These alfajores (also called dulce de leche cookies) are buttery and sweet with a touch of vanilla. They're to die for! Given to me by a chef who sweet-talked the recipe out of a street vendor in Peru.
Ingredients
- sifted all-purpose flour: 2 cups
- sifted confectioners' sugar: 0.5 cup
- sifted cornstarch: 0.25 cup
- salt: 0.25 tsp
- sticks unsalted butter: 2 piece (softened)
- white sugar: 0.25 cup
- vanilla extract: 1 tsp
- dulce de leche: 1 jar (11.5 ounce jar)
- confectioners' sugar, or as needed for dusting: 0.25 cup
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Mix flour, 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a bowl.
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Beat butter with an electric mixer in a separate bowl until soft and fluffy. Mix in white sugar and vanilla until well combined.
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Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in 3 batches, beating until just blended after each addition. Divide dough in half, roll each half into a log, and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
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Slice dough logs into forty-eight 1/4-inch-thick cookies and place onto ungreased baking sheets.
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Bake in the preheated oven until just starting to turn golden around the edges, 8 to 10 minutes.
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Remove from the oven and let cool for 1 minute on the baking sheet. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely, 25 to 30 minutes.
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Use a knife to generously spread dulce de leche onto 1/2 of the cooled cookies. Sandwich remaining cookies on top and place onto a serving tray.
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Lightly dust finished cookies with remaining confectioners' sugar.
