Peruvian Alfajores: Easy-to-Prepare Cookie with Manjar Blanco
The classic alfajor consists of two buttery, melt-in-the-mouth cookies filled with creamy, sweet pastry filling and topped with sprinkled powdered sugar.
- Prep time
- 30 min
- Cook time
- 20 min
- Yield
- 10 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1 cup self-rising flour (Doesn't require extra baking powder)
- 1 cup cornstarch
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 6 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 6 ounces manjar blanco (store-bought. Often sold as dulce de leche)
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh aniseed
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract ((optional))
Instructions
- 1
In a mixing bowl, combine the butter, sugar and vanilla extract and mix until smooth.
- 2
Add the egg yolks and beat with a mixer until smooth.
- 3
In another mixing bowl, use a fine strainer to sift the flour and cornstarch together. Also (Add the fresh aniseed here if desired)
- 4
Transfer the butter, sugar and vanilla extract mixture to the flour and cornstarch bowl
- 5
Knead until the dough has a uniform texture.
- 6
Shape into a big ball and let it rest for 10 minutes in the fridge.
- 7
Sprinkle a little flour on the clean counter-top surface.
- 8
Use a bread roller, roll out the ball of dough until it’s about ½ inch thick. You should have 10-15 round cookies to bake, so it might be necessary to use two oven trays or dishes to bake them all in one go.
- 9
Use the cookie cutters or a glass to cut circles of dough, about 3 inches wide.
- 10
Place a baking sheet on your metal tray, or use a glass dish, sprinkle with flour and place the cookies with a couple of inches between them. With a fork, make a few holes in the center of each cookie to avoid the dough to break or rise too much when baking.
- 11
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 F (175 C) for 20 minutes.
- 12
Remove from the oven, ensuring you remove them very carefully from the tray since these cookies can break quite easily. Wait for 30 mins until completely cool and finish your alfajores by topping half of them with manjar blanco at room temperature, and placing another cookie on top.
- 13
Using a strainer, sprinkle the powdered sugar over the alfajores. Enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee and try to stay close to the suggested serving size of 2 cookies per person!