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Traditional Cornstarch Alfajores recipe

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5 from 1 review

Melt in your mouth cornstarch cookies. Most famous in South America.

  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 30

Ingredients

Units
  • 225 grams of unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 4 egg yolks at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 cup (300 grams) cornstarch
  • 1 1/2 cup (190 grams) all-purpose flour
  • Powdered sugar for dusting
  • chopped walnuts or ground nuts or coconut to decorate the edge, optional
  • Dulce de Leche, I used the Nestle can, available in Latin supermarkets

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, beat the butter with the sugar until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolks one at a time, thoroughly beating in, for about 2 minutes. Add vanilla and mix well.
    beat butter powdered sugar on bowl
  2. Add all the flour and cornstarch and mix until crumbs are formed. Then use your hands to form a soft dough. Wrap in plastic film and let it stand in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, or leave it overnight.
    Crumbs for cornstarch alfajores Cornstarch dough
  3. Preheat the oven to 350F or 180C.
  4. Divide dough into 2, roll until it is 1/2 cm. thick, don’t roll them thin because they are very fragile—cut circles (I used one of 2cm in diameter).
    rolled and cut alfajores raw alfajores
  5. Bake on a baking sheet covered with parchment or Silpat in a preheated oven at 180C or 350F for 13-15 minutes until they are lightly browned underneath. You can put them fairly close together since they almost do not grow. Cool completely on the baking sheet.
    Cooked alfajores
  6. Fill with the Dulce de Leche. Optional around the edges, too, and roll in the ground walnuts.
    Dulce de Leche filling
  7. Finally, dust with powdered sugar through a sieve.
  8. Let stand 2 hours before serving, or you can fill them the day before. They last well three days in a locked box on the counter.
    Peruvian Cornstarch Alfajores
  • Author: Pilar Hernandez
  • Prep Time: 40 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Category: Sweets
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: Peruvian

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 alfajor
  • Calories: 229
  • Sugar: 14.3 g
  • Sodium: 27.7 mg
  • Fat: 10.7 g
  • Saturated Fat: 5.1 g
  • Carbohydrates: 30.4 g
  • Fiber: 0.5 g
  • Protein: 3 g