Description
Delight in these authentic Peruvian Alfajores, featuring tender vanilla shortbread cookies sandwiched with creamy homemade manjar blanco (dulce de leche). Baked to a perfect delicate texture and lightly dusted with powdered sugar, these traditional treats embody a sweet, cinnamon-infused caramel filling wrapped in buttery cookies that melt in your mouth.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Manjar Blanco
- 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cinnamon stick (optional)
- Pinch kosher salt
Vanilla Shortbread Cookie
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup corn starch, sifted
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or vanilla paste (optional)
- 1 large egg yolk (optional)
Assembly
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar, sifted
Instructions
- Make the Manjar Blanco: Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Place sweetened condensed milk into a small baking dish, cover with foil, and place this dish inside a larger baking dish filled halfway with hot water to form a water bath. Bake for 1 to 1 hour 15 minutes, refilling water as needed at 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool 15 minutes. Discard cinnamon stick and whisk dulce de leche until smooth. Store in airtight container if making ahead.
- Prepare the Cookie Dough: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sifted corn starch, powdered sugar, and salt. In a stand mixer bowl, beat butter and vanilla on medium speed until smooth, then add egg yolk and mix until incorporated. Gradually add flour mixture and mix gently until combined. Form dough into a ball, flatten into a 2-inch disk, wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Roll and Cut Cookies: Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). On parchment paper, roll out dough between two sheets to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness. Use a 3-inch cookie cutter to stamp out cookies, placing them on parchment-lined baking sheets spaced 2 inches apart. Chill cookies in refrigerator for 10 minutes. Repeat rolling and cutting with remaining dough.
- Bake Cookies: Using the tines of a fork, score the tops of the cookies. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes until cookies are firm to the touch but without browning edges. Cool completely on baking sheets.
- Assemble the Alfajores: Once cookies are cool, flip half so their bottom sides are facing up. Pipe or spoon manjar blanco onto these cookies, then top with remaining cookies, pressing lightly. Roll edges in sifted powdered sugar to coat. Store assembled alfajores in airtight container at room temperature for 3 to 5 days.
Notes
- Refrigerating the dough for at least 1 hour (up to 3 days) helps ingredients meld and improves texture.
- Store-bought dulce de leche can be used but should be whisked well to smooth lumps.
- Mini alfajores can be made with a 1 1/2-inch cookie cutter; standard size uses 3-inch cutter.
- Best stored in airtight containers at room temperature for optimal freshness.
- Manjar blanco can be made up to 3 days ahead and tempered by warming if too firm from refrigeration.
- Recommended equipment: baking sheets, parchment paper, offset spatula, stand mixer, measuring tools, whisk.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie (approx. 10g)
- Calories: 386 kcal
- Sugar: 12 g
- Sodium: 190 mg
- Fat: 19.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 11.9 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5.5 g
- Trans Fat: 0.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 30.1 g
- Fiber: 0.6 g
- Protein: 2.7 g
- Cholesterol: 70 mg
