These Alfajores recipe is easy to make and absolutely delicious. Perfect for snack or dessert with a cup of coffee or tea.
What are Alfajores?
Alfajor is a sugar cookie filled with dulce de leche or arequipe popular in Colombia as well as other parts of South America. Like many Latin recipes this dessert has different variations depending of the country and family. This is my recipe for Alfajores that I grew up eating in Colombia.
Some people like to roll these cookies in shredded coconut, dust them with powdered sugar or both. I usually made them both ways, half a batch with coconut and sugar and the other half with just powdered sugar.
Ingredients to Make this Recipe
You'll find the printable recipe card below with exact amounts and baking directions.
Flour: You need all-purpose flour to make these cookies. Be sure to measure well.
Butter: Unsalted butter at room temperature.
Vanilla Extract: Use a good quality for good flavor.
Powdered Sugar: To make the cookie dough and to dust the cookies before serving.
Cornstarch: The mixture of flour and corn starch makes the cookie melt in your mouth.
Arequipe: Also known as dulce de leche or cajeta for the filling. You can buy it at any supermarket or online. Here is my recipe for homemade dulce de leche if you want to make it from scratch.
Shredded Coconut: This ingredient is optional and you can use unsweetened or sweetened depending on your taste.
How to Make Alfajores
Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large bowl mix the butter and powdered sugar. Add the flour, corn starch and vanilla extract then mix with your hands into well combined. Knead together to form a soft dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand for 10 to 15 minutes.
Turn the dough out onto a floured counter and knead for about 2 minutes. Roll out to about ¼ inch-thick and cut out the cookies with a round cookie cutter.
Place them on a floured cookie sheet and bake for about 10 – 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on a rack for 10 minutes. In a small plate, place the flaked coconut and set aside.
Spread arequipe or dulce de leche on each cookie then put together two cookies, making a sandwich with the arequipe in the middle of the two cookies. When you put the cookies together you’ll want some arequipe to come out of the sides. Take the plate with coconut and cover the edges of each alfajor cookie with it, rolling the cookie edge in the flaked coconut if using. Sprinkle them with powdered sugar and enjoy.
I don’t love to bake but Alfajores are my favorite cookies and I just had to make them for my recipe blog. These delicate dulce de leche sandwich cookies are delicious!
The cookies are not too sweet, and had a delicate, soft, and crumbly texture. Combined with the dulce de leche filling and powdered sugar on top, it is the perfect balance of textures and flavors.
More Recipes to Make with Dulce de Leche
Chocolate Cake with Dulce de Leche Filling
Dulce de Leche and Coconut Cake Roll
Three Milks Cake with Dulce de Leche
Alfajores Recipe (Dulce de Leche Cookie Sandwiches)
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cornstarch
- 1 pound butter room temperature
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 11/4 cup powdered sugar divided
- 1 cup arequipe or dulce de leche
- ½ cup sweetened shredded coconut optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F
- In a large bowl mix the butter and 1 cup of powdered sugar.
- Add the flour, corn starch and vanilla extract then mix with your hands into well combined.
- Knead together to form a soft dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured counter and knead for about 2 minutes. Roll out to about ¼ inch-thick and cut out the cookies with a round cookie cutter.
- Place them on a floured cookie sheet and bake for about 10 – 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on a rack for 10 minutes. In a small plate, place the flaked coconut and set aside.
- Spread arequipe or dulce de leche on each cookie then put together two cookies, making a sandwich with the arequipe in the middle of the two cookies. When you put the cookies together you’ll want some arequipe to come out of the sides. Take the plate with coconut and cover the edges of each alfajor cookie with it, rolling the cookie edge in the flaked coconut if using.
- Sprinkle them with powdered sugar and enjoy.
Maqrull
I’ve seen many recipes to make alfajores, this is the first one without eggs. I’m wondering if they don’t come out dry…
Maria Romero
No eggs?
Marjorie Wheeler
I JUST made these (they're still hot-out-of-the-oven.) Are they supposed to be this fragile? As soon as I picked one up to try it, it crumbled. What am I doing wrong? I'm making them for the first time and am sending them down to TX for my son's fiance, whose family is from Colombia, but I'm afraid they won't make it in one piece.
Erica Dinho
They are fragile
Marjorie Wheeler
Thank you! I must have done something right; I packed them very carefully and shipped them. They arrived in perfect condition, and they were LOVED by everyone! (They even sent me pictures!)
SK
Could I use caramel sauce from a bottle(topping for icecream) instead of dulce de leche?
Erica Dinho
it is thinner than dulce de leche.
Paulina
I couldn't get the mix to turn into spdt dough (crumbly). I added some orange juice to it and finally got it to hold together, somewhat. Has this happened to anyone else? I froze the dough, and hope I get a response before I attempt to roll this dough. Thank you.
Natis RSA
Even though these look delicious this is not Colombian, I’ve seen it on Argentinian cookbooks
Terris Foster
me gusta la receta. fue facil. la galletas esta muy delicioso.
Terris Foster
Me gusta el receta y fue facil. El galletas esta muy delicioso.