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Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Alfajores ...to celebrate World Dulce de Leche Day & Cookie Month

NOT the right kind of Dulce de Leche to use...
If you live in a multi-cultural, bi-lingual home, certain things are bound to happen on a somewhat regular basis.  Or at least sporadically.  Or maybe it's just me?  Either way.  I often run across something or another that I want to cook or bake with its common name said in Spanish.  Now, I do realize that Mexico is not the only country to speak Spanish, but at the same time I always assume Mexi is going to get excited when I make something "in Spanish".  Or at least know what it is.  Occasionally it's confirmed that I often don't know what I'm talking about.  Take for instance, Alfajores.  For some reason I thought they were a universal Latino-type cookie.  Ummm...not so much.  At least not for mi esposo.  When he called me from work today, I told him in a somewhat conspiratorial tone that I was making Alfajores.  He promptly responded, "Oreos?"  Sigh.  "No...alfa-hoar-ays", I said.  Silence.  "I don't know what that is..." finally came back over the line.  Oh.  Turns out they may be more of a South American treat than a Central American treat.  Fine.  I'm making them anyway.
And just to add insult to injury...when I was at the market the other day, I saw this cool squeezable bottle of Dulce de Leche and figured I should definitely pick it up.  I mean, it was bound to make filling the alfajores I was soon to make way easier.  Right?  Wrong!  Turns out the stuff in the bottle is thin.  Go ahead, try squeezing it between two cookies.  Oh, it'll go on...but it won't stay on.  And neither will the top cookie.  Nope. Sliiiiiiide.  That's what it'll do. Sliiiiiiide.  So, after a carnival of a photo session with the few cookies I filled with the thin stuff, I decided it was time to go back to market and grab a tin of the good, thick, spreadable stuff.  Problem solved.
Alfajores
adapted from The Cookiepedia
yield: ~3 dozen single cookies (~1½ dozen sandwiches)

6 Tbs. unsalted butter, room temp.
½ c. sugar
1 c. all-purpose flour
¾ c. cornstarch
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. fine sea salt
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

dulce de leche, for filling
powdered sugar, for dusting (uummm, yeah...forgot this!)

Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Beat in egg and egg yolk, one at a time.  Add vanilla and mix again.  Sift the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt into the bowl and beat again until everything comes together.

Turn dough out and quickly form it into a ball.  Wrap in a double-layer of plastic wrap, and press into a disk.  Refrigerate until firm, 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 325° F.  Line sheet pans with parchment or a silpat.  On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out to ¼" thickness.  Use a 1½"-2" cutter (any type you like) to cut out cookies shapes and carefully transfer them to the prepared sheets, ~1" apart.  Chill the sheets for 15-20 minutes, until dough is very firm.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, until tops of cookies have just firmed and bottoms are starting to color slightly.  Let cool before filling.

Drop, pipe, or spread as much dulce de leche into the center of half of the cookies, then top with the other half.  Sift powdered sugar over the sandwiches (unless you forget) and serve.
That's more like it!
October 11th is World Dulce de Leche Day...and October is Cookie Month!

I am sharing this post with:
world dulce de leche day cookbook party logo Tasty Tuesdays 33 shades of green TastyTuesdayBB a little birdie told me rook no. 17 hearthnsoul150 tnsc

Would you like to comment?

  1. absolutely drooling over those cookies!

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  2. When I worked for Whole Foods I used to have a little Peruvian lady make these for us. She made hundreds every day and they sold like, well....alfajores :)
    Take care..

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  3. Con ese relleno que cosa tan fantastica.

    Saludos

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  4. I Looooooooooove alfajores !
    Your look so tasty
    Gotta try making them soon, and I never baked them before

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  5. I've tried making them once, but the cookies were so dry I couldn't swallow them. I'm willing to give them another chance, probably it was just the recipe.

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  6. These looks amazing!! I guess I better make some cookies since it's cookie month!

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  7. I'm sorry Heather, as I'm drinking my morning coffee, I just had my first chuckle of the day:) What a darling story...

    It doesn't matter what language or country, Alfajores are sinfully good. I can't believe that other stuff was so, slideeeee....GREAT recovery!

    Thanks so much for sharing and for joining the Cookbook Party!!!

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  8. These look amazing...I'm sure they are delicious and your photography is gorgeous!!

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  9. Para mí no hay mejor galleta que los alfajores argentinos!! yo les pongo coco al rededor ;D
    Saludos

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  10. I'll take any excuse to eat dulce de leche and alfajores!

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  11. I love dulce de leche, and those cookies look amazing!

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  12. You are forever introducing me to new foods. This one just has to be GOOD!
    Rita

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  13. In Argentina we have a lot variety of alfajores.These ones are called alfajores de maicena, becouse of the cornstarch .
    The best dulce de leche to fill alfajores is the one called pastelero (for pastry)
    If you enter an argentinian blog you will find lots of recipes made with dulce de leche.
    Congratulations for your first attempt and go ahead with other recipes!

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  14. Alfajores look so decadent with all that lovely dulce de leche

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  15. Why do I miss all the best food holidays!?!?!?!?

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  16. It's cookie month?? How did I miss that memo?! Those look great, I've been hooked on macaroons lately, I'm not sure if I've had alfajores, but they look kind of like macaroons! Are they similar?

    -Lana

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  17. These look so good. Alfajores are one of my most favorite cookies. I actually blogged about dulce de leche and linked to your post. You can see it here:

    http://www.suzyhomemaker.net/2011/10/dulce-de-leche-cookies.html

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  18. I'm going to have to come over for a taste-test. Runny vs. spreadable. Either way, yum!

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  19. Dulce de leche deserves its own day! It ranks up there with Nutella if you ask me. Your alfajores look delectably irresistible! I wish that stack was in front of me.

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  20. I missed Dulce de Leche Day? I guess it's better late than never! These look yummy- even the ones with the gooey middles. :)

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  21. Ha Ha Ha yes, been there done that with languages...no matter how long we speak it or live the culture there will always be mishaps. But these cookies good golly they look so delicious! And I happen to have a jar of French salted butter caramel in the fridge...

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  22. OMG! this two versions looks so good! the one with the runny dulce de leche is perfect for eating at home, with a spoon and more ddl on top! hahaha
    the other one look as perfect as store (panaderia) ones!

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  23. Los alfajores de maicena son mis favoritos

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  24. Your alfajores de maizena look great! The alfajor is Argentina's national cookie, and there are lots of types (I'm partial to the ones with a cake-like texture that are covered in chocolate...yum!).

    I'm in a bicultural relationship too (an American married to an Argentine), and I've had to introduce my husband to tons of Mexican dishes that are completely unknown here in Argentina (often with accompanying blank stare). So, I do understand! :)

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  25. That looks so yummy! I love dulce de leche and all things caramel!!! Thanks for sharing on the hearth and soul blog hop! My husband is south african, and I'm from the US, and we have different names for certain foods which leads to amusing anecdotes as well.

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  26. It may have been the wrong type of Dulce de Leche in that first photo, but it made for a mighty tantalizing bit of photo food porn ;-)

    Whether drippy, or perfectly filled, the Alfajores sound amazing. I'll be on the look-out for the canned Dulce de Leche...

    Jenn

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