My first encounter with the alfajore was at Empanada Place in Costa Mesa. One bite and I immediately found my next obsession. Alfajores are small sandwich cookies originating from Latin America. Basically, it is dulce de leche sandwiched in between two small shortbread-like cookies and rolled in flaked coconut. The ones from Empanada Place are made strictly from cornstarch whereas the recipe I tried today contains only all-purpose flour. I also tried one recipe earlier this year that used half cornstarch and half flour but the cookie came out a little too dry for my liking.
Alfajores
Adapted from Martha Stewart
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Store-bought dulce de leche
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats; set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, and continue mixing until well combined, about 1 minute. Working in batches, add flour mixture; mix until well combined. Add milk, orange juice, and vanilla; continue mixing until a dough forms, 1 to 2 minutes.
Using a tablespoon or a small ice cream scoop, drop dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart.
Transfer to oven and bake, rotating baking sheets halfway through baking, until golden, 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack until completely cool.
When cookies have cooled completely, spread the bottoms of half of the cookies with dulche de leche.
Sandwich together with remaining cookie and roll in flaked coconut. I sprinkled some sea salt on top of the filling to cut the sweetness a bit.
I got tired of filling the dulce de leche and switched over to peanut butter and jelly filling.
This version of the alfajore tastes NOTHING like the ones I had at Empanada Place. It was more like a cake than a cookie. Think whoopie pie consistency. Maybe I can rename it to Dulce De Leche Whoopie Pies. Back to the alfajore recipe search...