Colombian Alfajores with Arequipe
Two shortbread-style cookies made with more cornstarch than flour, so they crumble the moment you bite them, sandwiched with arequipe, the Colombian name for dulce de leche, and dipped in dark or white chocolate. The cornstarch is what makes an alfajor an alfajor. Makes about 10.
Servings: 10
Calories: 235kcal
Ingredients
- 125 g butter, at room temperature about 1 stick plus 1 tablespoon
- 75 g sugar about 6 tablespoons
- 2 egg yolks
- 100 g all-purpose flour about ¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon
- 150 g cornstarch about 1¼ cups; cornflour in the UK
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 lime (or lemon), zest only you only need the zest, not the juice
- Dark or white chocolate, for coating about 200 g / 7 oz covers ten alfajores
- Arequipe (dulce de leche), to taste sold as dulce de leche in most US supermarkets
Instructions
- In a bowl, beat the butter with the sugar until you have a soft, pale cream. The butter has to be at room temperature or it will not come together.
- Add the egg yolks one at a time, working each one into the mixture before the next goes in.
- Grate in the zest of the lime, still beating. At this point, heat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
- Sift the flour, cornstarch and baking powder together and add them to the bowl. Do not skip the sifting: cornstarch clumps, and unsifted lumps do not break up later.
- Bring the dough together with your hands and knead until it is smooth, firm and free of lumps.
- Roll the dough out with a rolling pin to a thickness of 0.5 cm (about ¼ inch). Cut out circles, small or medium as you prefer, and set them on a floured baking sheet.
- Bake for 5 to 7 minutes, until the cookies are barely coloured. They should not brown: these are meant to stay pale and sandy.
- Take them out and let them cool completely. Then spread arequipe over one cookie and press a second one on top.
- Melt the chocolate in a bowl set over simmering water, or in the microwave in short bursts of one to two minutes.
- Dip each alfajor into the melted chocolate to coat it.
- Leave the chocolate to set before serving.
Notes
The dough is soft because of all the cornstarch. If it fights you when you roll it, rest it in the fridge for twenty or thirty minutes and it will behave. Alfajores are better on the second day: the moisture in the arequipe softens the cookies, and what starts out sandy turns tender. Keep them in a tin, not the fridge, which dries them out. Instead of chocolate you can roll the edges in shredded coconut, dust them with icing sugar, or leave them plain.
Nutrition
Calories: 235kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 66mg | Sodium: 137mg | Potassium: 37mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 367IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 39mg | Iron: 1mg