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Home » All » By Course » Desserts » Alfajores – Dulce de leche sandwich cookies

Alfajores – Dulce de leche sandwich cookies

By Layla Pujol 4 Comments

Easy recipe for homemade alfajores or shortbread sandwich cookies filled with dulce de leche. These traditional Latin American cookies are made with a cornstarch shortbread style dough, filled with caramel or dulce de leche, and then decorate with dried coconut or powdered sugar. This recipe was originally shared by our contributor Jani Díaz.

Alfajores cookies filled with dulce de leche

En Español

Alfajores are a popular sweet treat in many Latin American countries, including Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Venezuela, Paraguay, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, among others. These delicious melt in your mouth sandwich cookies, are made using a mix of wheat flour and cornstarch. They have a filling of milk caramel or dulce de leche, also known as manjar de leche, manjar blanco, arequipe, or cajeta.

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Alfajores or Latin American sandwich cookies with dulce de leche

The preparation varies from one country to another. Some variations include sprinkling powdered sugar over the finished cookies, while others only use dry coconut as the final decoration. Some use both. There are also chocolate covered variations, and some also use fruit jam or chocolate as the filing.

Dulce de leche sandwich cookies or alfajores

Alfajores are relatively easy to prepare, they just require a small amount of patience, but the final result is worth it. First the cookies must be made, which have a light and airy texture due to the combination of butter, powdered sugar, flour, cornstarch, and baking powder. Once baked, they are filled with caramel and decorated with coconut.

Alfajores - easy authentic recipe

The most common filling for alfajores is dulce de leche, although some alternatives include using guava jam or blackberry jam. My son also loves them filled with Nutella.  

How to make alfajores cookies
Alfajores cookies filled with dulce de leche

Alfajores: Dulce de leche sandwich cookies

Recipe for making homemade alfajores or dulce de leche sandwich cookies. These Latin American cookies are made with all purpose flour, cornstarch, butter, baking powder, egg yolks, sugar, lemon zest, milk, and vanilla. They are filled with caramel and decorated with coconut or icing sugar.
4.67 from 6 votes
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Course: Cookies, Dessert, Sweets
Cuisine: Argentina, Chilean, Colombian, Ecuadorian, Latin American, Paraguay, Peruvian, Uruguay, Venezuelan
Keyword: Alfajor, Alfajores, Caramel, Coconut, Dulce de leche, Sandwich cookies
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Resting time: 1 hour
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 16 alfajores cookies

Ingredients

For the cornstarch shortbread cookies:

  • 1¼ cup all-purpose flour 1¼cups flour = 150 grams
  • 1¼ cup cornstarch 1¼ cups cornstarch = 160 grams
  • ½ cup butter room temperature, ½ cup of butter = 113 grams
  • 1 teaspoon of baking powder
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 tablespoon lemon or lime zest
  • 3 tablespoons milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla optional
  • ½ cup powdered or icing sugar sifted, ½ cup powdered sugar = 60 grams

For the filling and decoration:

  • ¾ cup dulce de leche
  • ½ cup grated dry coconut
  • Powdered or icing sugar to taste

Instructions

  • Sift the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, and baking powder. Stir all the ingredients very well and add the lemon zest.
  • Use an electric hand mixer to mix the butter with the powdered sugar (previously sifted) until you get a creamy mixture.
  • Add the milk and egg yolks, continue mixing until all the ingredients are well combined.
  • Add the flour mixture in batches and mix well in between adding each batch of flour. The final dough should be smooth and not sticky. If it’s still sticky you can add an additional handful of flour.
  • Divide the dough into two equal parts and make two balls of dough. Then gently squash each ball into a thick disk shape. Cover them with plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.
  • Preheat the oven to 375F (200 ° C).
  • Remove the dough from the fridge and place it on a lightly floured surface. Use a rolling pin to flatten and extend the dough until you have a thin layer. The maximum thickness of the layer should be about five millimeters (less than ¼ inch).
  • Use a round cookie cutter mold to cut as many circles as you can. I used a 2 in (5 cm) round mold. You can make them smaller or larger, just adjust the baking time accordingly.
  • Put the cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, leave at least two centimeters or ¾ inch of space between each cookie to keep them from sticking together.
  • Bake the cookies for about 12-15 minutes or until they are lightly golden. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool down completely.
  • Take a cooled down cookie and place a teaspoon of dulce de leche on its inner surface (the part that was stuck to the baking sheet), spread it well to the edges of the cookie and then gently stick another cookie (baking side on the caramel) on top to form a cookie sandwich.
  • Place the grated dry coconut on a flat plate and roll each stuffed cookie in the coconut mix until it sticks to the dulce de leche filling, giving it the characteristic look of the alfajor cookie. You can also dust the cookies with powdered sugar.
  • You can keep the alfajores or dulce de leche cookies refrigerated for a week.

Notes

If you don’t have powdered sugar, you can put regular sugar in the blender and mix it on high speed until you get powdered sugar. Powdered sugar helps the cookies have a smoother texture and a smoother surface.
Alfajores dulce de leche sandwich cookies
Ecuadorian style alfajores

Step by step preparation photos for Alfajores or dulce de leche sandwich cookies:

How to make alfajores dulce de leche cookies
Easy recipe for alfajores or dulce de leche sandwich cookies

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Filed Under: Argentina, Desserts, Dulce de leche, Ecuador, Kid friendly, Latin America, Mother's Day Recipes, Parties and events, Peru, South America, Valentine's Day, Venezuela

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Germán Rodríguez says

    October 15, 2020 at 12:42 am

    Apreciada Laylita: Sinceras felicitaciones por el maravilloso trabajo que has venido adelantando en los últimos años en los que has publicado tus maravillosas obras de arte gastronómico. La cocina es tal vez el mayor anclaje emocional y afectivo con el país de origen después de papá, mamá, los hermanos y los amigos, así que tu obra también cuenta adicionalmente con un ingrediente sociológico y psicológico excepcional, he ahí su importancia. Cuando publicas y escribes tus recetas, que elaboras tan amorosamente, también estás haciendo patria, así que te felicito. Te deseo todo el éxito posible con tu libro. Saludos desde Berlín.

    Reply
  2. karllembke says

    October 9, 2020 at 3:20 pm

    Maybe instead of the coconut, a splash of kosher salt or fleur de sel?

    Reply
  3. Alene says

    October 6, 2020 at 3:35 pm

    These look so good. I wonder if gluten free flour would work.

    Reply
  4. Victoria says

    October 6, 2020 at 10:52 am

    The real name of this recipe is “alfajores de maicena”.

    Reply

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 Layla Pujol is an Ecuadorian modern-day nomad who loves to cook and travel. She lives in Seattle and is currently working on her first cookbook, which will focus on delicious Ecuadorian and Latin recipes (adapted to her style). More

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