Alfajores
Cookies
Alfajores are very dear to my heart because I’ve been eating them since I was a kid.
The alfajor was brought to Latin America from Spain, where it is still eaten as a traditional Christmas cookie.
Today, the name is the only similarity left between the Spanish and Latin American version of the cookie.
There are many versions of the alfajores enjoyed all over Central and South America, probably more variations than countries in which they are made. (Argentina, Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, you get the idea.) Some are cakey, others are buttery, but the best ones — in my humble opinion — are the ones baked with cornstarch.
When filled with dulce de leche they are elevated to a whole new realm. The cornstarch-based alfajores — known as Alfajores de Maicena — are light when the dulce de leche is dense, crumble when the the dulce de leche is sticky; the cookies are basically the ying to the milk caramel’s yang.
Some alfajores are rolled in toasted coconut, dusted with confectioners sugar or coated in chocolate.
Another must try!
