**Alfajores: Delightful Ecuadorian Delicacy**
Originating from the enchanting land of Ecuador, alfajores are a delightful culinary treasure cherished for their delectable taste and captivating cultural significance. These heavenly treats, often referred to as "little moons," consist of melt-in-your-mouth shortbread cookies sandwiched together with a layer of delectable dulce de leche, a luscious caramel-like filling. Embark on a culinary journey as we explore the traditional recipe for these enchanting treats, along with variations that cater to diverse dietary preferences and tantalize taste buds with unique flavor combinations.
**The Classic Alfajores Recipe:**
* **Traditional Alfajores:** This timeless recipe captures the essence of authentic alfajores, featuring a crisp and crumbly shortbread cookie base, a generous spread of dulce de leche, and a dusting of powdered sugar, resulting in a harmonious symphony of flavors and textures.
* **Alfajores de Maicena:** A delightful gluten-free rendition of alfajores, these cookies utilize cornstarch instead of wheat flour, yielding a delicate and airy texture. Enjoy the same delectable dulce de leche filling and powdered sugar coating, making them a perfect treat for those with gluten sensitivities or those seeking a lighter option.
* **Alfajores de Nuez:** Indulge in a symphony of flavors with these alfajores, enhanced by the addition of finely chopped walnuts. The nutty flavor adds a delightful crunch and depth to the classic combination of shortbread cookies and dulce de leche, creating a textural and taste sensation.
* **Alfajores de Chocolate:** Chocoholics, rejoice! This variation infuses the classic alfajores recipe with the irresistible allure of chocolate. The shortbread cookies are infused with rich cocoa powder, while the dulce de leche filling is enhanced with melted chocolate, resulting in a decadent treat that will satisfy any sweet craving.
Embark on a culinary adventure and immerse yourself in the delightful world of alfajores. With their captivating taste and rich cultural heritage, these Ecuadorian treats are sure to leave a lasting impression on your palate and captivate your senses.
ALFAJORES
Popular all over Latin America, dulce de leche confections called alfajores come in many varieties. In this popular version, delicate, crumbly butter cookies are sandwiched with a thick layer of dulce de leche before being rolled in coconut. They are petite yet decadent morsels that go particularly well with strong black coffee to cut their creamy richness. You can make the dulce de leche a week ahead (store it in the refrigerator) and the cookies 5 days ahead (store them in an airtight container at room temperature). Once sandwiched together, the cookies will keep in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 3 days, but are best eaten within 24 hours of filling.
Provided by Melissa Clark
Categories cookies and bars, dessert
Time 4h
Yield About 50 cookies
Number Of Ingredients 13
Steps:
- Make the dulce de leche: Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then carefully lower condensed milk cans on their sides into the water. Simmer for 3 hours 15 minutes, refilling with hot water as needed to keep cans submerged. Never let the water boil away, or the cans could burst. Using tongs, transfer cans to a rack to let cool completely before opening.
- In a small bowl, combine brandy, lemon zest and 1 teaspoon vanilla.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add yolks and beat to combine, then add brandy mixture and beat until just combined. Add flour mixture, and mix on low speed until the dough just comes together.
- Divide the dough in half and roll each piece into a log about 1 1/2 inches thick. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, at least 2 hours.
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove dough from plastic wrap and slice into 1/8-inch-thick rounds. Place on prepared sheet pans, then bake until edges start to turn golden, about 7 minutes. Transfer each pan to a rack to cool completely.
- In a small bowl, combine dulce de leche with remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla and a large pinch of salt. Spoon the mixture into a plastic zipper bag and cut a corner off. (Or you could scoop it into a pastry bag if you prefer, or just use a spoon.)
- Flip half of the cookies upside down and pipe a thick layer of dulce de leche onto bottoms (or use a spoon to spoon the mixture on). Top with remaining cookies to sandwich the dulce de leche in the middle. Roll sides in coconut. Eat right away, or store in the refrigerator until serving.
Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 125, UnsaturatedFat 1 gram, Carbohydrate 18 grams, Fat 5 grams, Fiber 0 grams, Protein 2 grams, SaturatedFat 3 grams, Sodium 35 milligrams, Sugar 10 grams, TransFat 0 grams
ALFAJORES ARGENTINEAN STYLE
This is a traditional cookie that is much loved in most Latin cultures. Even my mother in law says they're the BEST, and that is saying a lot considering she is from Mendoza, Argentina!
Provided by Christina-Chrisi Marvasi
Categories World Cuisine Recipes Latin American South American Argentinian
Time 1h20m
Yield 36
Number Of Ingredients 13
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.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 156.7 calories, Carbohydrate 22.5 g, Cholesterol 31.7 mg, Fat 6.8 g, Fiber 0.5 g, Protein 1.4 g, SaturatedFat 4.1 g, Sodium 65.1 mg, Sugar 8.3 g
ALFAJORES DE MAIZENA
I love these! They are a delicious sweet cookie from Argentina. They are a sandwich cookie - biscuit type cookie with Dulce De Leche in the middle then rolled in coconut. Sometimes they're called "cornstarch cookies". My mother-in-law first introduced these to me. She would make mine with crushed nuts or shaved white chocolate on the outside though as I have an allergy to coconut. Also, you can add 1 tablespoon of cognac for the traditional recipe, but I usually don't. ** You can buy Dulce de Leche in Spanish grocer or some of the larger supermarkets sell it by the condensed milk, if not, follow below... For the Dulce de Leche: Pour the two cans of condensed milk into a double boiler set over low heat. Cook milk, stirring once in a while, for 2-4 hours, until mixture thickens and becomes caramel-like. Remove from double boiler and refrigerate until needed. Mixture will firm with chilling.
Provided by BlondieItaliana
Categories Dessert
Time 35m
Yield 12-16 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 9
Steps:
- Beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugar gradually, beating until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and lemon rind.
- Sift together the cornstarch, flour, baking powder and soda. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, beating until thoroughly combined.
- Drop the batter by small spoonfuls onto well buttered baking sheets. Leave enough space between the cookies because they will spread.
- Bake in a 350 degrees oven 15 minutes. Immediately remove from the baking sheets and let cool.
- When cool, spread some Dulce de leche on the bottom half of the cookies and make a sandwich with the remaining cookies. Squeeze the sandwiches so that some of the dulce de leche is squeezed out the sides, and roll the sides in the grated coconut.
ALFAJORES
These melt-in-the-mouth shortbread-like cookies originate from South America and are filled with dulce de leche and rolled in desiccated coconut
Provided by Sophie Godwin - Cookery writer
Categories Snack, Treat
Time 1h5m
Yield makes 30
Number Of Ingredients 11
Steps:
- Combine the flour, corn flour and baking powder together in a bowl with a pinch of salt. Using a food mixer or an electric whisk in another bowl beat the butter together with the sugar and lemon zest until very pale. Add the egg yolks followed by the Cognac and vanilla extract. Beat in the dry ingredients until you have smooth dough. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and chill for a minimum of 1 hour. You can make the biscuit dough the day before and leave in the fridge.
- Line two large baking trays with baking parchment. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to the thickness of a pound coin then cut out 60 biscuits with a 5cm round or fluted cutter. Put the biscuits back in the fridge for 20 mins to firm up.
- Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Bake the biscuits for 8 mins until just set. You want the biscuits to stay pale with a crumbly texture. Leave to cool completely before sandwiching two biscuits together with a spoonful of dulce de leche. Once all the biscuits are sandwiched together roll in desiccated coconut.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 157 calories, Fat 7 grams fat, SaturatedFat 5 grams saturated fat, Carbohydrate 21 grams carbohydrates, Sugar 9 grams sugar, Fiber 0.4 grams fiber, Protein 2 grams protein, Sodium 0.1 milligram of sodium
ALFAJORES
The best version!
Provided by Kara Marie Cormier
Categories Sandwich Cookies
Time 3h15m
Yield 40
Number Of Ingredients 9
Steps:
- Combine condensed milk and butter for filling in a pot over medium-low heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until it coats the back of a spoon and becomes caramelized, about 2 hours.
- While the filling is simmering, mix flour, butter, powdered sugar, pisco, baking powder, and salt for cookies in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until a dough forms.
- Shape dough into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 15 to 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Roll dough on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of 1/8 inch or 3/16 inch. Use a small cookie cutter to cut approximately 80 circles. Transfer cookies to the prepared baking sheets; prick each cookie once with the tines of a fork.
- Bake cookies in the preheated oven until edges are just golden, about 12 minutes, switching racks halfway through; do not let them brown. Remove oven and transfer to a wire rack. Repeat to cook remaining cookies.
- When the filling has finished simmering, let it cool slightly, about 15 minutes.
- Spread filling over one side of 2 cookies, and press together like sandwiches. Roll in powdered sugar to coat. Repeat to fill and coat remaining cookies.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 126.7 calories, Carbohydrate 13.8 g, Cholesterol 19.1 mg, Fat 7.3 g, Fiber 0.3 g, Protein 1.4 g, SaturatedFat 4.6 g, Sodium 31.7 mg
Tips:
- Make sure to use high-quality ingredients, especially the dulce de leche. The better the ingredients, the better the alfajores will be.
- Don't overwork the dough. Overworking the dough will make the alfajores tough.
- Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes before rolling it out. This will make the dough easier to handle and will prevent the alfajores from spreading too much in the oven.
- Roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1/8 inch. If the dough is too thick, the alfajores will be too dense. If the dough is too thin, the alfajores will be too crispy.
- Use a cookie cutter to cut out circles of dough. The circles should be about 2 inches in diameter.
- Bake the alfajores for 10-12 minutes, or until they are golden brown around the edges.
- Let the alfajores cool completely before filling them with dulce de leche.
- Sandwich two alfajores together with a generous layer of dulce de leche in between.
- Roll the edges of the alfajores in shredded coconut.
- Enjoy the alfajores immediately or store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
Conclusion:
Alfajores are a delicious and easy-to-make treat that is perfect for any occasion. They are made with simple ingredients and can be customized to your liking. With a little planning, you can make alfajores that are sure to impress your friends and family.
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