My friend Katie from Seashells and Sunflowers threw down the gauntlet and we took it up: an international alfajor challenge. Three Argentinians and three Americans tried different traditional alfajor recipes from Argentina for a group post.
An alfajor is a sweet treat similar to a sandwich cookie. Depending on the regional recipe, the cookie can be more or less moist, like cake, or harder like a biscuit. The filling ranges from dulce de leche to fruit preserve to meringue and they’re covered in chocolate or icing or dusted with confectioner’s sugar.
My mission was to make alfajores de maizena -Maizena is a traditional brand of corn starch and a household name in Argentina,- and since they happen to be my favourite kind of alfajor, I was more than happy to oblige. I made those alfajores for a dinner party my hubby and I threw in our Dallas home and got our American and British friends hooked on those little treats.
What you need
- 5 oz (150 g) softened butter
- 7 oz (200 g) sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 egg
- 3.5 oz (100 g) flour
- 10.5 oz (300 g) corn starch
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp Cognac
- 1 jar dulce de leche
- Shredded coconut
How you make them
Beat the softened butter with the sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the egg yolks and the egg and beat well.
Sift together the flour, corn starch and baking soda and gradually add to the butter and egg mixture.
Add the lemon zest and liqueur and mix until the dough is smooth.
Sprinkle some flour on a work surface and start rolling out the dough to about ¼ inch thick.
Cut 2 inch rounds of dough and place on a cookie sheet (I did not grease it).
Bake in a preheated 300 ̊F oven for about 12 minutes. Don’t let the cookies turn golden.
Transfer to a cooling rack.
Once they’re cold, sandwich two cookies at a time with a dollop of dulce de leche. Press ever so slightly so that the dulce de leche oozes out and roll each sandwich on shredded coconut.
Recipe notes
- This recipe yielded 40 alfajores.
- I used a jar and a half of store-bought dulce de leche (actually, I smuggled it into the U.S. Shhhh!)
- I used some of my hubby’s 1974 Armagnac. Good quality booze equalled tastier treats.
Make sure you check out the other delicious alfajor recipes and photos:
Katie, Seashells and Sunflowers – alfajores marplatenses
Aledys, From Argentina to the Netherlands, For Love! – alfajores cordobeses
Meag, A Domestic Disturbance – alfajores santafesinos
Rebecca, From Argentina With Love - alfajores mendocinos
Paula, Bee My Chef - Buenos Aires Foodies – alfajores salteñosThis slideshow requires JavaScript.
Does your husband know you used his expensive cognac to make the alfajores?
For me the challenge with alfajores de maicena alwas is to spread the dulce de leche without breaking up the cookies!
They look delicious, Ana!!
Posted by aledysver | June 27, 2011, 7:37 amYes, he handed me the bottle himself
Your alfajores look really yummy too.
Posted by Ana | June 27, 2011, 7:40 amGlad to hear that you’re spreading alfajor love around the US! Lovely doing a group post with you
Posted by meag | June 27, 2011, 8:25 amIt feels good to share my culture with my foreign friends. Here’s to more group posts!
Posted by Ana | June 27, 2011, 8:35 amI love the way alfajores de maizena just sort of melt in your mouth. I bet they’re extra good with a touch of that fancy cognac! Yours look scrumptious, Ana.
Thank you so much for taking up the alfajor challenge. I had a great time with this group post.
By the way, I’m alerting the authorities to that contraband dulce de leche!
Posted by Katie | June 27, 2011, 10:31 amIf you alert them, they won’t find any evidence of it ever been there. So there!
It was a lot of fun taking part in this group post, thanks for organizing it.
Posted by Ana | June 27, 2011, 11:22 amI’m just bitter because they confiscated a jar of dulce de leche from me once that I’d just bought in the airport gift shop! lol
Posted by Katie | June 27, 2011, 8:48 pmThese look riquisimo! Love the addition of the cognac, Guillermo would love these…
Posted by Rebecca | June 27, 2011, 6:20 pmThnaks. Cognac gives them a certain je ne sais quoi
Posted by Ana | June 28, 2011, 7:56 amYour cookies looks delicious!! Now, please send some over
Posted by Country Skipper | June 28, 2011, 11:55 amWe ate all of them, sorry
Posted by Ana | June 28, 2011, 12:03 pmExcelente receta… ya la probaremos!! REalmente MUY tentadoras las fotos, se me hace agua la boca!!! Felicitaciones!
Claudia Gibson
Posted by Claudia Gibson | July 1, 2011, 4:28 amGracias Claudia!
Posted by Ana | July 1, 2011, 10:52 am