Alfajores -sweet caramel and coconut biscuits

Alfajores are one of South Americas favourite treats and one of our favourite sweets to make. They come in many sizes and flavours although we prefer them with Dulce de Leche(caramel).

Each region of South America has its own version but they are mostly popular in Argentina, Uruguay and Southern Brazil. We like Alfajores best when they are freshly made, so that the crisp cookies contrast the soft filling, but many people prefer to wait a couple of days for the cookies to soften, so that the cookie and the filling have the same texture. Waiting makes them melt in your mouth as you bite into them.

Making Alfajores brings back memories of when we were kids hoping mum would make some for our birthdays or just as a treat. It’s a fairly simple recipe made simpler by the fact you can buy ready to eat Dulce de Leche(caramel) in a can, back when we were young mum had to make it from scratch. If you are really ambitious or just to make the Alfajores extra special make your own Dulce de Leche. The full recipe and instructions are below.

Alfajores
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Alfajores are two cookies joined together by caramel and rolled in desiccated coconut
Author:
Recipe type: Sweets
Cuisine: South American
Serves: 25
Ingredients
  • 3 cups of self raising flour
  • 2 cups of corn flour
  • 2 cups of white sugar
  • 5 whole eggs 700 grms
  • 6 to 8 table spoons of melted butter
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
  • 1 can of caramel
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees C
  2. Beat the eggs with the sugar, butter, and vanilla then add the sifted flour and sifted cornflour.
  3. Knead into a dough on a floured surface then roll out using a rolling pin to ½ cm high.
  4. Cut into circles using a 5cm cutter or a small glass.
  5. Place in greased and lined oven trays bake for 12-15 minutes on 160 degrees C.
  6. Take out of the oven and allow cooling.
  7. Spread caramel on one of the circles and sandwich two pieces together. Roll edges on desiccated coconut.

Hope you enjoy cooking and eating them. Leave a comment below or post a photo on our facebook page(Taste South America) to let us know how you go. Ciao abuelas Silvia and Graciela

4 thoughts on “Alfajores -sweet caramel and coconut biscuits

  • May 25, 2017 at 12:01 pm
    Permalink

    Yum! Maybe I could try and make some

    Reply
    • May 31, 2017 at 4:35 am
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      We hope you do Larissa, thanks again for your support.

      Reply
  • August 4, 2017 at 5:37 am
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    The coconut really adds a great flavor and cuts some of the sweetness, so I strongly suggest adding it. Also, don’t bother to make your own dulce de leche at home.

    Reply
    • August 7, 2017 at 10:58 am
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      We agree on the coconut. Years ago we would always make our own dulce de leche but when it became available in a can we got a bit lazy. Thanks for checking out our blog

      Reply

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