Reviewed: Dec. 16, 2009

To previous comments about the filling - yes, manjarblanco is preferred, but practically impossible to find in the US, and making it is a bit difficult. We've adapted using dulce de leche; but the consistency is more like peanut butter than a smooth caramel cream. Some people find the cookie dough bland, but it is to offset the sweetness of the filling. Most every S. American country makes theirs a little different, with coconut or some other added ingredient. I just tried to replicate the ones my Peruvian mother made for us at Christmas...

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F Polack

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Reviewed: Jul. 28, 2009

I added vanilla extract and made the cookies much thinner than the original recipe and added more dulce de leche in the middle. I also used butter flavored vegetable shortening so they are not bland at all. My family loves them!

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YvieWood

Cooking Level: Expert

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Reviewed: Aug. 23, 2008

I am american but i live in peru, these alfajores really dont taste like the peruvian alfajor, first of all you do not use dulce de leche for alfajores, you use manjar blanco wich is similar but thicker wich is better for the taste, i am not sure where you can get it in the united states but you can get it in peru, and they are bland. maybe i will try to post up an new recepie and see how it works out.but they are not that bad.

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sugarbaby9378

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Reviewed: Jul. 6, 2008

This was one of the recipes from this site from which I planned a Peruvian menu for a birthday meal. Instead of making them into sandwich-type cookies, I frosted each thin cookie with lemon butter icing. I also mixed half butter with half shortening. They were EXCELLENT!!! Received rave reviews and were easy! A pleasant combination of pie crust/biscuit. Try them!

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Sharon

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Grass Lake, Michigan, USA

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Reviewed: Mar. 18, 2008

it looked just like it, but tasted so bland. i found another recipe that calls for 2 cups of butter 1/4 cup powder sugar and 2 cups of flour. i added 1/2 of regular sugar and 1 tsp. coconut extract too and came out tasting a heck of a lot better. bake at 350 for 10 min.

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suzan

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Fremont, California, USA

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Reviewed: Feb. 14, 2008

Kathleen is right about how to make the filling. It's not dulce de leche, but manjarblanco. They're similar, but not exactly. Thanks for sharing the recipe with the rest of the world, though!

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HULL12

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Mount Vernon, Washington, USA

Living In: Fairfield, California, USA

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Reviewed: Jan. 7, 2008

Perfect and easy - although I added an extra 2 Tbsp. of cold water to get the dough to stick together. My peruvian husband ate the whole batch and I had to make another.

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Emma

Cooking Level: Professional

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Reviewed: Dec. 19, 2007

I followed the recipe exactly until it came time to start rolling out the dough. It simply would not stick together in a way to make it possible to do the cutouts. So, I used 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla mixed with a tablespoon on cold water and kneaded it into the dough.It made it better. THese cookies are not sweet at all and have a sandy texture. They are a good counterpart to the sweetness of the dulce de leche. Here's how I make the dulce: take a can of sweetened condensed milk (fat free or whatever you like), take off the wrapper, immerse the can in a heavy saucepan filled with water, and boil for 3 hours. Check periodically and add water to keep covered. Chill for an hour, then open can. When you do it for three hours, it becomes thick and well browned. Any less and it may be too liquidy for this recipe.

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Kathleen

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Reviewed: May 13, 2007

My 6 1/2 year old son helped me make these for his home school co-op lesson on Peru. I needed to add a little cold water to make the dough come together, but they came out great. I would make them again just for the family.

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