Alfajores An Argentinean Dulce De Leche Sandwich Cookie Food

ALFAJORES (DULCE DE LECHE SANDWICH COOKIES)

Steps:

• Mix flour, confectioners' sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a bowl. Place butter in a separate bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until soft and fluffy. Add white sugar and vanilla and mix well.
• Add flour mixture to the bowl with the butter mixture in 3 stages; mix until just blended. Divide dough in half and roll each half into a log. Refrigerate dough logs until firm, about 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Slice dough logs into 1/4-inch cookies and place on a baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until just starting to turn golden around the edges, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Allow cookies to cool on the pan for 1 minute. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely, about 30 minutes more.
• Use a knife to apply a generous amount of dulce de leche on one cookie. Sandwich another cookie on top and place on a serving tray. Repeat with remaining cookies and dulce de leche. Lightly dust finished cookies with confectioners' sugar.

DULCE DE LECHE COOKIE SANDWICHES (ALFAJOR)

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a food processor, combine flour, sugar, salt and butter. Pulse until dough comes together into a ball. If the dough is too sticky add a little more flour so that you can shape the soft dough into a ball. Wrap the dough ball in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes.
• Sprinkle some flour onto your work surface and roll the dough 1/8-inch thick. Using a 2-inch round cookie cutter cut out the cookies and transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet. Bring the dough scraps together and gently press into a ball. Flour your work surface, re-roll 1/8-inch thick and cut out more rounds.
• Bake the cookies until they are golden and firm, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely, about 25 minutes.
• Place the dulce de leche in a small bowl and stir in the cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Spread about 1 1/2 teaspoons of the dulce de leche on the flat side of a cookie and sandwich with the flat side of another cookie. Place the cookies on a platter, dust them with powdered sugar, and serve.

ALFAJORES ARGENTINEAN STYLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and baking powder; set aside.
• Beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks one at a time, allowing each yolk to blend into the butter mixture before adding the next. Beat in the vanilla rum, vanilla extract, lemon extract, and lemon zest with the last egg. Gently fold in the flour mixture with a spoon, making a crumbly dough. When the dough becomes cohesive enough, press it together into a ball with your hands. Wrap with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
• Roll out the dough, using as little flour as possible, about 1/4 inch thick. The dough will have an unusual consistency. Cut with a small round cookie cutter. Continue pressing the dough together, rolling it out, and cutting until you have used it all. Place cookies 1/2 inch apart on the prepared cookie sheets.
• Bake in the preheated oven until set but not browned, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove the cookies immediately to cool on a wire rack.
• Spread the underside of a cooled cookie with a teaspoon of dulce de leche, then sandwich together with another cookie until the caramel oozes out the sides. Roll the sides in the shredded coconut.

ALFAJORES WITH COCONUT DULCE DE LECHE

Steps:

• Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 375°F. Bring condensed milk, coconut milk, and ½ tsp. salt to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Scrape mixture into a 13x9" baking dish and bake, stirring every 15 minutes or so, until very thick and a light caramel color, 40-50 minutes. Mixture will look lumpy, broken, and very pasty-that's exactly what you want. Let cool in dish 1 hour, then transfer to a food processor and process until smooth. Set dulce de leche aside for serving.
• Meanwhile, whisk almond flour and 2¼ cups all-purpose flour in a medium bowl to combine. Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter, sugar, and 1½ tsp. salt in a large bowl, scraping down sides and bottom of bowl as needed, until pale and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add egg yolk, vanilla, and ¼ cup honey and beat until combined, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients, and mix, scraping down sides and bottom of bowl, until incorporated. Divide dough in half and pat each piece into a 1"-thick disk. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, at least 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Roll out 1 disk of dough on a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper, dusting with more flour as needed to keep dough from sticking, to about ⅛" thick. Punch out shapes with lightly floured cookie cutters and transfer to 2 parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing 1" apart. Pat scraps into a 1"-thick disk, wrap with plastic, and chill 10 minutes if soft.
• Bake a sheet of cookies, rotating halfway through, until edges are lightly browned, 7-9 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes on baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. Bake remaining sheet of cookies. Line baking sheets with fresh sheets of parchment paper and repeat process with remaining disk of dough.
• Divide coconut evenly among 3 bowls. Add 1 Tbsp. food-coloring powder (sift if needed) to a bowl of coconut and toss until coconut is coated; add more powder if a more intense color is desired. Repeat with remaining food-coloring powder and another bowl of coconut. Leave 1 bowl of coconut white. If using, add some luster dust to all 3 bowls and toss to combine.
• Turn half of the cookies over to expose flat side; spread 1 tsp. dulce de leche over (this will be the inside of the sandwiches); set aside.
• Heat remaining 2 Tbsp. honey in a small bowl in the microwave just until warm (you want it to be loose), then stir in 2 tsp. warm water. Working one at a time, lightly brush honey over the top of remaining cookies (the ones that have not been filled with dulce de leche). Immediately dip tops into a bowl of coconut; press additional coconut onto cookie to cover any bald spots. Close up cookie sandwiches, coconut side up.
• Do Ahead: Dulce de leche can be made 1 month ahead; place in an airtight container and freeze. Thaw in refrigerator overnight before using. Dough can be made 3 days ahead; keep chilled. Cookies can be baked (but not assembled) 2 days ahead; store airtight at room temperature.

ALFAJORES (AN ARGENTINEAN DULCE DE LECHE SANDWICH COOKIE)

Steps:

• Cream butter for a minute, add sugar and beat until fluffy.
• Add egg and egg yolks, one at a time, beating well. Beat in vanilla and lemon rind.
• In a separate bowl, sift together cornstarch, flour, baking powder and salt. Add to mixture and mix well.
• Drop batter by small spoonfuls onto well buttered baking sheet. Try to keep your cookie size uniform as it will make building sandwiches easier.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove immediately.
• Sandwich the cookies together with (dulce de leche) sweet milk dessert.

ARGENTINIAN ALFAJORES

Steps:

• Cream butter; add sugar and beat until fluffy. Add egg and egg yolks, one at a time, beating well. Beat in vanilla and lemon rind.
• Sift together cornstarch, flour, baking powder and salt. Add to mixture and mix well.
• Drop batter by small spoonfuls onto well buttered baking sheet.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove immediately. Sandwich the cookies together with dulce de leche. See my recipe.

ALFAJORES DE DULCE DE LECHE

Steps:

• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat (such as Silpat).
• Sift together flour and confectioners' sugar. In a food processor, pulse together flour mixture, sugar, and butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal, about 20 seconds. With machine running, pour in the water in a slow stream, and process just until the dough comes together, about 20 seconds. Form the dough into two flattened disks and wrap well in plastic. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. On a well-floured work surface, roll out one disk of dough to a scant 1/4-inch thickness. Using a 1 3/4-inch round cookie cutter, cut out rounds from the dough and transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the other disk of dough. Gather up the scraps from both batches, and reroll and cut. Sprinkle half the rounds with sanding sugar. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• About 30 minutes before serving, spread 1 teaspoon of the cold dulce de leche on the bottom of the unsugared cookies. Place the sugared cookies on top to make sandwiches. Serve immediately. Unfilled cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.
• Empty milk into the top of a double boiler or a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Cover with a tight-fitting lid. Cook, stirring every 10 to 15 minutes, until the milk is thick and amber in color, about 5 hours. Remove from heat, and beat with a wooden spoon to smooth out. Transfer to a clean bowl, and refrigerate several hours or up to 3 days.