Description
These Alfajores are delicate, buttery cookies filled with luscious dulce de leche and coated with shredded coconut. Originating from South America, these tender sandwich cookies offer a perfect balance of sweet and creamy flavors, making them a delightful treat for any occasion.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups cornstarch
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
Wet Ingredients
- 12 Tbsp. butter, softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Fillings and Coating
- 1 (15.8-oz.) jar dulce de leche
- 1/4 cup shredded coconut
Instructions
- Preheat and Prepare Dry Ingredients: Preheat your oven to 350°F and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt until evenly combined.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In another large bowl, use a hand mixer to beat the softened butter, granulated sugar, and lemon zest together until light and fluffy. Then, add the egg yolks and vanilla extract and continue beating until fully combined.
- Combine Dry and Wet Ingredients: Gradually add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients, beating until the dough comes together. The dough should be soft enough to squeeze and hold its shape.
- Roll and Cut Dough: Lightly flour your work surface and transfer the dough onto it. Form the dough into a smooth ball and divide it in half. Working with one half at a time, roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch thickness. Use a 2 1/4 inch round cookie cutter to cut out cookies and place them on the prepared baking sheets. Repeat with the second half, gathering scraps and rerolling as necessary.
- Freeze Dough: Place the baking sheets in the freezer for at least 15 minutes until the dough is frozen. This helps prevent the cookies from spreading too much during baking.
- Bake Cookies: Bake the frozen dough for 8 minutes. The cookies will still be soft and will not have deepened much in color. Remove from oven and let them cool completely on the baking sheets.
- Assemble Alfajores: Once cooled, flip half of the cookies over and spread a generous amount of dulce de leche on each. Top with the remaining cookies to form sandwich cookies. Roll the edges of the sandwiches in shredded coconut to coat.
Notes
- Freezing the dough before baking is essential to maintain the cookie shape and achieve the delicate texture.
- You can substitute dulce de leche with sweetened condensed milk caramel if unavailable.
- Store alfajores in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- For added flavor, you can use orange zest instead of lemon zest.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie sandwich
- Calories: 190
- Sugar: 15g
- Sodium: 100mg
- Fat: 10g
- Saturated Fat: 6g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 22g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 55mg
