugar, then mix in yolks and vanilla.
- 2
Add flour and cornstarch to form a soft dough.
- 3
Roll dough to 0.7 cm thickness and cut circles.
- 4
Bake at 170C for 10-12 minutes, keeping cookies pale.
- 5
Cool and sandwich cookies with dulce de leche.
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Nutrition (per serving)
Goes Well With
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