This particular recipe comes form one of my best friends who is, indeed, Peruvian. We met in high school and from the beginning, I was welcomed into the wonderful world of the Peruvian culture. The door to her house was always open to me-something I had never experienced until I met her.The food, the music, the friendly embrace from her mother, and greetings of welcoming in Spanish from both parents; these are all things I enjoy. Myself, being a less-cultured-than-typical Japanese American have always enjoyed having friends of various cultures. My friends come from mainly first or second generations, have much knowledge of their mother countries, parents that gave up so much to bring them here, and have I mentioned, great food? If I had to pick my favorite perk of possessing culturally-rich friends, I would have to say it's the food. (I do value the actual friendship, I swear). There is something so admirable in a house that is always smelling of cooked food that has been skillfully prepared and passed down from previous generations.
Inevitably, I love Peruvian food and dishes like ceviche, lomo saltado, and causa rellena. My mouth is watering at the thought of these dishes, though with a pang of sadness-because I realize Angie friend now lives 2000 miles away-I realize I cannot enjoy these homecooked dishes like I once could.
I planned to follow a recipe for alfajores so that I could send them to Angie in time for her birthday. I have eaten them before and believe me, they are like heaven in cookie form. Although they are excellent when bought, I just wanted to see if I could come close-through my own handiwork-to the real thing. Alfajores, I realize I have yet to describe for those who aren't familiar with them, are South American cookies that-though there are many variations-usually consist of manjar blanco (a caramel-like confection) between two soft shortbread cookies. Yum, right?
Because I am not near any hispanic markets I had to find a substitute for the manjar blanco, the best being dulce de leche. This can be made by boiling sweetened condensed milk for 3-4 hours. directions are here. use the 'in the can' method
I found a recipe for Peruvian alfajores on a site called christmas-cookies.com and was pleasantly surprised at the results. The cookies were reminiscent of the authentic version, but sadly, and quite as anticipated, the filling did not remotely taste like the real thing. However, it is a good cookie, and for now, I will have to sell this recipe based on its spitting image of what alfajores should look like. This is one of those times that seeing but not tasting the food in the pictures serves to my benefit. hehe. But anyways, like I said, this is a perfectly good cookie that I would enjoy baking again. Maybe I'll call it the Japanese American version of alfajores to add to the collection of Argentinian and Peruvian ones. Maybe? eh, I guess not. But they are good. Okay, I'll stop, it's getting late and my mind is running in circles. Can't seem to write a single coherent sentence without struggling. So here's the recipe and enjoy. :)
As adapted on Christmas-cookies.com
RECIPE
Makes about 24
For the cookies:
1-1/2 cups unsalted butter
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup ground almonds (can be ground in a food processor)
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
For the filling:
2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup half & half or light cream or evaporated milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
To make the cookies:
Cream the butter with the powdered sugar until fluffy. Stir in salt, extracts, ground almonds and flour. Wrap and chill 30 minutes. (If you chill longer, you have to let the dough warm up a bit before it can be rolled. Or, do what professional pastry chefs do: whack it with a rolling pin until it becomes more malleable).
Mealwhile, make the filling:
In a medium saucepan, heat brown sugar with cream over medium heat. As it cooks, brush inner sides of pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water. This wipes away grainy sugar crystals. Heat until mixture reaches soft ball stage (238-240 F). Remove from heat - let cool to about 110 F. Stir in the butter and beat until mixture is thickened. Add vanilla. (Heat to loosen or add additional cream). If mixture is too thin, add in confectioners' sugar.
To bake the cookies:
Roll out dough 1/4 inch thick. Cut in 2-1/2-inch circles. Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet at 350 F for 12-14 minutes. Cool baking sheets
between batches. Cool cookies on wire racks.
To assemble Alfajores:
Spread some caramel filling on a cookie. Top
with another cookie and press together nicely. Be careful, these are fragile. Dust tops with confectioner's sugar.
Note: I substituted the condensed milk for the filling. Recipe makes 24 sandwich cookies if using a 2-inch cookie cutter.
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