Traditional Alfajores Caramel Sandwich Cookies 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.

ALFAJORES: DULCE DE LECHE SANDWICH COOKIES

Steps:

• 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.

CARAMEL ALFAJORES COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350ºF.
• Process Easy Homemade Pie Dough and 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp.) sugar in food processor 30 sec. or until mixture is well blended and starts to form ball. Divide dough in half. Roll each half into ball; flatten into disk.
• Roll out 1 disk on lightly floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut into 16 rounds with 2-inch cookie cutter, rerolling scraps as necessary. Place, 1 inch apart, on parchment-covered baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough.
• Bake 13 to 15 min. or until lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets 1 min. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.
• Microwave caramels and milk in microwaveable bowl on HIGH 30 sec. to 1 min. or until caramels are completely melted and sauce is well blended, stirring after 30 sec. Stir in cinnamon.
• Spread caramel sauce onto flat sides of 16 cookies, adding about 1 tsp. caramel sauce to each cookie. Cover with remaining cookies, flat sides down, to make 16 sandwiches. Place on wire rack; sprinkle with remaining sugar.

TRADITIONAL ALFAJORES - CARAMEL SANDWICH COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Place the cornstarch, flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and mix briefly.
• Cut the butter into small pieces and add to the flour mixture, blending with your fingers until the mixture is smooth.
• Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and Pisco, and mix with your hands until the dough is homogeneous and smooth (add a little extra Pisco if dough is too crumbly to form a ball).
• Let the dough rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
• Roll out dough to 3/8" thickness, and cut into 2 inch circles.
• Place cookies on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
• .Bake cookies for 10-15 minutes, until they are barely golden brown. Let cookies cook 5 minutes, then transfer to rack to cool completely.
• To fill the cookies, spread one cookie with dulce de leche and top with second cookie. Roll the edges in the coconut.
• Store in an airtight container.

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.