Alfajores (Argentine Dulce de Leche Sandwich Cookies)

Quick answer

Total time: 37 min
Level: Easy
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients: 7

About this dish

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.

Ingredients (4 servings)

Ingredient	Amount	Unit
all-purpose flour	150	g
cornstarch	100	g
butter	100	g
sugar	60	g
egg yolk	2	ea
vanilla extract	1	tsp
dulce de leche	180	g

Instructions

Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.

6 steps

1

Season

Soften 100g butter until it yields easily when pressed.

Beat it with 60g sugar for 2 to 3 minutes, stopping when the mixture looks paler, creamy, and no longer gritty against the bowl.
2

Prep

Add 2 egg yolks and 1 tsp vanilla extract, then mix on medium speed just until smooth.

Scrape the sides of the bowl once or twice so the butter base stays even and does not separate.
3

Prep

Sift in 150g all-purpose flour and 100g cornstarch.

Fold with a spatula using cutting motions, and stop as soon as the dry patches disappear so the dough stays tender instead of tough.
4

Prep

Place the soft dough between plastic wrap or baking paper and roll it to 0.7cm thick.

Cut 5cm rounds, then lift them carefully onto the lined tray so the fragile edges stay round.
5

Heat

Bake at 170C for 10 to 12 minutes, removing the cookies before they brown.

They are ready when the edges look set and the tops remain pale, since extra color makes them drier.
6

Heat

Let the cookies cool completely on the tray until firm enough to handle.

Pipe or spoon 180g dulce de leche onto half of them, sandwich gently, and press just enough to spread the filling to the edge.

Practical Cooking Checks

The cues that matter most while cooking.

Key technique: Alfajores sandwich sweet dulce de leche between cornstarch cookies that crumble instantly.
Finish cue: Place the soft dough between plastic wrap or baking paper and roll it to 0.7cm thick.
Avoid this: Fold with a spatula using cutting motions, and stop as soon as the dry patches disappear so the dough stays tender instead of tough.
Storage and reheating: Let the cookies cool completely on the tray until firm enough to handle.