Meet your new favorite cookies, alfajores! You’ll love the delicate, buttery cookies and sweet, caramel-like dulce de leche filling. Shredded coconut is a wonderful finishing touch. These small cookies are a lovely sweet treat paired with your favorite hot drink.
Alfajores cookies have many variations. You can add spices and citrus to the dough and even leave out the coconut in favor of a dusting of powdered sugar or a drizzle of melted chocolate. I have lots of ideas in the Variations section that you can try. For more cookie recipes, try my shortbread cookies, butter cookies, and biscochitos.
What Are Alfajores?
Alfajores are dulce de leche sandwich cookies popular around Latin America. Different South American countries have their own method of making alfajores, but the basic principle is the same: A crumbly, shortbread-like sandwich cookie is filled with sweet dulce de leche. Spread or pipe sweet, creamy dulce de leche between 2 tender butter cookies, then roll one side of the cookie in shredded coconut. You will love all the flavors and textures!
What You Need To Make This Recipe
Cornstarch — there is a significant amount of cornstarch (also known as cornflour) in the cookie dough, but for a good reason. Cornstarch cookies hold their shape well when baked while still being tender.
Flour — all-purpose flour is all you need for tender cookies.
Baking powder — baking powder helps the cookies puff up ever so slightly in the oven so they have a tender but not tall or cakey.
Butter — softened unsalted butter is the key to the shortbread-like cookies tasting delicious and having a delicate texture.
Sugar — granulated sugar sweetens the dough and helps create crisp cookies.
Eggs — you only need egg yolks for this recipe, so save the egg whites for another use.
Vanilla — vanilla extract infuses the cookies with an amazing aroma and complements the other flavors.
Dulce de leche — you can find canned dulce de leche in grocery stores near the condensed milk and evaporated milk.
Coconut — use unsweetened shredded coconut to keep the cookies from becoming too sweet.
How To Make Alfajores
1. In a large bowl, combine the cornstarch, flour, salt, and baking powder.
2. To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the softened butter and sugar. Beat on medium speed for about 3 minutes.
3. Add the egg yolks and vanilla extract, then mix until combined.
4. Add the flour mixture all at once. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds until just combined. Transfer the alfajores cookie dough to a piece of plastic wrap and flatten it into one or two disks. Wrap tightly and chill for about 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 350°F and bring the dough out onto the countertop to warm for a few minutes.
5. Lightly flour the work surface and the top of the dough. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to ⅛- to ¼-inch thick. Use a 1¾ to 2-inch round cookie cutter to cut the dough into circles. You can also use other small cookie cutter shapes, but circles are the classic shape for alfajores. Place the cookies on parchment paper- or silicone-lined baking sheets.
6. Bake the cookies for about 10 to 12 minutes, or until just set. They do not gain a lot of color, so don’t wait for a deep golden brown. Allow to cool on the baking sheet before assembling. Once the cookies are cool, spread or use a piping bag to pipe a dollop of dulce de leche onto the back of a cookie and sandwich it to the bottom of another cookie. Roll the edges of the cookie in shredded coconut and repeat for the remaining cookies.
Tips For Making The Cookie Dough
- Don’t skip the cornstarch: Cornstarch is a game-changer for alfajor cookie dough. Not only does it produce a tender, delicate cookie, but it also helps them hold their shape while baking since it prevents cookies from spreading too much!
- Chill the dough: This is essential for cookies that don’t spread too much while baking.
- Let the chilled dough warm slightly before rolling it out: Set the dough out on the counter for 5 to 10 minutes after chilling to warm up slightly. If the dough cracks when you start to roll, let it sit for a few more minutes more before trying to roll again.
- Don’t let the dough get too warm: If you tend to work slowly, divide the dough into 2 disks and keep 1 disk refrigerated while you work on the other. This will ensure the rest of the dough stays cold enough. If your dough starts getting a bit soft and sticky while you’re cutting out the alfajores, just return to the fridge for a few minutes to firm it back up a bit.
What Is Dulce De Leche?
Dulce de leche is a sweet, spreadable confection made from milk and sugar. It is similar to caramel sauce but has a creamier, more milky flavor and is very thick.
You can usually find canned dulce de leche in the baking section of large grocery stores near the evaporated milk and condensed milk or in the International food section of the store.
If you can’t find it, you can easily make homemade dulce de leche with nothing more than some time and a can of sweetened condensed milk!
Variations
You can elevate the flavor of the cookies with some simple additions!
- Add dark rum or brandy: For depth, you can add a teaspoon or two of dark rum or brandy along with the vanilla extract. You won’t taste the alcohol, but the flavor of the cookies becomes so complex.
- Add almond extract: Add ¼ teaspoon almond extract for a hint of nutty almond flavor in the cookie dough.
- Add ground spices: You can add ½ teaspoon cinnamon or ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, cloves, or ginger to the dry ingredients.
- Add citrus: For a kiss of citrus in every bite, add up to 1 teaspoon of lemon zest or orange zest to the cookie dough.
- Dust the cookies with powdered sugar and skip the coconut for Peruvian-style alfajores.
- Chocolate alfajores: Dip the cookies in melted chocolate or drizzle the tops with it.
- Use cajeta instead of dulce de leche for the filling: Cajeta is very similar to dulce de leche but is made with goat’s milk instead of cow’s milk.
How To Store
After filling the cookies, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 3 days. Dulce de leche cookies will soften the longer they are refrigerated, so try to enjoy them as soon as possible after assembling them. Unfilled cookies will keep at room temperature in an airtight container for about 5 days.
Pro Tips For Making This Recipe
- Measure your flour correctly. Adding too much flour is such a common baking mistake. The best and easiest way to measure flour is by using a scale. If you don’t have one, fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off.
- Use room temperature ingredients. Bring the eggs and butter to room temperature beforehand so they are easy to incorporate. Here’s a simple tutorial for how to soften butter quickly if you forget to set it out in advance.
- Don’t overmix the cookie dough: This will result in a tough cookie instead of a tender one. Using room temperature ingredients is one simple way to avoid overmixing.
- Don’t overbake the cookies. These cookies do not turn a deep golden brown when baking; they remain quite pale. Once they are light brown, they are ready.
- Don’t overfill the cookies. The cookies are quite fragile, and overfilling them can cause them to break apart.
Frequently Asked Questions
The cookie dough can be made a few days in advance and stored in the refrigerator, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap to keep it from drying out. Homemade dulce de leche will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. If using canned, only open the can when you’re ready to assemble the cookies. I recommend only filling the cookies within a few hours of when you are ready to serve them, as they are best eaten the day they are assembled.
Yes, you can! Fill them with buttercream, chocolate ganache, and even your favorite nut butter. They will not be classic alfajores anymore but they will still be delightful sandwich cookies.
Unsweetened, finely shredded coconut is ideal for alfajores. The cookies are sweet enough already, so avoid sweetened coconut. Finely shredded coconut is a great option because the cookies are small and can more easily withstand smaller pieces of coconut. This type of coconut is often labeled as desiccated coconut. If you can’t find this type, just blitz larger pieces of shredded coconut in your food processor or blender until finely chopped.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this alfajores recipe, then don’t forget to rate it and let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
Alfajores Recipe
Video
Equipment
- Baking Sheet
- Bowls
- Round cookie cutter (1¾ to 2 inches in diameter)
Ingredients
- 1¼ cup cornstarch (180g)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (120g)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter (170g), room temperature
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar (133g)
- 3 egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 (13.4-ounce) can dulce de leche (380g)
- ⅓ cup shredded coconut unsweetened
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk to combine the cornstarch, flour, salt, and baking powder, then set aside.
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or a large bowl if using a hand mixer), add the softened butter, and sugar. Beat on medium speed for about 3 minutes or until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg yolks and vanilla extract, then mix for 1 minute until combined. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and mix once more.
- Add the flour mixture all at once. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds until just combined. Scrape the bowl down one last time and mix for a few seconds more.
- Transfer the dough to a piece of plastic wrap and flatten it into one or two disks. Wrap well and chill for about 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and bring the dough out onto the countertop to warm up for a few minutes.
- Lightly flour the surface and the top of the dough. With a rolling pin, roll the dough to be ¼ to ⅛-inch thick. Use a 1¾ to 2-inch round cookie cutter to cut the dough into circles. Place the cookies on parchment or silicone-lined baking sheets. Re-roll any excess dough and cut or freeze for later.
- Bake for about 10- 12 minutes, until the cookies are just set, and start to turn light brown on the edges, rotating the pans halfway through. Allow to cool on the baking sheet before assembling.
- Once the cookies are cool, pipe or spread a dollop of dulce de leche onto the back of a cookie and sandwich it to the bottom of another cookie. Roll the edges of the cookie in shredded coconut and repeat the assembly for the remaining cookies.
Notes
- Measure your flour correctly. Adding too much flour is such a common baking mistake. The best and easiest way to measure flour is by using a scale. If you don’t have one, fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off.
- Use room temperature ingredients. Bring the eggs and butter to room temperature beforehand so they are easy to incorporate. Here’s a simple tutorial for how to soften butter quickly if you forget to set it out in advance.
- Don’t overmix the cookie dough: This will result in a tough cookie instead of a tender one. Using room temperature ingredients is one simple way to avoid overmixing.
- Don’t overbake the cookies. These cookies do not turn a deep golden brown when baking; they remain quite pale. Once they are light brown, they are ready.
- Don’t overfill the cookies. The cookies are quite fragile, and overfilling them can cause them to break apart.
Ileana says
Los tradicionales Argentinos se hacen con fécula de maíz o almidón de maíz (la marca mas conocida en Argentina se llama MAIZENA). Los “alfajorcitos de maicena” son un clásico Argentino. Pero esta versión esta muy bien también. Mi admiración John. Saludos desde Argentina
Naina says
I made these to finish off some egg yolks (I had some yolks left over from making financiers!) and they came out really good! I really like preppy kitchen recipes… I’ve also tried the pound cake and it was good.
I found the alfajores dough a bit difficult to work with as you have to keep chilling it. It gets really soft. While marking dulce de leche I forgot to cover the pan with foil (I baked it) but realized it after 25 mins, just blended the brown layer that had formed on top and covered it. I needed only an hour and 15 mins to make dulce de leche total but that could be because I left it uncovered for some time! Anyway thank you John for the fabulous recipe and pictures!
Julie Edwards says
I want to make these wonderful biscuits but am confused, I’m in the UK so what do you mean by corn starch.
Thank you.
Julie.
John Kanell says
in the UK it’s called corn flour 🙂
Steve says
Looks amazing will try these next weekend