by dpm
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monkeymom's Testing Notes:
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225
grams unsalted butter, room temperature (European-style preferable)
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225
grams sugar
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5
large egg yolks, room temperature
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2 teaspoons
vanilla extract
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the rind of one lemon
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450
grams unbleached all-purpose flour
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225
grams cornstarch
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3
teaspoons baking powder
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a pinch of salt
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Cognac (optional)
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Dulce de leche (see step no. 8)
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sweetened shredded coconut
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Preheat your oven to 335 F. Cream the butter & sugar until light and fluffy, 5 minutes or so.
Ask the hotline about this step!Add the egg yolks one at a time, mixing well after each yolk.
Ask the hotline about this step!Add the vanilla & lemon rind.
Ask the hotline about this step!Sift together the dry ingredients, and add slowly, alternating with 2 teaspoons of cognac (optional). You should have a slightly soft, smooth (not sticky!), consistent dough. You can substitute milk for the cognac, or add additional milk, if the dough is too dry (the cornstarch tends to the dry side). Be careful not to over-handle the dough, it dries out quickly.
Ask the hotline about this step!Roll out your dough on a lightly floured surface, and cut out circles. I usually roll out my dough in sections - it's important to minimize the handling of the dough so it doesn't dry out. The thickness is your choice - don't make them so thin the cookies crack when you spread them with dulce, but remember in the end you're making a sandwich. I usually roll mine out to an 1/8+ of an inch, but don't actually measure them out! The size of the cookie is to your taste as well. I prefer mine smallish, the size of a champagne flute. Re-form and re-roll out the scraps until you find the dough is tough and brittle, at which point cut your losses and toss (or eat?!) the rest.
Ask the hotline about this step!Bake the cookies on a lightly buttered cookie sheet for 6 - 8 minutes, until the cookies are golden on the bottom but still creamy white on top. The first batch always takes a bit longer! They won't look completely cooked after 8 minutes, but take them out if the bottoms are golden - they will harden as they cool.
Ask the hotline about this step!Once your cookies are completely cool, put together your alfajores. Spread the golden bottom of one cookie with dulce de leche, add a second cookie, golden side towards the dulce, to form a sandwich. Be gentle! The cookies tend to crack under pressure. Smooth a little dulce around the perimeter, and roll the edge of the cookie sandwich in coconut.
Ask the hotline about this step!NB: A note about dulce de leche. The best dulce de leche is made from scratch - milk, sugar and patience. A semi-homemade alternative is to cook condensed milk in a double boiler for three hours or so, making sure the water doesn't fully evaporate, and stirring every so often, until the dulce is a rich caramel color but is still thin enough to spread easily. Or, if you have a pressure cooker, look up the technique for that - will save you time and hours standing at the stove. If you're using store bought dulce, steer clear of nestle, you're better off using condensed milk, flavor wise! I've had luck tracking down 'Conaprole' & 'Manfrey' in the US.
Ask the hotline about this step!The proportions are the result of much testing...let me know what you think! And yes, there are many variations (more so than appropriations, I think.) The coconut rim is classically Cordobesa, but you'll also see the half-dipped in chocolate, or also coated in a sugar glaze. The fillings change as well - easily adapted to membrillo or another jam. The store-bought kind often have meringue as well! But I have to say, this dulce & coconut combo is my personal favorite!
I've wanted to bake alfajores ever since reading Graham Greene’s The Honorary Consul. The character of Mrs. Parr grows stout in Buenos Aires “on her daily diet of alfajores stuffed with dulce de leche,” These look great!
Ha! Will add the book to my reading list - that's definitely a diet to grow stout on!
These look and sound so beautiful! I've saved the recipe so I can try this :)
muchas gracias, midge. (i am obviously biased but they are so delicious ;))
thanks... maybe the dulce and coconut could be packed separately and assembled at the other end...maybe not...
These look lovely! Great headonote and picture too. Do you think that they would make it through the mail, or are they just too fragile?
Thanks SallyCan! I've never sent these through the mail...my first thought is they wouldn't hold up well to being banged around a bit. An alternative would be to coat them in chocolate or a sugar glaze -- skipping the coconut altogether - which would give them something of a hard shell and keep the two cookies from sliding away from each other. You can also make them a little more substantial - thicker cookie, more dulce. Either way they're taste good, they just might not look as pretty...
I haven't had the chance to make these yet, but the proportions to your recipe sound great. I have seen recipes for alfajores that are half dipped in chocolate and after seeing your coconut rim it's made me wondering if those are a variation or an appropriation.