We’re back with more Cookies We Love from Saveur, and I have to say that these are one of our favorites. I’ve had alfajores before and just love them, but this is my first time making them, a task I relished. The butter cookies are flavored with apple brandy and lemon zest, and then stuck together with a spoonful of homemade dulce de leche. Top Gun and Monkey Boy both went for these immediately and talked about the sticky dulce de leche filling, which they really liked and constantly wanted to run their fingers through. It seems I now have competition for the dulce de leche.
The butter cookies are a bit different from others because they use cornstarch as a primary ingredient along with all-purpose flour, which keeps the cookies nice and tender. They have an almost delicate texture which compliments the sticky middle well and makes these an interesting choice for a holiday cookie swap.
Don’t forget to visit the other cookie bakers as we take on the Saveur Cookie Challenge!
The Rest of the Cookie Baking Clan
Claire of The Barefoot Kitchen
Di of Di’s Kitchen Notebook
Judy of No Fear Entertaining
Kelly of Sass & Veracity
Michelle of Big Black Dogs
RJ of Flamingo Musings
Sandy of At the Baker’s Bench
Tiffany of The Nesting Project
Courtney of Coco Cooks
ALFAJORES (DULCE DE LECHE SANDWICH COOKIES)
Adapted from Saveur.
Makes about 20 cookies.
Equipment
medium mixing bowl
stand mixer with paddle attachment or hand mixer and large bowl
rolling pin
2-1/2-inch round cookie cutter
2 half-sheet baking pans, lined with parchment paper
wire cooling racks
Ingredients
1-2/3 cups (213 g)cornstarch
1-1/4 cups (150 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2/3 cup (117 g) granulated sugar
10 tablespoons (141 g) unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon cognac or brandy (I used apple brandy.)
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
4 egg yolks
canned or homemade dulce de leche or arequipe, for filling the cookies
Preparation
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C.
2. In the medium bowl, sift together the cornstarch, flour, and baking powder. In the bowl of the mixer, beat together the sugar and butter until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the cognac and zest and beat. Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating after each until all the eggs are thoroughly mixed in. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low until fully incorporated.
3. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead briefly, then divide it into 3 pieces. Working with 1 dough piece at a time, roll out the dough to 1/4″ thickness. Cut out the cookies with the round cutter and transfer the cut cookies to the prepared baking pans, spacing them 1 inch apart. Reroll the scraps and repeat until all the dough has been cut.
4. Bake the cookies in the preheated oven until golden, about 12–15 minutes. Let cool. Flip half the cookies over and top each with 1 heaping teaspoon of dulce de leche. Top with remaining cookies. Store in a tin for up to 3 days.
More Christmas Cookies
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