Alfajores

Prep Time: 30 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes Yield: 2 dozen

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups cornstarch 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp salt 10 Tbsp butter, softened 3/4 cup granulated sugar 1 1/2 tsp lemon zest 3 large egg yolks 1 tsp vanilla extract 1/4 - 1/2 tsp coconut extract, optional (use 1/2 tsp for more coconut flavor) a few tsp lemon juice, as needed 1 can Dulce de Leche (I've used homemade before too) Various toppings for coating*

Directions

In a mixing bowl, whisk together cornstarch, flour, baking powder and salt, set aside. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, blend together butter and sugar on medium speed until creamy, about 30 seconds. Mix in lemon zest. Add in egg yolks one at a time, mixing after each addition until well blended. Mix in vanilla and coconut extract. With mixer set on low speed, slowly add in dry ingredients and mix until combined and dough starts to come together, adding a few tsp lemon juice if needed (dough will be fairly dry, I didn't need to add it but I tried adding a little bit to the second half of the dough to compare cookie texture. Just note it will increase the lemon flavor in the cookie). Shape dough into a ball, cover ball with plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes to 1 hour until dough is easy enough to work with. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll chilled dough out between to large sheets of parchment or wax paper to 1/6-inch thickness (I worked with half the dough at a time). Using a 2-inch round cookie cutter (sometimes I use a heart shape instead), cut dough into circles then using a wide knife (such as a Santoku knife), slide knife along the bottom of the cutout cookie (or you can just pick them up, I just always found I get less breakage using a knife) and transfer cookie to a

Silpat lined or buttered cookie sheets (fitting 15 per sheet) bake in preheated oven for 10 - 11 minutes. Allow cookies 5 minutes to cool on cookie sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Cool cookies completely then spread a layer of Dulce de Leche over the bottom side of one cookie, then sandwich to the bottom side of another cookie. Spread a thin layer of Dulce de Leche around the round edge of the cookie, then roll in desired topping. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.

*Here are a few of the toppings I like to use: sweetened coconut flakes (I like to grind it a little bit in the food processor to a smaller size, which is an optional step) toasted coconut flakes (I used a bag of toasted desiccated coconut I had) finely chopped pecans, toasted if desired sprinkles grated white, milk or semi-sweet chocolate Alternately you don't need to coat the edges at all, you can simply just fill the centers with Dulce de Leche. If desired you can dip to coat or drizzle cookies in white, milk or semi-sweet chocolate.