I really wanted to cook a really awesome spicy dinner for this praxis and make margaritas with this fantastic tequila I found.....
That bad boy will have to be consumed a different day, because after all the dessert talk that was going on last week, I decided to make little Peruvian cookies instead!
Alfajores are a pastry that can be found throughout much of South America and Spain. They are typically made with sweet biscuits filled with a jam or dulce de leche and top covered in chocolate.
Alfajores are a pastry that can be found throughout much of South America and Spain. They are typically made with sweet biscuits filled with a jam or dulce de leche and top covered in chocolate.
However, preparation varies greatly by region and mine are Peruvian because they are filled with dulce de leche and dusted with confectioner's sugar.
I made a miniature version of the pastries, with three little layers of cookie, dulce de leche, jam and confectioner's sugar. Sounds pretty good, huh?
Sorry, I'll stop teasing you and get to the recipe.
I made a miniature version of the pastries, with three little layers of cookie, dulce de leche, jam and confectioner's sugar. Sounds pretty good, huh?
Sorry, I'll stop teasing you and get to the recipe.
The ingredients are pretty simple, but the process is quite tedious.
For a dozen cookies you will need:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons Pisco
1/2 cup dulce de leche
1/2 cup pineapple marmalade
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
Now, you might not be able to find Pisco at Redemp because they have a very limited selection of liquors.
Pisco is a grape brandy made in Peru and Chile, but you can use any other flavored brand you'd like. I chose apricot because I thought it would compliment the marmalade nicely.
To start things off, let's make some dulce de leche. I enlisted the help of my friend Brittany for this one because she is an avid little baker. It's pretty much her second job; I mean, she had fresh caramel popcorn when I got over there. She's awesome.
Anyway.
So Brittany and I decided we would make the dulce de leche because we wanted to be adventurous. We plopped one 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk in a double-boiler and waited for it to turn brown and caramel-ly and delicious.
For a dozen cookies you will need:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons Pisco
1/2 cup dulce de leche
1/2 cup pineapple marmalade
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
Now, you might not be able to find Pisco at Redemp because they have a very limited selection of liquors.
Pisco is a grape brandy made in Peru and Chile, but you can use any other flavored brand you'd like. I chose apricot because I thought it would compliment the marmalade nicely.
To start things off, let's make some dulce de leche. I enlisted the help of my friend Brittany for this one because she is an avid little baker. It's pretty much her second job; I mean, she had fresh caramel popcorn when I got over there. She's awesome.
Anyway.
So Brittany and I decided we would make the dulce de leche because we wanted to be adventurous. We plopped one 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk in a double-boiler and waited for it to turn brown and caramel-ly and delicious.
In the mean time, we started the cookie dough.
Whisk or sift the flour and salt together in a medium bowl.
Make a well in the center and begin adding the egg yolks into the center.
When you are done, add your brandy and begin to mix using your hands.
Whisk or sift the flour and salt together in a medium bowl.
Make a well in the center and begin adding the egg yolks into the center.
When you are done, add your brandy and begin to mix using your hands.
The dough is going to be very, very sticky. I ended up having to add almost a whole other cup of flour because there just wasn't enough to make a good dough in the original recipe.
When you are done mixing, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and set aside on the countertop for 20 minutes.
While it's sitting, don't be afraid to try the brandy and make some breakfast with your leftover egg whites.
Let's get back to the dulce de leche. As I said before, we tried making our own and it didn't seem to be going too well on the stove. It was taking a very long time to turn any color so we decided why not just pop it in the microwave?!
After a few incidents of over-flowing milk, it finally turned the nice brown we were looking for.
When you are done mixing, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and set aside on the countertop for 20 minutes.
While it's sitting, don't be afraid to try the brandy and make some breakfast with your leftover egg whites.
Let's get back to the dulce de leche. As I said before, we tried making our own and it didn't seem to be going too well on the stove. It was taking a very long time to turn any color so we decided why not just pop it in the microwave?!
After a few incidents of over-flowing milk, it finally turned the nice brown we were looking for.
The rest of the cookie preparation is pretty easy.
Roll out the dough using a rolling pin or empty wine bottle until very thin, almost translucent.
Roll out the dough using a rolling pin or empty wine bottle until very thin, almost translucent.
Next, cut 1-inch circles in the dough using a cookie cutter.
We used shot glasses because they happen to be the perfect size!
We used shot glasses because they happen to be the perfect size!
Lay out the little guys on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Poke each one with a fork a few times and pop into an oven at 350.
They will be done when they are still a little pale-not golden. We noticed that ours had a lot of extra flour on them so we blew the flour off when we took them out of the oven.
Lay them on a cooling rack and get ready to put them together.
Take a teaspoon and spoon some dulce de leche on 1/3 of the cookies. On another third of the cookies, spread the marmalade.
Lay them on a cooling rack and get ready to put them together.
Take a teaspoon and spoon some dulce de leche on 1/3 of the cookies. On another third of the cookies, spread the marmalade.
Top the dulce de leche layer with a marmalade layer, and top that layer with a plain cookie. When you have finished, dust all of them with confectioner's sugar.
The finished product was pretty good. We thought the cookies could use some more brandy-maybe brush the cookies with it when they come out of the oven?
They are definitely sweet, but I didn't think they were too sweet. When the dulce de leche cools, it has a nice chewy texture and caramel flavor, and it really makes the cookies.
Brittany's roommate Chris loved these and ate like 6.
If we make these again, we will definitely try to find real dulce de leche or even just regular caramel. (I know, it won't make they Peruvian, but they will still be delicious!)
I will definitely add more flour to the cookie dough and more brandy.
All in all, not a bad little cookie!
They are definitely sweet, but I didn't think they were too sweet. When the dulce de leche cools, it has a nice chewy texture and caramel flavor, and it really makes the cookies.
Brittany's roommate Chris loved these and ate like 6.
If we make these again, we will definitely try to find real dulce de leche or even just regular caramel. (I know, it won't make they Peruvian, but they will still be delicious!)
I will definitely add more flour to the cookie dough and more brandy.
All in all, not a bad little cookie!
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