Valentine’s Day Heart-shaped Alfajor Cookies
These little heart shaped cookies make a great gift for your Valentine and are really quick and easy to make. They’re sandwiched around a delicious filling of dulce de leche – one of Latin America’s favourite sweet treats.
- Prep: 40 minutes
- Cook: 10-15 minutes
- Total time: 1 hour
- Recipe serves: 25 cookies
Ingredients
- 225g cornstarch
- 390g flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 225g of butter
- 112g powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon Pisco (or Brandy)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 237ml (half pint) dulce de leche (found in specialist food stores or Latin markets)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 degrees.
- Place cornstarch, flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and mix briefly.
- Cut butter into small pieces and add to the flour mixture. Blend with your fingers until mixture is smooth
- Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and Pisco or brandy, and mix with your hands until the dough is homogeneous and smooth. Add more Pisco or some water if dough is too crumbly - it should come together in a smooth ball.
- Let the dough rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Roll out dough to 3/8" thickness. Cut out small heart shapes with knife or heart-shaped cutter.
- Place heart-shaped doughs on baking tray lined with parchment paper.
- Bake in oven for 10-15 minutes until barely golden brown. Remove and allow to fully cool.
- Spread half the cookies with a generous spoon of dulce de leche and top with second cookie.
- Sprinkle tops with powdered sugar.
Variation: You can also dip the finished cookies in melted dark or white chocolate then chill and serve. Or, you can even add red food colouring to the cookie dough for great looking red heart cookies!
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