Corn Starch Alfajores Cookies
This Corn Starch Alfajores Cookies are delicious, tender and soft – filled with dulce de leche which makes them double Yum! They’re easy to make and bake in 9 minutes!
Delicate alfajores are those cookies you want to eat the whole day with a cup of tea, chocolate or on their own. Mmm
It’s hard to describe just how good these are. They’re suuuuper soft and light, the soft crumbly texture of these South America cookies, pairs well in the silky smooth Arequipe-Dulce de Leche, sandwiched in between two melt-in-your mouth short bread cookies, rolled the edges in coconut flakes and coated in powder sugar.
INGREDIENTS
Cornstarch – A must as these are corn starch cookies to begin with. It’s what creates the melt-in-your-mouth texture.
Butter – I use unsalted in all my bakings and add salt only if needed, which in this case, I don’t.
Dulce de leche – Use baker’s dulce de leche as it’s firmer and holds better as the filling. If you don’t have it, you can try making it yourself with my homemade AREQUIPE-DULCE DE LECHE.
Powdered sugar – Makes the cookies softer and more delicate, which is what we’re going for. Granulated sugar will result in crunchier texture. Plus we’re using a refined sugar-free one.
STEPS TO MAKE ALFAJORES COOKIES
1. Whisk the flour, corn starch, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl then set aside.
2. Add the room temperature butter, lemon zest and sugar to the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a large bowl if using an electric hand mixer. Beat on medium speed for about 3 minutes until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in the yolks one at a time then add the vanilla. Scrape the bowl down then mix once more.
4. Add the dry mixture into the wet and mix until just combined. Scrape the bowl down one last time then mix for a few more seconds. Transfer the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and press into a disk. Wrap well and refrigerate for at least an hour. You can also divide the dough into two batches if you like, this way you can take your time when cutting the alfajores.
5. Once your dough has chilled preheat oven to 350F and place dough on the counter to soften up a bit, then roll out on a lightly floured surface to thickness of about 1/8 an inch although they can be a bit thicker. Cut into circles and place on a silicone or parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for about 9 minutes rotating pan halfway through the bake. The alfajores are done when the edges are just turning golden.
6. Add about a teaspoon or two of dulce de leche to the underside of a cookie then sandwich together, press so the filling spreads to the edge and roll in the shredded coconut.
7. Coat one side of the cookie with powder sugar and they’re ready to eat!
FINAL TIPS
Plan ahead – The cookies taste better the next day as the flavours have time to blend with each other. Make them 1 day ahead before serving, if you can.
Butter – Let it soften, which means that it’s softer than a room temperature butter. When you poke into it, it shouldn’t have any resistance at all. Although, you shouldn’t let it be until it’s starting to melt.
Gluten-free flour – As the dough will be free of gluten, it could stick a bit on the base you’re working. To avoid this, spread some flour on the surface you’ll work to prevent any break.
If your dough starts getting a bit soft while you’re cutting out the alfajores then just return to the fridge or freezer to firm it up a bit. Dividing the dough into two batches also helps.
Chill – Chill the dough in the fridge until it’s manageable to handle. 30 minutes work for me but depending on the coldness of your fridge, you might need less or longer time.
Don’t over bake – These cookies are supposed to be pale white, with no brown or toasted look, at all, not on top nor the bottom of the cookies. So make sure to get the temperature right.
HOW TO STORE
Place in air tight container, at room temperature. Best consumed the next day. Last good for 1 week at room temperature, 2 weeks in the fridge.
You’ll like every bit of it. It’s finger-lickin’ good! Enjoy, friends!🌞
If you like this recipe, you might love these:
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Corn Starch Alfajores Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup gluten-free all purpose flour
- 1¼ cup cornstarch flour
- ¾ cup powder sugar refined sugar-free Lakanto
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- ¾ cup (170 gr) butter room temperature
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¾ cup dulce de leche
Instructions
- Combine the flour, corn starch, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl, whisk together then set aside.
- Add the room temperature butter, lemon zest and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a large bowl if using an electric hand mixer. Beat on a medium speed for about 3 minutes or until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg yolks and vanilla extract then mix until combined. Scrape the bowl down and mix once more.
- Dump in the dry mixture and mix on low until just combined. Scrape the bowl down one last time and mix for a few seconds more.
- Transfer the dough onto a piece or plastic wrap and flatten into one or two disks. Wrap well and chill for about 30 minutes.
- Once you dough has chilled set oven to 350F and bring the dough out onto your counter to warm up for a few minutes. Roll out to between 1/4 and 1/8 an inch on a lightly floured surface. Use a circle or scalloped cookie cutter to cut the dough and transfer to parchment or silicone-lined baking sheets.
- Bake at 350F (180ºC) in a preheated oven, on middle rack for 9 minutes or until fully cooked without having any toasted colour. Cool completely before using.
- Pipe dulce de leche on the bottom side of a cookie, more or less the same thickness of the cookie itself. Take another cookie and place it on top and lightly press. Roll in desiccated coconut. Then, coat one side of the cookies with icing sugar. Enjoy!
- Place in air tight container, at room temperature. Best consumed the next day. Last good for 1 week at room temperature, 2 weeks in the fridge.
Notes
- You can easily make your own dulce de leche by baking sweetened condensed milk, I’ve got a whole blog post on it so click over if you need the instructions.
- Don’t over-fill your cookies with dulce de leche, it’s fairly soft and things can get messy if there’s too much.
- If your dough starts getting a bit soft while you’re cutting out the cookies just return to the fridge or freezer to firm up a bit. Dividing the dough into two batches also helps. Also floured the base where your working your dough.