These Alfajores are soft shortbread cookies filled with caramel-like dulce de leche and dipped in shredded coconut.
Alfajores are a traditional sweet treat originating from Argentina and South America.
They consist of two round, buttery biscuits, often flavored with citrus zest or coconut, and sandwiched around a generous layer of dulce de leche, a creamy caramel-like filling.
The biscuit sandwich is often times dusted with powdered sugar or coated in meringue or chocolate for an extra indulgent touch.
Delectably soft and rich, Alfajores present a wonderful interplay of textures and flavors, making them a favorite choice for dessert or a mid-afternoon snack.
For more cookie recipes check out my buckeyes cookies, double chocolate cookies, brown butter chocolate chunk cookies, oreo chocolate chip cookies, gingersnap cookies, and cheesecake cookies.
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Why this recipe works
- Texture- These cookies have a buttery and soft texture that will melt in your mouth along with the creamy dulce de leche filling.
- Dulce de leche filling- They are filled with a rich, silky smooth and luxurious dulce de leche filling which you can find in any grocery store or can make it at home with only one Ingredient: condensed milk.
- Ease- even though these look super impressive, they are really easy to make and use simple ingredients!
- Better than store bought- These alfajores cookies are so much better than store-bought and will be your go to recipe when you are craving these cookies!
- Perfect for the holidays- if you need a fabulous cookie recipe for this year's cookie exchange, this one will blow people away!
What are alfajores?
Alfajores is a popular South American sandwich cookie filled with dulce de leche. They are made with a shortbread dough that is filled with plenty of cornstarch and egg yolks, which makes this dough soft and rich.
These cookies will melt in your mouth, you will instantly fall in love with these cookies.
Ingredients
Before you start to make this recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Butter- use unsalted butter for this recipe. Only butter will work for this recipe, no margarine, and no coconut oil. Margarine has a weird taste and can ruin the flavor of these delicious cookies.
Flour– we used all-purpose flour for this recipe. cake flour will work great as well.
Baking powder – baking powder helps the cookies rise a bit. Make sure that your baking powder isn’t expired. Don’t replace the baking powder with baking soda!
Cornstarch- cornstarch helps to create a crumbly and tender texture for these cookies, plus, it keeps the cookie thick and soft.
Powder sugar- you will need powder sugar for this recipe. you don't have to buy powder sugar, you can simply make it at home by blending granulated sugar in a blender or food processor.
Egg yolks- you will need 4 large egg yolks for this recipe. The egg yolks will make this dough rich in flavor. Make sure that your egg is at room temperature.
Vanilla extract- adds extra flavor.
Kosher salt- you will need about ½ teaspoon of kosher salt for this recipe.
Dulce de leche- dulce de leche is a caramel-like spread that you can find in any supermarket in the baking aisle. You can make dulce de leche by yourself as well! Here are instructions for making dulce de leche.
Shredded coconut- you will need unsweetened finely shredded coconut for this recipe. If you don't like coconut, you can simply skip this step, or replace it with powder sugar, but it adds a lot to the cookies.
Instructions
In a big mixing bowl, add the softened butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, kosher salt, and egg yolks, and mix with an electric hand mixer for 2-3 minutes or until smooth and creamy.
Add the cornstarch, flour, and baking powder, and mix until the dough comes together.
Divide the dough in half cover each dough square with plastic wrap and let the dough rest in the fridge for at least an hour.
After allowing the dough to chill in the fridge, take one dough half out of the fridge. Place the dough between two parchment papers and roll the dough using a rolling pin to about ¼ inch thick.
Cut into circles with a round cutter, we use a small 4-centimeter one, but you can make them bigger.
Carefully transfer the cookies onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for 10 minutes.
The cookies will look pale, but they will be ready after 10-12 minutes depending on their size.
Allow the cookies to cool to room temperature and fill each cookie with about 1 teaspoon of dulce de leche. Use a piping bag to do so or a teaspoon.
Dip the edges of each cookie in the shredded coconut and serve!
Expert Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have moist and tender cookies and not dense and dry cookies.
- Make sure that your butter is at room temperature. An hour or two before making these cookies, take the butter out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. The butter should be soft to the touch. If your butter is too cold, it will be harder to mix and there will be lumps of butter in the dough.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Line your sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat! This step helps the cookies to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your cookies release easily from the pan.
- Chill the dough! This step is crucial and prevents the cookies to spread out too much. After making the cookie dough, cover the dough with plastic wrap, and chill the dough in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to fill these cookies with dulce de leche as they are pulled out of the oven, but let these cookies cool for at least 30 minutes so the dulce de leche won't melt.
- If your dough is starting to get soft, cover it with plastic wrap and freeze it for 15 minutes to let it firm up. We repeat this step until we are out of dough and we baked all the cookies.
Faq's
We used regular unsalted butter for this recipe. If you want to use salted butter in this recipe, simply skip the salt and make the recipe as written.
We use all-purpose flour for these cookies. Cake flour will work great as well.
The buttery and soft biscuits melt in your mouth with the rich, creamy, and slightly nutty dulce de leche filling. These cookies will disappear in a snap since they are too good!
Yes! You can make the cookie dough and store it in the fridge for up to 3 days. When you are ready to bake, follow the instructions as written.
Dulce de leche is a traditional Latin American confection, prepared by slowly heating sweetened milk until it transforms into a rich, caramel-like substance.
The term translates to "sweet milk", and the confection boasts a tantalizingly creamy, sticky texture and a sweet, complex flavor.
Storing
It’s okay to store these cookies at room temperature. Store them for up to 5 days at room temperature or for up to a week stored in the fridge. Make sure that you store them in an airtight container.
Freezing
To freeze this cookie dough, follow the instructions as written and make the dough, then cover the dough with plastic wrap place it into a freezer-friendly airtight ziplock bag, and freeze the cookie dough for up to 3 months.
When ready to make these cookies, thaw the dough in the fridge overnight or at room temperature for a few hours and follow the instructions as written.
The second way you can freeze these cookies is by making them according to the instructions and freezing them in an airtight freezer-friendly container for up to 2 months.
Substitutions
Dairy-free - If you are dairy-free, replace the butter with vegan butter or plant-based butter.
Gluten-free - if you want to make this recipe gluten-free, simply replace the flour with gluten-free flour.
Variations
Filling- if you don't want to fill these with dulce de leches, fill them with Nutella, chocolate ganache, or your favorite spread instead!
Chocolate covered- for a real Argentinian experience, dip these finished cookies in melted chocolate and place it in the fridge to allow them to set
Zest- add ½ to 1 teaspoon of lemon or orange zest to the cookie dough for a delicious zesty flavor and aroma.
Equipment
- Baking sheet and rack set (our fave)
- Cookies scoop set of 3 (the best cookie scoop we used)
- Whisk Set (pack of 3) to whisk the ingredients together
- Electric hand mixer
- Rubber spatula
- French rolling pin
- Cookie cutter set
- Pastry bag
More cookie recipes
Milano cookies- These Milano cookies are made with buttery and tender vanilla cookies and filled with a silky smooth chocolate ganache.
Hamantaschen Cookies- These chocolate hamantaschen cookies are traditional Jewish shortbread cookies that are filled with chocolate, jam, poppyseed, and much more.
Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies- These chocolate dipped shortbread cookies are crispy, melt in your mouth deliciously, and are dipped in your favorite chocolate! These cookies are made with only 5 ingredients!
If you tried this recipe, don’t forget to leave a rating and a comment below. We love hearing from you.
If you liked this recipe:
📖 Recipe
The BEST Alfajores (Dulce De Leche Sandwich Cookies)
Ingredients
- 1 â…” cups Flour
- 2 cups Cornstarch plus 1 tbsp
- 1 â…“ cups Powder sugar
- 2 teaspoon Baking powder
- 4 Egg Yolks
- 14.2 tablespoon Butter soft
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 27 teaspoon Dulce de leche
Instructions
- In a big mixing bowl, add the softened butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, kosher salt, and egg yolks, and mix with an electric hand mixer for 2-3 minutes or until smooth and creamy.
- Add the cornstarch, flour, and baking powder, and mix until the dough comes together.
- Divide the dough in half cover each dough square with plastic wrap and let the dough rest in the fridge for at least an hour.
- After allowing the dough to chill in the fridge, take one dough half out of the fridge. Place the dough between two parchment papers and roll the dough using a rolling pin to about ¼ inch thick.
- Cut into circles with a round cutter, we use a small 4-centimeter one, but you can make them bigger.
- Carefully transfer the cookies onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for 10 minutes.
- The cookies will look pale, but they will be ready after 10-12 minutes depending on their size.
- Allow the cookies to cool to room temperature and fill each cookie with about 1 teaspoon of dulce de leche. Use a piping bag to do so or a teaspoon.
- Dip the edges of each cookie in the shredded coconut and serve!
Notes
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have moist and tender cookies and not dense and dry cookies.
- Make sure that your butter is at room temperature. An hour or two before making these cookies, take the butter out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. The butter should be soft to the touch. If your butter is too cold, it will be harder to mix and there will be lumps of butter in the dough.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Line your sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat! This step helps the cookies to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your cookies release easily from the pan.
- Chill the dough! This step is crucial and prevents the cookies to spread out too much. After making the cookie dough, cover the dough with plastic wrap, and chill the dough in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to fill these cookies with dulce de leche as they are pulled out of the oven, but let these cookies cool for at least 30 minutes so the dulce de leche won't melt.
- If your dough is starting to get soft, cover it with plastic wrap and freeze it for 15 minutes to let it firm up. We repeat this step until we are out of dough and we baked all the cookies.
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