Alfajores Cookies Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups corn starch
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter (room temp)
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 7.5 fluid oz. dulce de leche
• 1/3 cup shredded coconut unsweetened (finely chopped or pulsed in a blender or food processor)

Instructions

1. 1

   In the empty bowl of a stand mixer (or large bowl if you are using a hand mixer), add the butter, lemon zest, and sugar. Beat on medium speed for about 4 minutes or until light and fluffy.

2. 2

   Add the egg yolks and vanilla extract to the mixer bowl and then mix until well combined, scraping the bowl down as needed to fully mix.

3. 3

   In a large bowl (not the stand mixer bowl), combine the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking powder; whisk the ingredients together until well-mixed.

4. 4

   Pour the dry mixture into the mixing bowl and mix on low until the ingredients are just combined, scraping as needed.

5. 5

   Split the dough into 2 parts, wrap each in plastic wrap, and flatten each into a disk. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for about an hour.

6. 6

   After the dough has chilled, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (177 degrees Celsius) and take one disk of dough out of the refrigerator to warm up for a few minutes.

7. 7

   Unwrap the dough and use a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface to roll the dough to between 1/4 and 1/8 of an inch thick.

8. 8

   Use a 2” circle or fluted cookie cutter to cut the dough, then transfer the cookies to parchment or silicone-lined baking sheets. Repeat with the other disk of dough. Re-roll any excess dough to get the last cookies cut.

9. 9

   Bake for about 8 minutes, and halfway through cooking, rotate the pan.

10. 10

    Allow the cookies to completely cool on the baking sheet before putting together the sandwich cookies.

11. 11

    Pour the coconut into a shallow bowl.

12. 12

    Once the cookies are cooled, place a dollop of dulce de leche (we used ½ tablespoon for each cookie) onto the back of a cookie and sandwich it with the bottom of another cookie.

13. 13

    Lastly, roll the cookie in the shredded coconut and repeat to put together the remaining cookies.