Alfajores
Updated Feb. 29, 2024
- Total Time
- 4 hours, plus cooling
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:About 50 cookies
- 2(13.4-ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk, labels removed
- 1tablespoon/15 milliliters brandy
- 1teaspoon/2 grams finely grated lemon zest
- 2teaspoons/10 milliliters vanilla extract
- 1cup/125 grams all-purpose flour
- 1cup plus 1 tablespoon/165 grams cornstarch
- 1teaspoon/5 grams baking powder
- ¼teaspoon/1 gram baking soda
- ½teaspoon/3 grams fine sea salt, plus a pinch for dulce de leche
- ½cup/100 grams granulated sugar
- 10tablespoons/141 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2large egg yolks
- 1cup/100 grams finely ground dried coconut
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (50 servings)
125 calories; 5 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 18 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 10 grams sugars; 2 grams protein; 35 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Make the dulce de leche: Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then carefully lower condensed milk cans on their sides into the water. Simmer for 3 hours 15 minutes, refilling with hot water as needed to keep cans submerged. Never let the water boil away, or the cans could burst. Using tongs, transfer cans to a rack to let cool completely before opening.
- Step 2
In a small bowl, combine brandy, lemon zest and 1 teaspoon vanilla.
- Step 3
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Step 4
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add yolks and beat to combine, then add brandy mixture and beat until just combined. Add flour mixture, and mix on low speed until the dough just comes together.
- Step 5
Divide the dough in half and roll each piece into a log about 1½ inches thick. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, at least 2 hours.
- Step 6
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove dough from plastic wrap and slice into ⅛-inch-thick rounds. Place on prepared sheet pans, then bake until edges start to turn golden, about 7 minutes. Transfer each pan to a rack to cool completely.
- Step 7
In a small bowl, combine dulce de leche with remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla and a large pinch of salt. Spoon the mixture into a plastic zipper bag and cut a corner off. (Or you could scoop it into a pastry bag if you prefer, or just use a spoon.)
- Step 8
Flip half of the cookies upside down and pipe a thick layer of dulce de leche onto bottoms (or use a spoon to spoon the mixture on). Top with remaining cookies to sandwich the dulce de leche in the middle. Roll sides in coconut. Eat right away, or store in the refrigerator until serving.
Tip
- If you don’t want to make your own dulce de leche, feel free to use store-bought. Leftover dulce de leche will keep for at least 2 weeks in the refrigerator. It’s great on toast. And if you can't find ground coconut, use finely shredded coconut instead.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Peter Joseph
A couple of things I would point out about Melissa Clark's recipe: 1) you can cut the time for dulce de leche considerably by using a pressure cooker (45 minutes to an hour depending how dark and firm you want it to be, longer = darker and firmer), 2) the dough we use has a high ratio of potato starch to flour, yielding a cookie that dissolves in your mouth, and 3) we keep the cookies separate in a tin, filling them at the time we serve or give them away. They keep much longer that way.
Mauricio
Boiled condensed milk is not the same as real dulce de leche - it will never be as dark and luscious as the real thing. If you want to make the true version, you need to simmer large amounts of milk and sugar, stirring constantly for about two hours. With excellent commercial versions readily available throughout North America, there's no need to settle for the quick and dirty approximation of boiled condensed milk.
rz
Simmered sweetened condensed milk = dulce de leche filling
I think the link I've included below will help you understand what role the sweetened condensed milk plays in this recipe.
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2015/02/dulce-de-leche-recipe.html
Susan
I made these yesterday and they were delicious. I have made alfajores a lot but I especially like this recipe. I have always rolled out the dough but it was much faster to make the log and then slice them. The cookie is a nice texture. Some recipes are too much like shortbread and aren't flaky and some have so much cornstarch that they have no flavor even though they are light in texture. I used canned dulce de leche this time and it worked well.
Emilian
Took these cookies to a Peruvian family dinner and everyone loved them! A couple of notes: If you don't have brandy on hand for the dough, just use water. And the baking time was closer to 14 minutes for me; it probably depends on how cold the dough is when you cut it into rounds and bake it.
Susan
Are steps missing?
How do yiu get from unopened boiled cans of condensed milk in step one to "dulc d leche" in step 7???
MsBlucher
The coconut's mostly just a garnish, so you could probably simply skip it entirely - but grated dark chocolate, or cinnamon sugar might be nice, or maybe instant espresso powder mixed with sugar...
Emilian
A few observations: 1. Forget about boiling cans of condensed milk and just buy the canned dulce de leche, available in the Hispanic food section of any large supermarket. 2. Lemon is not a traditional ingredient in this cookie; it's not a bad flavor but it's very different. 3. I thought that the cookies came out a little salty -- next time I'll use only half the amount of salt.
Edshamom
I don't understand simmering closed cans of condensed milk, and then leaving them to cool. There is nothing saying that this milk becomes the dulce de leche. perhaps the cans need to be opened and contents removed?
Kate
Dulce de Lethe can also be made this way: pour a can of sweetened condensed milk into a Pyrex pie plate and cover with foil. Place in a roasting pan and pour in water to about 1 inch up the sides. Cook at 425 for about 2 hours. With this method you can see it and cook to the desired color and thickness. It will thicken more as it cools. Whisk out any lumps.
Melissa Clark
Yes and so can the baked cookies.
Ellie
It makes about 50 alfajores or about 100 individual cookies.
Emily Weinstein, Cooking Editor
Yes, you open the cooled cans to find dulce de leche inside. We've edited the recipe to make that clearer.
Camila
You have to boil the water on high heat and make sure that when you put in more water that the water you add is also boiling. Otherwise the condensed milk won't be cooked enough after 3 hours
Sean
Be sure to clean the glue off the cans. Your pan will be coated with glue if you do not.
Sarah
I learned this method for making “caramel sauce” by boiling an unopened can of sweetened condensed milk over fifty years ago in a college level home economics class. After boiling the can for three hours, chill the can, open it, slide the contents on to a plate and slice. Yummy.
Sarah
Cans are lined with plastics. Plastics leach chemicals, particularly when heated. What is an alternative for creating dulce de leche? Can it be made in an instant pot?
Mary Claire
The cooking time for the dulce de leche was not long enough to get it to hold form and the dulce de leche in the cookies just oozed all over the place. I’ll use store bought dulce de leche next time for the right thickness/consistency for these cookies.
meredith
Made this for Peruvian Independence for my in-laws who are all proud Peruvians and I a humble Texan. They were thrown off by the lemon zest bc in their opinion it is not traditional. That said, they were willing to throw away the traditions for the sake of this recipe bc it was hands down some of the best alfajores they had ever had! Thank you, thank you.
A V
Made for fam trip to NC 7/2023 - everyone loved them w/arequipe and a sprinkle of maldon! The lemon zest is skippable, not traditional. I thought I made them too small but they were perfect 2-bite cookies. Roll and slice method is so easy.
Joanne
The alfajores came out great!! Dulce de leche was perfect as per the recipe. Rave reviews from my Argentine friend!!
ana
Nope. Dry, tasteless. The dolce de leche is also not flavorful. Will try a more authentic recipe.
KatieM
Another tip for leftover dulce de leches: spread it on sliced bananas! It's delightful!
Lindsay
Because I refrigerated my dough overnight and couldn't slice quite as thin as the recipe suggested, my cookies needed 15 minutes in the oven. They came out wonderfully, until I made the questionable decision to dip them in chocolate--a step I've always taken with alfajores. The lemon in these is too pronounced for that treatment. Next time, I will use orange zest (since skipping the chocolate seems like too much to lose).
Jenny O
These cookies are incredible!
Laurie W.
Has anybody tried putting the condensed milk in a Sous Vide?
MVL
Made these this weekend. While delicious, my cookies were not flat (as pictured) they had a small dome. I also think my technique is off for rolling. Any suggestions??
Magpie
Is there a good reason not to use silicone mats rather than parchment?
susanb
Can I roll out the dough and use a cookie cutter vs. slicing?
Magpie
Yes, other alfajores recipes suggest this.
maeve
yes, but it would take much longer then slicing
Angela
I made these twice. The first time I followed recipe exactly, except I subbed whisky for brandy. Second time, I mixed everything in the mixer bowl at once, and rolled out the dough with a rolling pin and cut circles with a shot glass. The second method was easier and provided more uniform cookies.
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