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Home » Cookies

Alfajores (Dulce de Leche Sandwich Cookies)

Published: Mar 28, 2020 · Modified: May 29, 2020 by Lizet

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Alfajores are soft, melt in your mouth cookies, sandwich together with a generous layer of dulce de leche and then rolled in shredded coconut.

Alfajores are a very common dessert in South America. You can find them in the bakeries, or in the small neighborhood store.

The price varies from store to store, as well as the quality of the cookies and the quantity of dulce de leche.

One of the most common recipes is the cornstarch alfajores recipe that has part all-purpose flour and a part of cornstarch.

With this type of alfajor, there are recipes that use only egg yolks and others use all the egg.

alfajores on a plate

I have to confess that although I love alfajores, I don't make them at home, precisely because it is easy to buy delicious alfajores in Paraguay.

Today's recipe is an adaptation from my friend Gaby's recipe.

There are a lot of recipes for alfajores, but I find that the majority are in grams. I know a lot of my friends who lived in South America would like to have a recipe measured in cups.

This is the only recipe I've ever tried, and the taste and texture are the same as the alfajores that I buy from the bakeries.

I hope you enjoy making these alfajores at home.

Dough for Alfajores

For this recipe, it is important to have all the ingredients at room temperature. Remove butter and yolks from the refrigerator 30 minutes before starting.

My friend's recipe says to add brandy or cognac. I didn't have any but reading about these ingredients, what you want is the acidity they offer that helps the formation of gluten in the dough, something that lemon juice can also do. Use what you have on hand.

butter and icing sugar creamed

Start by mixing the butter, yolks, icing sugar, and lemon zest until creamy. Then add the vanilla and lemon juice.

alfajor dough in a bowl

Add the flour, cornstarch, and baking powder. Mix with a wooden spoon or your hands.

The dough is soft, it looks a bit like playdough. Wrap it with plastic film and store it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 1 hour, or until firm to the touch.

cookie dough on baking tray

Once the dough is cold and firm, you can roll it out by sprinkling cornstarch on a flat surface.

Roll out the dough, and then cut it with a round cutter, a glass, or lid.

The truth is that you can give it the shape you want. The round shape is the most common one.

Bake the cookies for just 12 minutes. They are not going to brown at all, but you can touch them with the tip of your fingers to see if they are cooked (they should feel firm).

Dulce de Leche Filling

Dulce de leche filling is the most common one throughout South America.

dulce de leche on a spoon

Some say it is the ingredient that Argentines added to the recipe for alfajores that came to South America with the Spaniards.

Dulce de leche is another very common dessert or spread that South American love. It is the reduction of milk and sugar; some add vanilla, and others a little baking soda.

Assembling Alfajores

The dulce de leche needs to spread over the edges a little for the coconut to stick.

tray with shredded coconut and cookies

The easiest way I found to do this step is to place the dulce de leche in a bag and cut off the tip.

Then grab a cookie in one hand, and with the other, squeeze the bag and begin to add the dulce de leche around the edges going towards the center.

Top the alfajor with another cookie and press gently so that the dulce de leche squishes out a little. Then roll it over the shredded coconut.

These alfajores can be stored at room temperature for about 5 days but in an airtight container. If they are not covered well, they will dry out.

Recipes you might like:

  • Chocolate Dulce de Leche Empanadas (Cookies)
  • Dulce de leche fudge
    Dulce de Leche Fudge
  • No-Bake Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Pie
    No-Bake Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Pie

If you liked the recipe above, please consider rating the recipe and leaving a comment below! and share your picture on Instagram with the hashtag #chipabythedozen

Recipe

alfajores (cookies) on a plate
Print Recipe
5 from 9 votes

Alfajores (Dulce de Leche Sandwich Cookies)

Alfajores are soft, melt in your mouth cookies, sandwich together with dulce de leche.
Prep Time15 minutes mins
Cook Time12 minutes mins
Resting Time30 minutes mins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: South America
Servings: 17
Calories: 131kcal
Author: Lizet Bowen

Ingredients

  • Dough:
  • ¼ cup butter at room temperature (50g)
  • ½ cup icing sugar (50g)
  • 3 egg yolks
  • ½ tablespoon lemon zest
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • ¼ cup flour
  • 1 cup + 1 tablespoon cornstarch (133g)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • Filling:
  • ¾ cup dulce de leche (190g)
  • ¼ cup grated coconut (25g)

Instructions

  • In a large bowl, beat the butter, icing sugar, egg yolks and lemon zest with an electric mixer until creamy (about 2 minutes). Add the lemon juice and vanilla, mix well.
  • Add flour, cornstarch, and baking powder. Mix with a wooden spoon or your hands. Wrap the dough with plastic film and store in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 1 hour, or until the dough is firm.
  • Preheat the oven to 176C/350F and grease the baking sheet.
  • On a flat surface, sprinkle some cornstarch. Roll out the dough to ¼ centimeter thick. Cut the dough into the desired shape.
  • Bake for 12 minutes. Cookies don't brown much, but they have to feel firm when touched. Let them cool.
  • Place the dulce de leche in a bag and cut off the tip. Pipe dulce de leche on the cookies, starting with the edges. Gently press the second cookie on top of the dulce de leche, making sure that the dulce de leche comes out of the edges a little. Roll alfajores in shredded coconut.

Notes

Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days if it is not too hot. Or in the fridge, if the weather is very hot.
These alfajores were cut with a 4 cm cutter (1-½ inches).

Nutrition

Calories: 131kcal

3 alfajores on a plate

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Reader Interactions

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Robin G.

    November 25, 2022 at 11:59 pm

    These cookies came out so lovely. I am going to make some for my holiday cookie trays as well.

    Reply
  2. Kerri

    November 25, 2022 at 11:37 pm

    I have got to try these! I love the melt-in-your mouth style cookie and I can just tell from the pictures that these are the melty cookies of my dreams lol. Definitely making these for Christmas!

    Reply
  3. Chenée

    November 25, 2022 at 11:23 pm

    Alfajores are some of my favorite treats and I'm so glad to have this recipe so I can make them myself!

    Reply
  4. Maggie

    November 25, 2022 at 10:08 pm

    I love making this type of alfajores. The chocolate version are my favorite, but they more labor intensive. That's why I prefer making these. lol.

    Reply
  5. Cynthia | What A Girl Eats

    November 25, 2022 at 7:42 pm

    These are definitely on my 12 days of Christmas cookie baking for sure! I'm always looking for new and different cookies! Yum.

    Reply
  6. Michelle

    December 09, 2020 at 10:52 pm

    How does this make a serving of 17

    Reply
    • Lizet

      December 09, 2020 at 11:28 pm

      17 sandwich cookies.
      34 individual cookies.

      Reply
  7. Vanessa

    November 06, 2020 at 10:51 pm

    These were, as my husband described them, "espetacular"! My husband is from Uruguay and he said they tasted exactly like the ones there and brought back so many memories for him. We made them yesterday for his birthday. We doubled the recipe because we wanted them to make them a little bigger. These are delicious. Thanks for the recipe?

    Reply
  8. Bhawana

    June 25, 2020 at 10:40 pm

    Liz you really made my mouth watering with these dulce de leche cookies. Bookmarked it and I am going to make these in the weekend. I love eating dulce de leche just like that.

    Reply
    • Lizet

      June 25, 2020 at 10:51 pm

      I know. Dulce de leche with a spoon is the best 🙈

      Reply
  9. Ashley

    June 25, 2020 at 9:33 pm

    These were incredible! We're serving at my sister in laws shower this weekend!

    Reply
  10. Jeannette

    June 25, 2020 at 9:33 pm

    You had me at 'melt in your mouth', but to find out that there's dulce de leche involved? Such a terrific recipe! Thanks for sharing this perfect weekend treat!

    Reply
  11. Amy Desrosiers

    June 25, 2020 at 9:14 pm

    These cookies look incredibly amazing! I would love to whip up a batch to try out.

    Reply
  12. Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry

    June 25, 2020 at 9:07 pm

    These cookies look incredible and so melt in the mouth delicious! I definitely need to make a batch of these.

    Reply

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Lizet's photo, creator of Chipa by the Dozen.

Hello! I am Lizet.

Welcome to my blog. This is a collection of the most beloved recipes between my family and friends. Some are my own creations and some are copycat from the many found on the internet, but with a twist using ingredients I can find in Paraguay. I hope you enjoy them!

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