Dulce de leche has become such an established cross-over success – easily made at home or store-bought, found in big brand ice cream and even all-American girl scout cookies - that it’s hard to remember the excitement when it first hit markets. Until the early nineties, it was the once-in-a-while treat my uncle might bring from business trips to Chile or Peru (where it was introduced to us as manjar blanco) or that a Colombian friend shared from home (where it went by arequipe).
Alfajores – small sandwich cookies traditionally filled with dulce de leche then rolled in coconut or powdered sugar – came later. Popular throughout South America, they’re also shaped into large, multi-layered tarts topped with meringue or crushed almonds. A rustic version of the mille-feuille, these sky-high tarts alternately known as alfajor de mil capas or torta de mil hojas can be made from large crumbly crackers or delicate puff pastry.
Using a simple shortbread recipe, this alfajor tart sprinkled with toasted coconut falls somewhere in between. The dough is rolled out into thin, flat discs that, when baked, easily break apart against the dense, caramel filling. Prepared the day ahead, the layers melding together while maintaining crispy edges, it’s no less delicious for being perfectly familiar.
Alfajor de Coco
Yield: One 7-inch tart
The sandy, barely-held together texture of these cookie layers can make them tricky to shape. Rolling them between two sheets of parchment or wax paper so they be easily turned and rotated, then chilling them briefly before they’re transferred to baking sheets, solves this problem.
8 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups dulce de leche, homemade or store bought (also known as manjarblanco, arequipe)
1/2 cup toasted, shredded coconut
In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar at medium-high speed until it is pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Stir in the vanilla extract.
Combine the flour and salt, add to the creamed butter at once, then stir with a wooden spoon or spatula for a couple of turns. Return to the stand and mix on low speed until the flour is incorporated, do not over mix. Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces, and cover each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until very firm, at least 2 hours or overnight.
Place one portion of dough between 2 pieces of parchment or wax paper and roll out to a flat disc shape about 1/8-inch thick and 7 inches wide (see cook’s note). Return the rolled discs to the refrigerator between layers of parchment and chill until firm again, 15 to 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick liner. Working in batches, place chilled discs on prepared baking sheets (2 per sheet) and set them in the upper and lower oven racks. Bake them for 12 to 14 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through so they color evenly, until lightly golden.
Cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack. The alfajores will firm up as they cool and should release easily from the liner before transferring.
Place one alfajor on a serving plate and spread evenly with 1/4 cup of dulce de leche. Top with the next alfajor and repeat with remaining layers. Cover top layer with toasted coconut. Serve with extra coconut on the side, whipped cream or ice cream.
Cook’s Note: For more evenly sized discs, draw a 7-inch circle on parchment or wax paper. Use this sheet as a guide when rolling out the discs. Trim the dough as needed and re-roll the scraps into the remaining dough to make more discs.
Ana Sofia Peláez covers the spectrum of Spanish and Latin American cuisine on her blog hungrysofia.com. From the rich smells and flavors of the Cuban food she grew up with to modern Peruvian causas, hearty Brazilian feijodas and delicate Mexican flor de calabaza soup, she’s always looking for her next great meal.
Read was interesting, stay in touch……
[...]please visit the sites we follow, including this one, as it represents our picks from the web[...]……
You should check this out…
[...] Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a few unrelated data, nevertheless really worth taking a look, whoa did one learn about Mid East has got more problerms as well [...]……
Title…
[...]that would be the end of this write-up. Here you will uncover some web sites that we believe you will value, just click the links over[...]…
Title…
[...]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a number of unrelated data, nevertheless definitely really worth taking a search, whoa did one particular understand about Mid East has got much more problerms as well [...]…
Title…
[...]Every when in a when we pick blogs that we study. Listed below would be the most up-to-date sites that we choose [...]…
Read was interesting, stay in touch……
[...]please visit the sites we follow, including this one, as it represents our picks from the web[...]……
Websites worth visiting…
[...]here are some links to sites that we link to because we think they are worth visiting[...]……
Websites you should visit…
[...]below you’ll find the link to some sites that we think you should visit[...]……
Sites we Like……
[...] Every once in a while we choose blogs that we read. Listed below are the latest sites that we choose [...]……
Title…
[...]always a huge fan of linking to bloggers that I appreciate but really don’t get a whole lot of link appreciate from[...]…
Title…
[...]just beneath, are various completely not connected sites to ours, however, they may be surely worth going over[...]…
Title…
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]…
Title…
[...]usually posts some extremely interesting stuff like this. If you are new to this site[...]…
Related……
[...]just beneath, are numerous totally not related sites to ours, however, they are surely worth going over[...]……
Recommeneded websites…
[...]Here are some of the sites we recommend for our visitors[...]……
Read was interesting, stay in touch……
[...]please visit the sites we follow, including this one, as it represents our picks from the web[...]……
Title…
[...]Here are some of the web pages we advocate for our visitors[...]…
Online Article……
[...]The information mentioned in the article are some of the best available [...]……
Title…
[...]we prefer to honor quite a few other net web sites on the internet, even though they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Below are some webpages worth checking out[...]…
Title…
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]…
Title…
[...]below you will discover the link to some web-sites that we feel you’ll want to visit[...]…
Title…
[...]we came across a cool internet site that you might appreciate. Take a search when you want[...]…
Title…
[...]Every once inside a although we pick out blogs that we read. Listed below would be the newest sites that we choose [...]…
Check this out…
[...] that is the end of this article. Here you’ll find some sites that we think you’ll appreciate, just click the links over[...]……
Title…
[...]that is the finish of this article. Here you’ll uncover some web sites that we consider you’ll value, just click the hyperlinks over[...]…
Title…
[...]below you’ll come across the link to some web-sites that we think you should visit[...]…
Title…
[...]we came across a cool website that you could possibly delight in. Take a look in case you want[...]…
Tumblr article…
I saw a writer talking about this on Tumblr and it linked to…
Title…
[...]Here are a number of the internet sites we recommend for our visitors[...]…
Recommeneded websites…
[...]Here are some of the sites we recommend for our visitors[...]……
Title…
[...]we came across a cool site which you may well appreciate. Take a look should you want[...]…
Websites you should visit…
[...]below you’ll find the link to some sites that we think you should visit[...]……
Cool sites…
[...]we came across a cool site that you might enjoy. Take a look if you want[...]……
Title…
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]…
Title…
[...]one of our guests just lately encouraged the following website[...]…
Blogs ou should be reading…
[...]Here is a interesting artice You Might Find useful that we Encourage You to visit[...]……
Cool sites…
[...]we came across a cool site that you might enjoy. Take a look if you want[...]……
Sources…
[...]check below, are some totally unrelated websites to ours, however, they are most trustworthy sources that we use[...]……
You should check this out…
[...] Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a few unrelated data, nevertheless really worth taking a look, whoa did one learn about Mid East has got more problerms as well [...]……
Title…
[...]Here is an excellent Blog You may Locate Intriguing that we Encourage You[...]…
Gems form the internet…
[...]very few websites that happen to be detailed below, from our point of view are undoubtedly well worth checking out[...]……
Websites worth visiting…
[...]here are some links to sites that we link to because we think they are worth visiting[...]……
Sites we Like……
[...] Every once in a while we choose blogs that we read. Listed below are the latest sites that we choose [...]……
Title…
[...]just beneath, are various absolutely not connected web-sites to ours, even so, they may be certainly really worth going over[...]…
Informative and precise…
Its difficult to find informative and precise information but here I found…
Title…
[...]The information and facts mentioned inside the report are a few of the best available [...]…
Title…
[...]here are some links to websites that we link to for the reason that we consider they are worth visiting[...]…
Wikia…
Wika linked to this website…
Cool sites…
[...]we came across a cool site that you might enjoy. Take a look if you want[...]……
touchless paper towel dispenser…
I feel there may perhaps be considered a couple duplicates, but an exceedingly handy list! I’ve tweeted this. Numerous thanks for sharing!…