Alfajores with dulce de leche

24

Easy

2:30h

The alfajor is a name that derives from the Arabic word (al-hasú), which in Spanish translates "stuffed", the entry of this sweet dates back to the Arab invasion specifically in the historical period of Al-Andalusia. With basic and easy-to-find ingredients composed of flour, sugar, eggs, honey, cinnamon, alfajor is one of the memories that remains present in our gastronomy. The alfajor is composed of two round cookies , made of previously baked dough, they are joined together through the filling that is placed between both cookies. Generally, the filling is dulce de leche and decorated with grated coconut. If we are left with anything, it was the original recipe, although it was later dispersed throughout the Americas, entering through Venezuela, at the time of the Spanish colonies. Then it arrived in Argentina, Peru and Chile, places where the recipe is very traditional. In this way it is already throughout Latin America. Now, let's jump from history to the kitchen and start discovering the original recipe for alfajores with dulce de leche that has been passed down to us from generation to generation. . . ALFAJORES RECIPE WITH DULCE DE LECHE Ingredients (22-24 alfajores)

• 200 g pomade butter
• 150g sugar
• 3 yolks
• Zest of half a lemon
• 1 tablespoon rum
• 200 g cornstarch
• 60 g arrowroot starch  (260 g corn starch can be used)
• 170 g of loose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

To fill and decorate:

• Caramel sauce
• grated coconut

Preparation (2 and a half hours approx.): 1. Beat the butter and sugar until you get a creamy paste. 2. Add the lemon zest and rum. Beat well. 3. Add the yolks one at a time. Beat well each time you add a yolk. 4. Sift the starches, flour, baking powder and baking soda. 5. Add to the butter, sugar and yolk mixture and mix with your hands. 6. When the dough is thin and homogeneous, divide into 2 parts, cover with plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator for an hour. This way the stretching will be more comfortable. 7. Heat the oven to 180ºC. 8. Once the dough is cold, flour the work surface and roll out the first ball to a thickness of about 4 or 5 mm. 9. With a round pastry cutter about 5 or 6 cm in diameter, cut the dough and place the dough discs on the baking trays lined with baking paper. (You need about 2 or three baking trays for faster cooking) 10. Repeat the same operation with the second ball of dough. 11. As the trays fill, we bake them in turns. The alfajores should be baked for about 8/10 minutes, they should be white. 12. Once they are removed from the oven, they are allowed to cool completely. 13 When they are cold, fill half of the discs with dulce de leche and cover them with the rest of the discs. Once the alfajores are assembled, the edges are also coated with dulce de leche and rolled in grated coconut. Enjoy!