PERUVIAN ALFAJORES WITH MANJAR BLANCO

Peruvian Alfajores with Manjar Blanco image

These are the nectar of the gods. Shortbread cookies with a sweet filling, covered in powdered sugar. Mmm. They are time consuming to make, but always worth it.

Provided by Kara Marie Cormier

Categories World Cuisine Recipes Latin American South American Peruvian

Time 2h10m

Yield 48

Number Of Ingredients 14

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Ingredients

2 cups white sugar
3 sticks butter
5 cups cornstarch
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 eggs
3 tablespoons pisco
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons water, or as needed
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar, or as needed
2 (14 ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk
1 (6 ounce) can evaporated milk
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup confectioners' sugar, or to taste

Steps:

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
Beat white sugar and butter together in a large bowl using an electric mixer until creamy. Add cornstarch, flour, eggs, pisco, vanilla extract, and baking powder. Mix gently until combined.
Turn dough out onto a clean work surface and knead by hand until smooth. Add water as needed. Divide in half, refrigerate 1 portion, and leave the other out.
Coat your work surface with powdered sugar. Roll dough out to 1/4-inch thickness and cut into 2-inch rounds with a cookie cutter or shot glass. Place rounds close together on a baking sheet. Prick each cookie twice with a fork.
Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes; cookies should still be white and soft, not crispy, and will firm up as they cool. Repeat with remaining cookie dough.
Pour condensed milk, evaporated milk, and brown sugar into a saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir constantly until filling approaches the consistency of thick caramel, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat; mixture will firm up as it cools to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
Pour confectioners' sugar into a shallow bowl. Spread about 1/2 tablespoon of the filling over cooled cookies. Attach every two cookies together to make the alfajores. Roll alfajores in confectioners' sugar.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 226.6 calories, Carbohydrate 35.9 g, Cholesterol 37.3 mg, Fat 7.9 g, Fiber 0.3 g, Protein 2.7 g, SaturatedFat 4.8 g, Sodium 83 mg, Sugar 19.7 g