One of the first blog
friends I made, more than seven years ago, was Paula Montenegro of Vintage
Kitchen Notes. I learned a lot from her. She cheered me on in the beginning,
and we became fast friends.
Paula lives in Buenos Aires
and, happily for me, speaks amazing English. Like many people in other
countries, her English is better than mine.
One of the many things I
have learned from her posts is that if Argentina had a "National
Paste" it would be dulce de leche.
I never knew there were so
many desserts that use this sweet and wonderful condiment.
If Argentineans had a
"National Saying" it might be: "A day without dulce de leche is like a
day in any other country."
One of the desserts with dulce de leche that really caught my fancy was Paula’s alfajores.
I had my first of these
cookies in San Francisco from a small food cart in the Ferry Market Building.
The baker was from Buenos Aires so I knew I was getting the Real McCoy.
It was love at first bite.
These were the most delicate and tender cookies I had ever had and they were,
of course, filled with dulce de leche. He also had a version filled with
raspberry jam.
It wasn't until a few years
later, when I saw Paula's post, that I understood why the cookies were so
tender. Cornstarch. Lots of it.
These
are quite easy to make, and can be made with any size cutter. I liked the
bigger size, because I am a little piggy!
Filling them with dulce de leche
is traditional, as is using any number of
fruit jams.
~ David
Alfajores
Paula Montenegro, Vintage
Kitchen Notes
150
gram unsalted butter, room temperature
200
grams sugar
2 egg yolks
1 egg
1 tablespoon cognac or
other liqueur
a few drops vanilla extract
zest of 1/3 lemon
100 grams
all purpose flour
320 grams
cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
dulce de leche, or fruit
jam
In a large bowl, using a
wooden spoon, cream butter And sugar.
Add egg yolks and whole egg
and mix well to incorporate. Add cognac, vanilla and lemon zest. Mix again.
Add flour, cornstarch, and baking powder gradually,
mixing very well until no streaks remain. The final dough will be very soft and
silky but not sticky. Let rest for 10 minutes.
Preheat oven to 325°F. On a floured surface, roll dough about ¼ inch thick. Using a 2-inch or 2 1/2-inch round cutter, cut circles and place
them on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Pull together the scraps of dough and re-roll,
cutting rounds until all dough is used.
Bake for 15 minutes until
the cookies are barely starting to color. Let cool a few minutes on the cookie
sheet before transferring to a rack to cool completely. Turn half of the cookies
bottom side up on a work surface.
Fill a pastry bag, fitted
with a 1/4-inch or 3/8-inch tip, with dulce de leche. Pipe onto the bottoms of half
the rounds. Press lightly with remaining rounds, flat side down, forming alfajores.
Alternatively, spread a thick layer of jam instead of the dulce de leche.
Makes about 24 cookies,
depending on the size of your cutter.
Labels: alfajores, argentina, dulce de leche, Paula Montenegro, Vintage Kitchen Notes
