Dulce de leche is perhaps the closest thing to magic that can happen in the kitchen. A simple can of sweeten condensed milk is transformed into the most perfect caramel with the greatest of ease.
Our favourite way to enjoy this culinary sorcery is to sandwich it between two buttery cookies and roll them in coconut. The result of this minimal effort is a sophisticated, yet simple cookie called an Alfajor (al-fa-hor).
Enjoyed in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Andorra, and many more countries, this luxurious cookie is sure to become your new favourite.
Recipe: Makes 12 Sandwich Cookies
- 300 ml (1 can) Sweetened condensed milk
- 3/4 cup White sugar
- 3/4 cup Unsalted Butter, softened
- 2 Large egg yolks
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups All-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp Baking powder
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- 1 cup Shredded coconut
Method
Dulce de leche
To make the dulce de leche, place a sealed can of condensed milk on its side in a heavy bottom pot and cover with water (at least 4” above the can). Bring the pot to a boil and simmer for 3 hours, making sure that the water does not boil off. Drain and let cool.
Alfajores
- Place the softened butter, sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla in the bowl of a mixer and beat with a paddle on high, until mixture is light and fluffy (scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula if necessary).
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the sugar and butter, working the dough by hand, until it is smooth and well mixed.
- Form the dough into a disk, cover with plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Once the dough is chilled, roll it out on a lightly floured surface, to a thickness of 1/2 cm.
- Use your favourite size ring cutter to cut circles out of the dough, and place them on a lined cookie sheet. Reserve the trimmed dough and use it to make more discs, until you have yielded an even number of cookies (approximately 24).
- Once your cookies are all cut and arranged on a cookie sheet, let them chill again in the refrigerator for an additional 30 minutes before baking.
- Preheat your oven to 350 F
- Bake cookies for 10-12 mins, until cookies begin brown slightly.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and allow to completely cool on the cookie sheet before making your sandwiches.
Assembly
To assemble the cookies, sandwich 1 tbsp of dulce de leche between two cookies and gently squeeze just enough so that the caramel reaches the edge of the cookies. Roll the edges of the cookies in the shredded coconut to coat.
Enjoy the fruits of your labour immediately, or savour them, and keep them for later. Cookies will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days, but we promise they won’t be around that long!
