Alfajores, crispy cookie sandwiches, are enjoyed throughout Latin America. Many regions have their own local spin on these delicate sugar cookies filled with a creamy, caramel-like goodness. But the end result is always the same. Delicioso! Slight variations of this recipe include coconut, crushed almonds, or they can be covered in chocolate.
If you're aching to relive the local flavors you enjoyed during your Peru tours, here’s a tried and true recipe with a Peruvian flare and Manjar Blanco filling.
The Cookie:
3/4 cup white flour
1 cup corn starch
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup butter (soft, room temperature)
2 egg yolks
1/4 tablespoon vanilla
6 tablespoons powdered sugar
Manjar Blanco: The Filling
2 1/2 cups of whole milk
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp. of sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla
Make your filling: Boil milk, sugar and vanilla in a saucepan – stirring occasionally until thick and caramel-like. Should take about 30-45 mins. You’ll know when it’s done when you spoon onto a plate and it does not run.
Make Cookie:
1. Mix butter, 4 tbsp. of powered sugar and vanilla in a bowl. Add egg yolks, one at a time, mixing well after each is added.
2. In separate bowl mix together flour, baking powder and corn starch.
3. Combine two mixtures to form your dough – do not over-mix.
4. Cover and let sit in cool place for 30 min. (Fridge is fine)
If you haven’t already, now is a great time to make your filling.
5. Sprinkle counter surface lightly with flour to roll out the dough. When 1/4” thick, cut out about 2 1/2” circles.
6. Place on a greased cookie sheet – bake at 300 degrees for about 20 mins.
7. When completely cooled, place manjar blanco filling on half the cookies, and place the remaining half of cookies on top, making little sandwiches of goodness.
8. Sprinkle with remaining powdered sugar, eat and enjoy a little taste of Peru travel!
Makes 12 cookies. I recommend doubling this recipe, because trust me, you’ll want more than just a dozen of these treats.
For an Argentine flavor, replace the manjar blanco filling with dulce de leche (make your own, or purchase at the store). Or add cinnamon or rum to the filling for additional flavor.
We've used Adventure Life for several trips in the past and have always been very pleased with them. The staff is personable and professional at the same time. Erin put this trip together for us in just a few days, and it has everything we were looking for! I recommend them without hesitation.
benn
1 month ago
I served as the person responsible for planning a trip to Galapagos and Machu Picchu for a group of 14 people. Jane with Adventure Life was very helpful throughout the process. Making suggestions, offering insight, and in the end helped me overhaul an initial plan into something even better. Also, Jane makes all the plans including the flights within and between Peru and Ecuador. Thanks to her this is going to be a stress-free adventure. After making the final decision about the trip, Jane gathered the contact information for all the travelers and sent out the details to each traveler individually with links to pay deposits, upload passport info, and personal preferences. She also ensured a group email was sent out to the entire group welcoming us to the trip preparation process. Our trip is a year from now and we are excited to make this once in a life time trek. I am happy to have organized things through Adventure Life. However, two small issues came up that were a little off putting. First, Adventure Life adds $50 per person to the cost for each traveler as a donation to a Galapagos conservation fund. I think this should he offered as something that can be added at each traveler’s discretion. Instead, it is automatically added, and each person must ask to have it removed if they do not want it included. Second, although the trip deposit may be paid with a credit card without incurring an additional fee, the balance must be paid in another way to avoid a 3% credit card fee. Maybe this is standard with all travel agencies. In the end I would definitely go through Adventure Life for the next big trip.
Brenda Nielsen
2 months ago
I think it was very helpful that Franny and I spoke on the phone. I think she had a better idea of what we were looking for, and she planned a great itinerary for us!
Elizabeth
3 months ago
My representative Kevin was very responsive generally and in crafting our itinerary to our specific priorities.
Rocco Labella
3 months ago
Easy.
Great work on the follow up and details by Waru.