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Pilar's Chilean Food & Garden

Pilar's Chilean Food & Garden

A recipe blog by a Chilean living in the USA

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Chilean Alfajores

September 8, 2022 by Pilar Hernandez
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Versión en español

Chilean Alfajores RecipeChilean Alfajores are traditional sweet cookies. Make at home for the Independence celebrations or Christmas, and 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.

Filling for Chilean Alfajores:

  • Dulce de Leche
  • Huevo Mol
  • Molasses paste

The recipe for the dough is a family heirloom; my great-aunt taught me how to do it; she was in charge of our family’s famous Thousand Layer Cake.

Alfajores are my favorite Chilean sweet. The recipe for the dough is the traditional one of my family. Alfajores are always present at Christmas, baptisms, and Chilean parties in general.

When I’m craving but without time, I stick two water crackers with manjar, and I imagine I’m eating alfajores, a classic from college.

What are Alfajores made of and filled with?

Great question and it depends. Alfajores is a cookie filled with something, and like many recipes introduced by the Spaniards, with time, they have gotten different variations throughout Latinoamerica.
They are most popular in South America, especially in Chile, Peru, and Argentina.
In Peru and Argentina, the most common variation of Alfajor is the recipe: a melt-in-your-mouth cornstarch cookie filled with dulce de leche.
In Chile, alfajor is a cookie made with a crunchy dough (Hojarasca) made with egg yolks and flour and filled with dulce de leche; or try this other traditional filling with molasses Alfajores Atoradores.
In Argentina and Chile, Alfajores Mendocinos are very popular too. I included a recipe in my book, The Chilean Kitchen (Amazon affiliate link). You can see a recipe here, too: Chocolate alfajores, which are similar to the commercial ones Alfajores Havanna (Amazon affiliate link).

Tips for great Chilean Alfajores:

What is the most important thing for the alfajores to be delicious?

The kneading by hand for 10 minutes and with a machine for at least 5 minutes, the dough should be smooth and sound (crack)

What manjar do you recommend?

I like the Colun or the artisanal one from Playa Venado in Chile. It’s terrific. I preferred the La Lechera brand, canned in the USA and made in Chile. Do not use Argentinian Dulce de Leche or Cajeta. They have different flavor profiles.

Can I remove or replace the vinegar?

It can be replaced with orange juice or alcohol (brandy or pisco). The idea is to prevent the flour from forming gluten so that the alfajores are crispy and not chewy. The acid and alcohol help, so I don’t recommend omitting this ingredient.

What can I do so the circles do not deform or shrink when cutting and handling them?

I recommend rolling the dough directly on the baking sheet (cookie sheets work great for this) with a bit of flour. Cut and prick the alfajores and go straight to the oven. Or on silicone mats that you can slide onto the baking sheet. Avoid having to lift the circles.

My dough is dry. Can I add milk or water?

Occasionally if you live in a very dry climate, or the egg yolks are too small, they will lack liquid to hold the dough together. You can add milk or water one teaspoon at a time until you can unite it and knead it.

What is the standard egg size in pastry?

Recipes in the US are written for large eggs, which weigh about 65 grams in the shell.
Without the shell, 50 grams: 35 grams the egg white, 15 grams the yolk.

You may also like the recipe: Chilenitos.

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Chilean Alfajores

★★★★★

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Alfajores, Chilean Recipe are a traditional sweet in Chile, filled with dulce de leche or Huevo Mol.

  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 35 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 2 cups of all-purpose flour, sifted
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 5 tablespoons of milk (whole or 2%)
  • 1 teaspoon of vinegar (apple or white)
  • 1 tablespoon melted unsalted butter
  • Dulce de Leche to fill

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350F or 180C.
  2. Put flour in a large bowl.
  3. Add the egg yolks and work with a fork or your hands to form crumbs.
    crumbs
  4. Add the milk, vinegar, and melted butter.
  5. Form a dough, add water if necessary, one teaspoon at a time.
    Alfajor dough
  6. Knead to a smooth dough, about 10 minutes.
    Alfajor dough shape into a ball
  7. Wrap in plastic wrap and let it rest, refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.
  8. Roll thin and cut the Alfajores, prick with a fork.
    Cutting the wafers
  9. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
    Baked alfajores
  10. Fill with the Dulce de Leche once they are cool.
    Chilean Alfajores
  • Author: Pilar Hernandez
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Category: Cookies
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: Chilean

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 alfajor
  • Calories: 95
  • Sugar: 9.6 g
  • Sodium: 26.3 mg
  • Fat: 2.3 g
  • Saturated Fat: 1.3 g
  • Carbohydrates: 16.1 g
  • Fiber: 0.2 g
  • Protein: 2.3 g

Keywords: chilean alfajores, chilean cookies

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Tag @chileanfoodandgarden on Instagram and hashtag it #chileanfoodandgarden

Dulce de Leche Alfajor

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If you enjoyed this recipe, you would also enjoy my cookbook* featuring 75 Chilean recipes for all seasons. It is lovingly written and scrumptiously photographed, and you’ll delight in the best Chilean cuisine offers, with easy-to-follow recipes tailored to American ingredients and grocery stores.

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Category: Chilean Cookies & Candy, Chilean recipes, Popular Posts

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    Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

  1. Loreto Ibarra Schuster

    May 3, 2022 at 2:53 pm

    Gracias Pilar ,soy una asidua fans tuya ,te tenía entre mis amigas ,pero cambié equipo de celular y perdí todo ….cariños desde Chile 🇨🇱🥂🌷 acá todo mal ,estamos en una situación crítica ,poco para ser una guerra civil ..horror amiga ,un abrazo gigante para ti 🙏😇❤️

    Reply
    • Pilar Hernandez

      May 4, 2022 at 12:25 pm

      Bienvenida nuevamente Loreto. Saludos.

      Reply
  2. Pauline Cosmelli

    November 19, 2021 at 2:43 pm

    Excellent and easy to follow recipe.
    Thank you Pilar, and congratulations!!

    Reply
    • Pilar Hernandez

      November 20, 2021 at 2:01 pm

      Thank you so much.

      Reply
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Hello, I’m Pilar

Hello! I'm Pilar Hernandez, a Latina mom, The Chilean Kitchen cookbook author, and urban farmer. I'm currently based in Seattle, WA. I was born and raised in Chile. I went to medical school there …

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