Alfajores, My Way

Saveur.com has a recipe for Alfajores, a light butter cookie sandwiched with dulce de leche.  I took this recipe and added my own flavours for the holiday season:  orange zest and cardamom.

The cookies are very delicate and crumbly.  They need the sticky layer of dulce de leche just to keep from falling apart.  I’m sure a vanilla icing would also work well to glue these soft cookies together.  Use what you like.

Adapted from Saveur.com

1 2/3 cups cornstarch tapioca powder
1 1/4 cups flour  & 1/2 cup for rolling
1 tsp. baking powder
2/3 cup sugar
10 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1 tbsp. cognac or brandy  3/4 tsp ground cardamom & 1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp. lemon zest  zest of 1 large orange
4 egg yolks
Canned dulce de leche, for filling cookies (or use a vanilla or cream cheese frosting)

Heat oven to 350°. In a bowl, sift together cornstarch, flour, and baking powder; set aside. In a mixer fitted with a paddle, beat together sugar and butter until fluffy. Add cognac and zest; beat. Add yolks one at a time; beat. Add dry ingredients; mix. Transfer dough to a floured surface, knead briefly; divide into 3 pieces. Working with 1 dough piece at a time, roll dough to 1/4″ thickness. Using a 2 1/2″ round cookie cutter, cut out cookies; transfer to parchment paper—lined baking sheets, spaced 1″ apart. Roll the scraps and repeat.

Bake until golden, 12–15 minutes. Let cool. Flip half the cookies over; top each with 1 heaping tsp. dulce de leche. Top with remaining cookies.

MAKES 16 cookie sandwiches

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Save those egg whites and make a healthy omelette for yourself!

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