Ok. So I have not posted in quite a while… I’m sorry! But my life has been in constant flux for the past year and I have barely had time to think. Much less cook. In any case, since I am ready to give birth and not currently working I found myself with some spare time and decided to make something good. At first I thought about making a full dessert, like pie or cheesecake but at the end decided that since I would have to eat it all it would be better to make cookies or something smaller. That’s when the idea of alfajores came to my mind. I absolutely DIE for anything that includes manjar (dulce de leche), so these cookies were the perfect choice.
For those of you not very familiar with South American cuisine, Alfajores are basically too cookies with a caramel filling. Depending on the country the cookies can be sugar cookies, butter cookies or other types. Since I am from
Makes about 24 small cookies.
INGREDIENTS
1 ½ cup unsalted butter
1 cup confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon almond extract
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup ground almonds
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 jar of good quality dulce de leche (can be bought in big supermarkets, latin stores or you can make it yourself by heating sweetened condensed milk)
DIRECTIONS
Cream the butter with the powdered sugar until fluffy. Stir in salt, extracts, ground almonds and flour. Wrap and chill 30 minutes. (If you chill longer, you have to let the dough warm up a bit before it can be rolled).
Roll out dough 1/4 inch thick. Cut in 2-1/2-inch circles. Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet at 350 F for 12-14 minutes. Cool baking sheets between batches. Cool cookies on wire racks.
Spread some dulce de leche filling on a cookie. Top with another cookie and press together nicely. Be careful, these are fragile. Dust tops with confectioner's sugar.
