Over the past five years, Latin food had gotten popular in Houston. I remember our local gourmet supermarket used to have a fair with products from Argentina. They have Alfajores, the most common ones with the cookie made out of cornstarch and also Chocolate Alfajores Havanna.
If you are an old-time reader, you may remember my mother in law is Argentinian and at her house, I was introduced to Alfajores Havanna. They are amazing, with a soft chocolate cookie, that melts in your mouth. And they are filled with Dulce de Leche, a perfect complement to the semi-bitter chocolate coating. They are addictive.
I made these Chocolate Alfajores for International Night at my kid’s school. I love this celebration, our school in Houston gathers students from more than 25 different countries. Hence there was food from Ethiopia, South Africa, Sweden, Russia, Cameroon, China, Japan, Israel, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Japan, France, and Chile of course!
In Chile, this kind of Alfajores is usually associated with the Sausalito brand initially from Viña del Mar, a beach city close to the capital.
* Recipe updated with new photos September 2017 *
You may also be interested in the recipe: Cornstarch Alfajores
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Chocolate Alfajores, Chilean recipe
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
- Yield: 30 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Chilean
Description
The cookie you having dreaming about it.
Ingredients
- 170 grams unsalted butter at room temperature
- 130 grams of light brown sugar
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- 20 grams of honey
- 340 grams of flour without baking powder
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons Dutch cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon fine salt
for the filling,
- 500 grams of Dulce de Leche
for coverage,
- 200 grams of semi-bitter chocolate, I use one with 60% cocoa
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Instructions
- To make the dough. In a large bowl with the paddle mixer attachment. Beat the butter until creamy and pale, about 5 minutes, add sugar and mix until smooth (3 minutes), add the eggs one by one, beat until combined. Add honey and vanilla, beat everything for 2 minutes.
- Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt, add to the previous mixture and mix with a wooden spoon (do not use the mixer) until a soft and moist dough forms. Wrap in kitchen plastic and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350F or 180C.
Divide dough into 4 and scoop out a quarter and make a ball, roll the dough thin 1/3″ over a floured countertop. Cut the Alfajores in circles of 3 cm in diameter, place on an oven tray covered with parchment paper.
Bake for 5 minutes each baking sheet (without removing the paper), the dough will slightly rise in the oven. Remove and let cool in a grid on the same paper. - Once baked and cooled you can put them in a plastic bag and freeze. Repeat with remaining 3 pieces of dough.
Fill the Alfajores with Dulce de Leche. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate overnight. - The next day, chop the chocolate into small pieces, add the vegetable oil, melt in the microwave slowly, 30 seconds each go. Remove, stir for 1 minute, continue to melt in the microwave until all the chocolate is dissolved. Use a spoon to cover the Alfajores. It is best to cover the sides first and then the top. Let dry and serve.
Keywords: Chocolate alfajor, chilean alfajor, chilean cookies
I used to bake these cookies with my mom as a kid. The first thing I learned to cook was cookies; I was her kitchen assistant.
I grow up in a house full of cookies year-round, my mother was always proud to be able to serve cookies to anyone who arrived, even un-announced visitors. Of course, with my sweet tooth, this was a recipe for disaster and a never-ending fight followed after my mother discovered time and time again empty cans of cookies… but these Coconut Cookies were safe. Growing up I used to hate coconut.
These meringue kisses with Dulce de Leche are one of the cookies that never failed to be at the Christmas table in my grandmother’s house. Cookies have always been the favorite part of Christmas for me, even more than the presents. Seeing the table all fill with cookies was a magical and a yummy thing to experience growing up.
Peruvian Cornstarch Alfajores are my favorite cookies, I grew up eating them. In my family, any special occasion such as a birthday, baptism, family reunion, etc required a cookie buffet and Peruvian cornstarch Alfajores were always present.
This recipe is adapted from our old family recipe and an old recipe from a Chilean magazine. These cookies keep their shape, so you can cut them in different shapes.
Chilean Alfajores are a traditional sweet cookie. Make at home for the Independence celebrations or for Christmas, the rest of the year bought at bakeries unless there is a big family event like a baptism or graduation. At these parties, offering small pastries including Alfajores is customary.
