flipCornstarch Alfajores with Dulce de Leche
Cornstarch Alfajores with Dulce de Leche
Why this dish? The alfajor is the national Argentine sweet, sold everywhere — kiosks, schools, stadiums. For a child in Rosario like Messi, it is the ubiquitous snack; the dulce de leche that fills it is a childhood taste shared by all Argentines.
Two very tender cornstarch shortbread cookies, sandwiched with dulce de leche and rolled in shredded coconut. Soft, crumbly, irresistible.
This is the snack of all Argentine kids, including me. Two soft little cookies, generous dulce de leche in the middle, and you roll the edges in coconut — you eat one and your fingers are sticky with sugar. After school we would buy them at the kiosk. Today I don't overdo it, but when I go back home, an alfajor and a mate, and I'm little Leo from Rosario again.
- •Cornstarch (maizena) — base of the dough (melting texture)
- •Wheat flour — a little (structure)
- •Butter — generous (shortbread)
- •Sugar — moderate (sweetness)
- •Egg yolks — a few (binder)
- •Dulce de leche — for filling (signature filling)
- •Shredded coconut — for coating (finish)
Cornstarch Alfajores with Dulce de Leche
Two very tender cornstarch shortbread cookies, sandwiched with dulce de leche and rolled in shredded coconut. Soft, crumbly, irresistible.
Why this dish? The alfajor is the national Argentine sweet, sold everywhere — kiosks, schools, stadiums. For a child in Rosario like Messi, it is the ubiquitous snack; the dulce de leche that fills it is a childhood taste shared by all Argentines.
This is the snack of all Argentine kids, including me. Two soft little cookies, generous dulce de leche in the middle, and you roll the edges in coconut — you eat one and your fingers are sticky with sugar. After school we would buy them at the kiosk. Today I don't overdo it, but when I go back home, an alfajor and a mate, and I'm little Leo from Rosario again.
Ingredients (period version)
- Cornstarch (maizena) — base of the dough (melting texture)
- Wheat flour — a little (structure)
- Butter — generous (shortbread)
- Sugar — moderate (sweetness)
- Egg yolks — a few (binder)
- Dulce de leche — for filling (signature filling)
- Shredded coconut — for coating (finish)
Ingredients
- Cornstarch — 200 g (melting texture)
- Flour — 150 g (structure)
- Softened butter — 120 g (shortbread)
- Powdered sugar — 80 g (sweetness)
- Egg yolks — 2 (binder)
- Baking powder — 1 teaspoon (lightness)
- Lemon zest — 1 (flavor)
- Dulce de leche — 1 jar (filling)
- Shredded coconut — 60 g (coating)
Method
- Cream butter and powdered sugar, add yolks and lemon zest.
- Incorporate cornstarch, flour, and baking powder until a soft dough forms; refrigerate for 30 min.
- Roll out to 5 mm and cut into disks with a cookie cutter.
- Bake at 170 °C for 10–12 minutes: cookies should remain pale.
- Once cooled, spread dulce de leche on one disk and press another on top.
- Roll the exposed filling edge in shredded coconut.
How it was made : The alfajor has Andalusian-Arab roots that arrived in Latin America via Spain; Argentina made it its sweet emblem in the 20th century, especially the Buenos Aires cornstarch alfajor, and the country is now one of the world's largest consumers.
The contemporary twist : Dip half of each alfajor in tempered dark chocolate for the 'alfajor de chocolate' version, another great Argentine classic.
Lionel Messi · Charactorium
