ALFAJORES DE MAIZENA These are little corn starch cookies.

Spread dulce de leche in one side of a cookie, and sandwich with another. Roll the sides of the cookie-sandwich on grated coconut. 2 1/2 cups corn starch 1 2/3 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 2 tsp. baking powder 3/4 cups sugar 200g margarine 3 yolks 1 tbs cognac 1 tbsp vanilla extract powdered lemon peel Sift corn starch with flour, baking soda and powder in a bowl. Beat margarine and sugar, add yolks one by one, mix well. Add cognac and dry ingredients, a little at the time. Add vanilla extract and lemon peel, mix and form a paste without using rolling pin. Stretch to 1/2 cm. width over surface with four. Cut and put on a pan without butter. Cook at 350 degrees, about 15 minutes Alfajores 12 tablespoons butter 1 cup granulated sugar 1 egg 2 egg yolks 2 tablespoons cognac 2 1/2 cups cornstarch (corn flour) 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Zest of 1/2 lemon Dulce de Leche Grated coconut * Dulce de leche is becoming more widely available in US supermarkets, and can be found in any good Hispanic market. Cream the butter and sugar together. Add the remaining ingredients except the dulce de leche and coconut and mix well. Turn onto a floured work surface and knead until the dough is smooth. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes. Roll the dough out to a thickness of about 1/4 inch and cut into 2-inch rounds. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake in a preheated 300F oven for 20 minutes. When cool, spread some dulce de leche on the bottom of half the cookies and make a sandwich with the remaining cookies. Squeeze the sandwiches so that some of the dulce de leche is squeezed out the sides, and roll the sides in the grated coconut. Makes about 12 cookie sandwiches. Dulce de Leche Pour 1 can sweetened condensed milk into 9-inch pie plate. Cover with aluminum foil; place in larger shallow pan. Fill larger pan with hot water. Bake at 425 degrees F for 1 hour or until thick and caramel-colored. Beat until smooth. Alfajores 4 cups flour 1 1/2 cups butter or margarine (try butter!) 6 tablespoons powdered sugar grated rind of one medium lemon 2 cups dulce de leche for filling Sift the powdered sugar with the flour. Cut the butter into little pieces and mix into the flour and sugar. Mix in the lemon rind. Knead the dough until it is well mixed (by hand or with dough attachment) Divide the dough into several pieces. Using a floured board or counter, roll dough out until about 1/4" thick. Cut into 1"rounds (biscuit cutter or glass will work) Preheat oven

to 350, place cookies on lightly greased cookie sheet and bake until golden brown, 6-7 minutes. Cool on rack. Repeat until all dough is used. Manjarblanco 1 can sweetened Condensed milk Place unopened can in large stockpot and completely cover with water, at least three inches over top of can. Bring to boil and then reduce to strong simmer for about three hours*. DO NOT let the water boil away. Add more as needed. The longer you cook it the darker, thicker and more delicious it will be! Cool can completely before opening. I usually make this the day before, will keep weeks unopened in the fridge. Also is good spread on toast. To assemble cookies, Spread a layer of dulce on one cookie and press another cookie on top, making a sandwich. Roll cookies in more powdered sugar and store in tight container.

Alfajores with Dulce de leche Filling

Source:http://belgourmet.com/forums/gourmet/posts/809.html

40 cookies Ingredients 1/2 cup butter 1 cup sugar 1 egg 2 egg yolks 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 tablespoon brandy (optional) 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind 1 1/2 cups cornstarch 1/2 cup flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt Directions Beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugar gradually, beating until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the egg and egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla, brandy and lemon rind.

Sift together the cornstarch, flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, beating until thoroughly combined. Drop the batter by small spoonfuls onto well buttered baking sheets. Leave enough space between the cookies because they will spread. Bake in a 350 degrees oven 15 minutes. Immediately remove from the baking sheets and let cool. Sandwich the cookies together with sweet milk dessert.

Dulce de leche
(Sweet milk dessert)
Source:http://belgourmet.com/forums/gourmet/posts/809.html

4 servings Ingredients 2 cups milk 1/4 cup sugar Pinch of baking soda 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 recipe butter cookies 1 cup sweetened coconut Directions Combine the milk, sugar and baking soda in a saucepan and bring to the boiling point. Lower the heat and barely simmer the mixture 2 to 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. It will thicken and form a soft ball when a small spoonful is dropped into cold water. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Let the mixture cool a few minutes and spread it on the cookies. Sandwich the cookies together in pairs and roll the edges in grated coconut.

Alfajores 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk) 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1 1/4 cups cornstarch 1 tablespoon baking powder 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, softened 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

1 large egg 1 large egg yolk Nonstick cooking spray About 1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut To prepare dulce de leche (caramel) filling: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Pour sweetened condensed milk into 9-inch pie plate. Cover with aluminum foil; place in larger, shallow pan. Fill larger pan with hot water, making sure water does not reach top of pie plate. Bake 1 1/2 hours or until thick and caramel-colored, checking water level after 45 minutes and adding hot water if needed. (Microwave method: Pour sweetened condensed milk into 2-quart glass measuring cup. Cook on 50 percent power 4 minutes, stirring briskly every 2 minutes until smooth. Cook on 30 percent power 20 to 26 minutes or until very thick and caramel-colored, stirring briskly every 4 minutes during the first 16 minutes and every 2 minutes after that.) Let cool, then cover and refrigerate until needed. To prepare dough: Sift together flour, cornstarch and baking powder; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, sugar and lemon zest on medium speed until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Beat in whole egg, then egg yolk, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. (The mixture will look somewhat curdled.) Add sifted ingredients all at once. On low speed, beat just until dough comes together. Scrape out sticky dough onto plastic wrap, press into a disk, wrap tightly and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly coat a large cookie sheet with cooking spray, line with parchment, and then lightly spray the paper. Place chilled dough on a well-floured surface; roll out with a floured rolling pin to an even 1/4-inch thickness or slightly thinner. Using a sharp 2-inch round cookie cutter, cut as many circles as possible, occasionally dipping the cutter in flour to prevent sticking. Arrange the circles 1 inch apart on cookie sheet. Gather scraps of dough, roll them out, cut more circles, and add to the cookie

sheet. If dough becomes overly soft and sticky, chill it briefly until it is workable. Refrigerate the filled cookie sheet for 15 minutes. Bake the cookies about 10 minutes, until they have just set and are slightly puffed but not at all colored. Let cool for 1 or 2 minutes, then loosen cookies with a spatula. To form alfajores: Let dulce de leche come to room temperature. Pipe or spoon about 1 tablespoon of dulce de leche onto the bottom (flat side) of a cooled cookie. Make a sandwich with another cookie. Press the cookies together gently to spread the filling to the edges. Roll the sticky rim in grated coconut. Repeat with the remaining cookies. Yield: About 30 sandwich cookies.

CornstarchAlfajores
makesfivetosixdozen,dependingonthethickness 250 g butter (at room temperature) 150 g sugar 3 yolks 6 tablespoons brandy or water 300 g cornstarch 200 g all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Put the cornstarch, flour, baking powder, and soda into a bowl, and using a whisk, mix it all together. Whisk the butter with the sugar until it is light, fluffy, and pale. Add the yolks, one by one, whisking each one gently into the butter/sugar mixture before the next. Sprinkle half of the dry ingredient mixture onto this mixture, and sprinkle half of the brandy over everything. Gently mix it all together until all the flour is absorbed. Repeat for the remainder of the dry ingredients and the brandy, making sure to stop as soon as the flour is incorporated. Overmixing will make the biscuits very dense and hard. Dump everything onto the countertop and patiently press it with your hands into a smooth ball. Let it rest in a fairly warm place (at least 72F) for thirty minutes in a plastic bag. Set an oven to 325F. Roll the dough until it's about 3/16ths of an inch thick, and cut out 1 1/2 inch circles with a cookie cutter. Bake them until you can lift one off the cookie sheet by its edges (8-10 minutes). Try to keep them from browning (the bottoms may begin to brown when they're done). Re-roll all the scraps, and keep going until all the dough is used up. When the cookies have cooled, place a big dollop of dulce de leche on each, and make little sandwiches. Try to share them with your friends!

Dulcedeleche
makesasmuchasyouwant(onecancoversabatchofalfajores) Numerous cans of sweetened condensed milk (Five is a good number - this stuff keeps over a year. Sugar crystal formation is normal and very tasty...) WARNING: Failure to follow these directions exactly may lead to explosion of the cans and severe burns, followed by the need to clean the entire kitchen and then repaint it. Remove the labels from the cans, and stand them in a large pot with a good lid. Fill the pot with water, making sure that there is at least an inch of water covering the cans. Set the COVERED pot with the cans over a brisk flame, and make a note of the time. Once the water begins to boil, turn the flame to low. After 90 minutes from when you first started the fire, flip the cans over one by one using tongs, and make a note of the water level. If the cans are still fully covered, then everything is ok. If the water level has dropped below the top of the cans, then boil some water in a separate pot, and add this to top off the cans. After 3 full hours from starting the fire, carefully remove the cans from the boiling water and let them cool at room temperature for a minimum of eight hours.