Recipe byThe ZestyPlate Kitchen
Tender Uruguayan sandwich biscuits made with cornstarch, filled with dulce de leche and rolled in coconut. A favourite alongside coffee.
Alfajores are the sandwich biscuit that South America rightly adores: tender shortbread that practically dissolves on the tongue, joined with a generous layer of dulce de leche and rolled in coconut. The high proportion of cornflour in the dough is what gives them that fragile, crumbly bite. They're a fixture in Uruguay and Argentina, and a small one alongside a strong coffee is one of life's quieter pleasures.
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Prep 30 min
Cook 10 min
Total 40 min
Medium
Scale:
- 100g Butter
- 100g Sugar
- 1 Egg
- 1 Egg Yolks
- 200g Cornstarch
- 100g All Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 150g Dulce De Leche
- 50g Coconut Flakes
Preparation
- Cream the soft butter for about a minute, add the sugar and beat for another two. Mix in the egg until fully combined, then the egg yolk. Tip in all the remaining ingredients and mix once more. Bring the dough into a ball, wrap it and chill for at least half an hour, or overnight.
- Heat the oven to 180C and line two baking sheets with parchment.
- Divide the dough in half and put one piece back in the fridge. Roll the other out thickly on a lightly floured surface and stamp out rounds about 6cm across with a cutter or glass. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes; they should stay very pale. Leave to cool, then spread half the biscuits with a teaspoon of dulce de leche each. Sandwich with the remaining halves and roll the exposed sides in coconut flakes (easier if the filling is pushed right to the edges).
Tips from the ZestyPlate Kitchen
- Chill the dough properly so it rolls out neatly and the biscuits keep their shape in the oven.
- Pull them out while still pale and just set; any colour means they've gone too far.
- Wait until they're stone cold before filling, otherwise they'll fall apart in your hands.
- Push the dulce de leche right out to the edges so the coconut clings all the way round.
Frequently Asked Questions
It's the cornflour. The high proportion gives alfajores their melt-in-the-mouth texture, and chilling the dough makes the soft mix much easier to handle.
A thick, caramel-like spread made by slowly cooking down sweetened milk. It's the traditional filling for alfajores.
Several days in an airtight tin. If anything they improve, as the biscuits soften slightly and grow even more tender.
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