Almond Alfajores Recipes

ALFAJORES WITH COCONUT DULCE DE LECHE

Steps:

• Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 375°F. Bring condensed milk, coconut milk, and ½ tsp. salt to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Scrape mixture into a 13x9" baking dish and bake, stirring every 15 minutes or so, until very thick and a light caramel color, 40-50 minutes. Mixture will look lumpy, broken, and very pasty-that's exactly what you want. Let cool in dish 1 hour, then transfer to a food processor and process until smooth. Set dulce de leche aside for serving.
• Meanwhile, whisk almond flour and 2¼ cups all-purpose flour in a medium bowl to combine. Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter, sugar, and 1½ tsp. salt in a large bowl, scraping down sides and bottom of bowl as needed, until pale and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add egg yolk, vanilla, and ¼ cup honey and beat until combined, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients, and mix, scraping down sides and bottom of bowl, until incorporated. Divide dough in half and pat each piece into a 1"-thick disk. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, at least 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Roll out 1 disk of dough on a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper, dusting with more flour as needed to keep dough from sticking, to about ⅛" thick. Punch out shapes with lightly floured cookie cutters and transfer to 2 parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing 1" apart. Pat scraps into a 1"-thick disk, wrap with plastic, and chill 10 minutes if soft.
• Bake a sheet of cookies, rotating halfway through, until edges are lightly browned, 7-9 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes on baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. Bake remaining sheet of cookies. Line baking sheets with fresh sheets of parchment paper and repeat process with remaining disk of dough.
• Divide coconut evenly among 3 bowls. Add 1 Tbsp. food-coloring powder (sift if needed) to a bowl of coconut and toss until coconut is coated; add more powder if a more intense color is desired. Repeat with remaining food-coloring powder and another bowl of coconut. Leave 1 bowl of coconut white. If using, add some luster dust to all 3 bowls and toss to combine.
• Turn half of the cookies over to expose flat side; spread 1 tsp. dulce de leche over (this will be the inside of the sandwiches); set aside.
• Heat remaining 2 Tbsp. honey in a small bowl in the microwave just until warm (you want it to be loose), then stir in 2 tsp. warm water. Working one at a time, lightly brush honey over the top of remaining cookies (the ones that have not been filled with dulce de leche). Immediately dip tops into a bowl of coconut; press additional coconut onto cookie to cover any bald spots. Close up cookie sandwiches, coconut side up.
• Do Ahead: Dulce de leche can be made 1 month ahead; place in an airtight container and freeze. Thaw in refrigerator overnight before using. Dough can be made 3 days ahead; keep chilled. Cookies can be baked (but not assembled) 2 days ahead; store airtight at room temperature.

ALFAJORES

Steps:

• First of all cook the condensed milk. I prefer to do it in a pressure cooker; I find it safer. Here is what I do. Fill the pressure cooker with water to cover the condensed milk can inside. Place the cooker on the stove top and when it starts to boil count the time; 30 minutes is enough.
• Let it cool completely.
• It is very dangerous to open the can when it is hot. The hot sweet mixture inside will come out like a jet and it burns very badly.
• For the biscuit:.
• Cream butter with sugar, egg and yolks in an electric mixer using the whisk attachment.
• In another bowl mix flour, honey, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and vanilla. Mix this into the butter mixture.
• Work the dough until smooth.
• Let it rest for 30 minutes.
• On a floured board and using a rolling pin, roll the dough to a half (1/2) cm thickness.
• With a round (5cm) biscuit cutter, cut biscuits and place on a prepared baking sheet.
• Bake for 10 minutes in a medium oven (180°C).
• They should be light brown when done.
• Let it cool on a wire rack.
• When the biscuits are cold, spread some of the "dolce de leche" (about 1 tsp for every two biscuits) and cover with another, making a sandwich.
• Set aside.
• Melt the chocolate by placing it in a bowl over hot water, not boiling water.
• After the chocolate has melted bring it to the right temperature (you should feel it kind of icy when placed on your lips) for coating.
• Drop each biscuit in the melted chocolate, lift with a fork, taking care to take off all the excess.
• Place the covered biscuit on parchment paper and let it dry.
• Enjoy!

ALMOND ALFAJORES

Steps:

• Mix the ground almond meal, flour, and salt in a medium bowl.
• Grate the almond paste into the bowl.
• Blend the butter into the flour mixture with your fingers, until dough is smooth and well mixed. Chill dough for 2 hours or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• On a well floured surface, roll half the cookie dough out to 1/4 inch thickness.
• Cut desired shapes and place on a cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, rerolling scraps until all of the dough has been rolled and cut.
• Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes, until golden brown.
• When cookies are cool spread 1-2 tsps of dulce de leche on a cookie and top with another.