Reviewed: Mar. 9, 2012

My recipe for alfajores calls for 2 cups of flour, 1/4 tsp of salt, 2 sticks of butter (skip the salt if you use salted butter), 1 cup of sugar. Bake at 350 for 8 mins. (I live in high altitude so less time baking, you might have to increase time if you're not over 5000 ft). I roll the dough between 2 sheets of wax paper and use Nestle La Lechera dulce de leche which has the perfect consistency. Where I come from (Brazil) we also use guava paste as an alternate filling. I seldom use powdered sugar as it would make the cookies too sweet.

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Reviewer:

ValerieC

Reviewed: Dec. 22, 2011

I really wasn't thrilled by these. They really are very bland even with the filling.

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Reviewer:

NJuniee

Cooking Level: Expert

Reviewed: Feb. 21, 2011

These were very good though time consuming to make. LOL. I was able to use Manjar Blanco. If any of you live in NYC I was able to find it in a Latin American market called Casa Rivera (40-17 82 St) in Queens. I'm in Brooklyn so it was a bit of a hike but worth it. They also carry Aji Amarillo (yellow Peruvian pepper) in case you need it for other Peruvian recipes. I'm tackling Papas a la Huancaina tomorrow.

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Reviewer:

eviona

Reviewed: Jan. 4, 2011

I replaced the shortening with butter and it turned out perfectly. If you don't want the dough to stick to the surface, spread some flour on the surface, and also on your rolling pin. don't roll the pin from one extreme of the dough to the other, but roll in short intervals. You can add some shredded coconut for gasnish after the alfajores are done.

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Reviewer:

ricfera

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Lawrenceville, Georgia, USA

Reviewed: Aug. 23, 2010

There are many types of alfajores in Peru. They all vary from region to region. The best alfajores are the ones that melt in your mouth and for this i use corn starch...if the recipe calls for 2 cups of flour, then i mix 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of cornstach. Dulce de leche works but if you want to make manjarblanco, all you do is get a can of condense milk and cook in a pressure cook for 20 minutes and voila...manjarblanco.

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Reviewer:

mporter

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Calgary, Alberta, Canada

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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Reviewer:

F Polack

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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Reviewer:

YvieWood

Cooking Level: Expert

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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Reviewer:

sugarbaby9378

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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Reviewer:

Sharon

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Grass Lake, Michigan, USA

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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