Description
These Peruvian-style Alfajores are delicate vanilla shortbread cookies sandwiched with creamy, homemade manjar blanco (dulce de leche). Soft, buttery, and sweet with a dusting of powdered sugar, these traditional treats offer a perfect balance of textures and flavors that delight the palate.
Ingredients
Scale
Manjar Blanco
- 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cinnamon stick (optional)
- Pinch kosher salt
Vanilla Shortbread Cookies
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup corn starch, sifted
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or vanilla paste (optional)
- 1 large egg yolk (optional)
Assembly
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar, sifted
Instructions
- Prepare Manjar Blanco: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Pour the sweetened condensed milk into a small baking dish, add the cinnamon stick if using, and cover it tightly with foil. Place this dish inside a larger baking dish and fill the larger dish halfway up with water to create a water bath. Bake for 1 to 1 hour 15 minutes, refilling water if needed at 45 minutes. Remove from oven, discard the cinnamon stick, and whisk the dulce de leche until smooth. Cool and refrigerate if desired.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, sifted corn starch, powdered sugar, and salt. Set aside.
- Cream Butter and Vanilla: In a stand mixer or using an electric hand mixer, beat the room temperature unsalted butter with vanilla extract or paste until smooth and creamy. Add the egg yolk and mix just until combined.
- Form Dough: Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, mixing slowly to avoid flour flying out, and continue until just combined to form dough. Scoop the dough into a ball, press into a 2-inch round, wrap tightly in plastic, and refrigerate for about 1 hour.
- Preheat and Roll Dough: Preheat oven to 350°F. Roll out the chilled dough between two parchment sheets slowly until it is 1/2 to 1/4 inch thick. If dough is too cold, let it rest about 10 minutes to soften slightly.
- Cut Cookies: Use a 3-inch cookie cutter to stamp out cookies, placing them close together. Use an offset spatula to transfer cookies to parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart. Chill the cut cookies in the fridge for 10 minutes. Repeat rolling and cutting until all dough is used.
- Score and Bake: Lightly score the tops of the cookies with a fork’s tines. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes until just firm and no color shows on the edges. Let cookies cool completely on baking sheets.
- Assemble Alfajores: Flip half the cookies upside down. Pipe or gently spoon a round of manjar blanco on the flat side of each cookie. Top with another cookie and press lightly. Roll the sides of each sandwich in sifted powdered sugar.
- Storage: Store assembled alfajores in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 to 5 days.
Notes
- Chilling the dough for at least an hour helps even moisture distribution for better texture.
- Store-bought dulce de leche can be used but whisk well to smooth lumps.
- Use a 1 1/2-inch cookie cutter for mini alfajores or a 3-inch cutter for larger cookies.
- Alfajores are best stored at room temperature in an airtight container.
- Manjar blanco can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated.
- To temper refrigerated manjar blanco, allow it to come to room temperature for 2 hours or place sealed container in warm water.
- Essential equipment includes baking sheets, parchment paper, an offset spatula, stand-up mixer, measuring tools, and a whisk.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie (approx. 10g)
- Calories: 386 kcal
- Sugar: 12 g
- Sodium: 190 mg
- Fat: 19.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 11.9 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7.2 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 30.1 g
- Fiber: 0.6 g
- Protein: 2.7 g
- Cholesterol: 70 mg
