Alfajores de Maizena

These little Argentinian puppies are pure LOVE!! Seriously. They're easy to make and really, really, really good. Everyone I've plied them with has fallen in love with them. The cookies are crumbly and perfect for sandwiching the creamy dulce de leche. They're so good they've replaced chcocolate chip cookies as my fav cookie. Mmm.

i got the recipe from 'Pip in the city'.

Alfajores de maizena

Makes about 12-36 depending on how big you make them. Mine were bite sized so I got between 36-40.
Keeps well in an airtight container for about a week. (not that they'll last that long)

1 2/3 c all purpose flour
2 1/2 c cornstarch (I used the Maizena brand that she did but any cornstarch brand will do)
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
200g unsalted butter
3/4 c granulated sugar
3 egg yolks
1 tsp cognac or whiskey [or replace with lemon/orange juice]
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 tsp grated lemon zest [I used orange zest]
shredded coconut (optional)

Sift all the dry ingredients together. Cream the butter with the sugar. Add the egg yolks, the vanilla extract, the cognac and the lemon zest. make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients. Using your hands or a spoon, form a crumbly dough, being careful not to overwork the dough. When you see that the dough is cohesive enough, make a ball with your hands pressing the different pieces together. [It will be very crumbly. If you really can't get it to stick together in a loose ball of dough, use 1 or 2 tbsp cold water]. Cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 30-60 minutes (30 is usually enough if you are in a hurry).

Roll out the dough on a floured counter until it gets around 1/2 a centimeter thick. Cut with a round cutter, and repeat joining the scraps again and again until you´ve used all the dough. Place on a clean cookie sheet and bake for around 17-20 minutes in a 180°C/350°F oven. Make sure to check often after the first 10 minutes. The dough should be white, not golden, it can appear undone, but it´s not, if you wait too much you will end up with a dry alfajor.

Quickly remove the cookies and place them in a rack (otherwise they can get burned and will get stuck to the cookie sheet. [lining the sheet with parchment paper makes it easier to transfer]). Once the cookies are cold, put a spoonful of dulce de leche in the middle of one cookie and carefully place another cookie on top. Press the top cookie gently to get the dulce de leche to the corners of the alfajor. (You can roll the sides on some shredded coconut for a more classic look. [I did and my sister likes them better than the plain ones])

* There are recipes for making your own dulce de leche which is fairly simple and quite time consuming. You basically boil unopened cans of condensed milk in water for about 4 hours (pressure cooker reduces time to about 45 mins) or cook the condensed milk in a pot on low heat for a few hours. If you're not making a big batch, it's probably not worth the time or effort. I just went out and bought a can. There are a few different brands that she covers in her post or there's mexican cajeta (which is basically the same thing) but they're all good and I can't taste the difference :)