Alfajores recipe with dulce de leche

This biscuit always reminds me of my trip to Peru. It was there that I first tasted alfajores, which are delicious soft sandwich biscuits with a layer of dulce de leche in between.

What Are Alfajores?

They are an Argentine specialty consisting of two round cornflour biscuits with a rich layer of dulce de leche in between.

The biscuits are often rolled in grated coconut and sprinkled with powdered sugar. They suddenly became popular in the Netherlands when Queen Máxima made them for her 49th birthday in 2020 and shared the recipe.

They are not only popular in Argentina, but also in the rest of Latin America and most South American countries. I tried them during my trip through Peru, after a pisco tasting. The baker was a kindred spirit (I don’t like coconut!) because she had left out the grated coconut. These kinds of details differ by country and region.

Recipe Ingredients

• cornstarch – a typical ingredient for alfajores is cornstarch. They’re also sometimes referred to as cornstarch cookies. The combination of regular flour with the cornstarch gives them a lovely crumbly texture.
• butter – I used unsalted butter
• icing sugar – you need some in the dough as well as for decorating the cookies
• coconut – while I don’t particularly like grated coconut, it is traditional for these dulce de leche sandwich cookies to be rolled in coconut. If you like coconut, feel free to do so! And if you don’t: you can leave it out.
• dulce de leche – This insanely delicious caramel sauce is easy to make yourself. I’ll be sharing a recipe for this soon as well! Of course you can use store-bought dulce de leche as well.

You can find the full ingredient list and quantities in the recipe card below.

How To Make Alfajores

Making this traditional cookie is not complicated at all. You start by creaming the butter and the sugar together. You can do this in the bowl of a stand mixer or use an electric mixer.

Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix. Now add the dry ingredients (flour, cornstarch and baking powder) all at once. Knead until it is firm. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it refrigerate for at least an hour.

Once it is chilled, roll out and cut circles of around 5 cm (roughly 2 inches), and keep in mind that you will need 40 biscuits to make 20 alfajores.

Now bake on prepared baking sheets or a cookie sheet for about 10-12 minutes at 175˚C/340˚F until the edges start to brown slightly. You do not want these cookies to come out golden brown. Let them cool on a wire rack until completely cooled down to room temperature before filling with a dollop of dulce de leche.

They’re my favorite cookie to serve on special occasions. Or just because I feel like making them.

Storing Alfajores

In general, cookies can be stored for quite a long time, but this depends on the type of cookie. Because alfajores have a creamy dulce de leche center between them, these sandwich cookies do not keep as long as most. I recommend storing them in a cookie jar.

How long do alfajores keep?

You can store them in an airtight container for up to a week. After a few days, the biscuits may become slightly softer due to the caramel filling. which is delicious if you ask me.

Can you freeze alfajores?

Freezing them is a good idea because it allows you to keep them for longer. Storing them in an airtight container will keep them fresh in the freezer for up to three months.

More recipes with dulce de leche

I had discovered this South American caramel sauce, dulce de leche, long before my trip to Peru. It’s incredibly delicious, yet the taste is very different from regular caramel sauce.

The preparation method for homemade dulce de leche alone is unusual: you boil a can of sweetened condensed milk for several hours, and then it’s ready!

Dulce de leche is perfect for all kinds of sweet baked goods.

You could even use it to make my favorite Dutch stroopwafel cookies or drizzle the caramel over stroopwafel ice cream.