Description
Alfajores are delicate, buttery Spanish sandwich cookies filled with creamy dulce de leche. This classic recipe features soft shortbread cookies rolled thin, baked until lightly golden, and then sandwiched with a luscious caramel-like dulce de leche filling.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar, firmly packed
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups dulce de leche
- Desiccated coconut for rolling (optional)
- Powdered sugar for sprinkling (optional)
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl using an electric or stand mixer, beat softened butter alone until creamy. Add powdered sugar, brown sugar, cornstarch, vanilla extract, and salt. Continue beating until combined and creamy.
- Gradually add the all-purpose flour in about four parts, stirring after each addition until fully incorporated into the dough.
- Divide the dough into two equal halves and shape each into a disk. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 5 days to firm up.
- Once chilled, preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Lightly dust a clean work surface with flour. Roll out one dough disk at a time to ⅛-inch thickness.
- Use a round cookie cutter about 1 ¾ to 2 inches in diameter to cut circles. Place cookies at least 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 8 to 9 minutes, or until the edges just begin turning light golden brown.
- Let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheet before handling. Repeat rolling and baking with remaining dough, using scraps to maximize cookie yield.
- Spread 1 ½ teaspoons of dulce de leche on the bottom side of one cookie and sandwich with another cookie.
- Roll the edges of each sandwich cookie in desiccated coconut to coat the dulce de leche or dust the tops lightly with powdered sugar according to preference.
Notes
- Store cookies in an airtight container to maintain freshness.
- These cookies can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Spanish
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 87 kcal
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 25 mg
- Fat: 5 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 9 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 15 mg