My sincerest apologies -- I know I've been holding out on sharing the recipe for these cookies with you for far too long! But there's a good reason for it -- I got held up a little because my book Unconventional Treats is almost here -- THURSDAY! Yikes! :S is now here! And these cookies are front and center in there. I originally intended these for the book only, but since I got so many requests to share this recipe, I couldn't resist posting it on the blog too. Tis' the season for cookies after all, and I wouldn't want anyone missing out ;)
So let's talk alfajores. ALFAJORES. Alfajores... I don't think I ever passed up on asking for those at any bakery's or cafe's counter, and my dad always obliged (he's a good man!). For a kid, can anything get better than a soft, sweet, melt-in-your mouth cookie, filled with dulce de leche, and dusted with magical powdered white sugar? I don't think so. Ok, maybe something crazy like cotton candy would get me giddy too, but you know what I mean...
So this year I decided to go for it and make some Audrey-approved alfajores -- it's been too long. And having raw dulce de leche around meant just that. And the result was these cookies -- my favorite cookies ever (and there's a lot of cookie eating going on around here, so I don't say that lightly...), and by far my favorite alfajores too. All who tasted agreed, and these went flying batch after batch. In fact, I haven't stopped making these since I came up with the recipe.
Before we get to the recipe -- just a quick note for the nut-free people -- use these cinnamon bunny cookies as the base instead -- they still work a treat and make delicious caramel sandwich cookies that also went flying quite fast ;) The main difference is that the recipe I'm using here is a melt-in-your mouth soft cookie, whereas the cinnamon bunnies are firmer, but still delicious and I'd never pass one up :). The photo below is of the cinnamon bunny version:
Ok, and now to the recipe. Oh, wait --- before you dive in, if you love these cookies, rest assured there are lots more plus a million other tasty treats in Unconventional Treats I know you'll absolutely love. Look out for it on Thursday on the blog! Until then, this cookie is a teaser ;)
Ok, and now to the recipe :)
P.s. you need to make this dulce de leche first.
P.p.s. The cookies in these photos are from several different batches -- some larger, some smaller, all delicious...
PrintAlfajores {Caramel Sandwich Cookies}
A melt-in-your-mouth, soft gluten-free cookie sandwich filled with gooey vegan caramel.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Total Time: 23 minutes
- Yield: 10 sandwich cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Dessert
Ingredients
Cookie:
- 4 tbsp coconut oil, softened
- 4 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- dash of salt
- 1¼ cups blanched almond flour
- ¾ cup tapioca starch
Filling:
- 8 tbsp raw dulce de leche
Dusting:
- 1-2 tablespoon dairy-free powdered coconut milk
Instructions
- In a medium-sized bowl, use a hand mixer to combine coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Add in all remaining cookie ingredients, except filling. Stir to combine with a spoon, then use your hands to knead the dough for a bit until it forms into a smooth and uniform ball.
- Flatten the ball into a disk, place on top of a piece of parchment paper. Cover with a second sheet of parchment and roll out the dough into a ⅛" thickness. Use a 1½” round cookie cutter to cut out the cookies (I used this linzer cutter for mine), but don't lift them off the sheet just yet (they are a little fragile at this point and can easily break). Place the whole parchment sheet onto a cookie sheet and into the fridge or freezer and allow the cookies to chill for about 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking tray with some parchment paper. Once cookies are chilled transfer the cut-out cookies onto the parchment-lined baking tray, spacing them at least an inch apart (they will spread a little as they bake).
- Bake for approximately 8 minutes (note: if using larger cookie cutters the baking time will be a few minutes longer). Remove from oven and allow the cookies to cool completely on a rack (they will be soft when you pull them out, but will harden as they cool).
- Once completely cool, place less than 1 tablespoon dulce de leche into the center of half the cookies. Cover with another cookie and press down to form a sandwich. Repeat. Dust with powdered coconut milk. Enjoy!
Tomer says
I wonder if you can make the cookies, fill them and then freeze for later consumption?
Or do you think that won't work and they will become soggy?
Or work but only with a different, non gluten free cookie recipe?
-------
Also, I made this recipe about 3 years ago and it came out delicious, so better late then never :)
Thank you
★★★★★
Audrey says
Hi Tomer, I appreciate your comment even if it's 3 years later :D
I've never tried freezing these specific cookies. So just speaking hypothetically here, but I think it's not a good idea. Cookies are always best fresh. Some can be frozen and come out ok. But I think filled cookies + freezing will very likely result in sogginess unfortunately. I think that will be the case with any cookie type in this case.
You can try just making the cookies and freezing them on their own. Then fill and sandwich when ready to eat. You can mitigate some of the potential soginess by waiting for them to completely cool off after baking and then freezing (if frozen while still warm condensation will make them soggy later on). Also I would recommend freezing them separated on a cookie sheet first so that they freeze solid individually first, before transferring them to a container to stay in the freezer. You'll have a much easier time thawing them out later this way as they won't be stuck together. If after thawing out they come out too soft for your liking after thawing out, can always lightly bake them again to get some of that moisture out.
Razieh says
Thanks for your great recipe.
Can I substitute tapioca starch with corn starch?
Audrey says
Hi Razieh,
You should be able to for sure, though I haven't tried it out myself and I know that typically you need to use half as much corn starch as tapioca when substituting, which might throw off the ratios a little, so you may need to experiment a little here. If you give it a try, would love to hear what worked for you.
razieh says
thanks for your attention!
K says
Can I substitute tapioca starch with arrowroot starch?
Audrey says
Hi K, yes, that should work fine. Enjoy :)
AJ says
How long will these cookies keep in an airtight container do you think? I'd like to make some in advance, but I haven't made anything like this before! I made the dulce de leche today and WOW, it's amazing!
Audrey says
Hi AJ. I'm so happy you like the dulce de leche :) I think they are best eaten same day once the filling goes in. Next day is good too. They'll keep longer than that, but the cookies will soften a bit due to the filling, which is why I prefer them fresher. You can bake the cookies and keep them in an air-tight container and then add the filling closer to when you want to eat / serve them.
Sophie says
These filled cookies looked amazing & that is why, I made them 2 times already!
Audrey says
That's awesome :) Thanks for the feedback. They're one of my favorite as well!
Emilia says
Alfajores are the typical sweet from argentina :)
Audrey says
Hi Emilia -- yes, so I've heard :) ♥
Sina @ Vegan Heaven says
These look simply amazing, Audrey!! I'm so excited about your book! It's gonna be awesome! :-)
Audrey says
Thank you so much, Sina! ♥
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Now ifconly I knew how to pronounce the name...since I'm guessing how I'm saying it in my head is NOT how it sounds :P Hahahaha!
Audrey says
Bahahaha... alfaˈxor(es) -- or if you're not good with phonetics... Alpha -- hor -- es :)
Nissrine @ Harmony a la Carte says
Ok I woke up at 3am and made the mistake of looking at my phone and these were the first thing I saw and now I'm hungry and want to eat my phone....lol. These look so amazing and maybe it's going to sound weird but I've never had Alfajores. The dulche de leche sounds incredible. Must give them a try. I've been working on making a healthier version of my mom's jam filled Christmas cookies and I'm sure they would love a good dulce de leche filling.
Audrey says
They are super delicious and very common in Hispanic and South American countries. I wonder if you could even find some in Italy by proximity? :)
Natalie | Feasting on Fruit says
These are the most sophisticated sandwich cookie i've ever seen! I can only imagine the melt-in-your mouth heavenly bite through powdered sugar sweetness, then soft cookie, then rich caramel. Just wonderful :) And you managed to photograph without dulce de leche dripping and squeezing out everywhere! I'm sad to say that I have never had an Alfajore in my life. What is the origin of these cookies, why have I never encountered them before?
Emilia says
Are from argentina! And you find many types and brand there is the typicall sweet
Audrey says
Many types? Sounds interesting... :P -- do you mean just different brands or different flavors too?
Audrey says
Your imagination is spot on on track :) And they are common in many South American countries, and also Spain. But they were also common in many cafes and bakeries growing up. I think a caramel sandwich cookie transcends all cultural boundaries and will easily be enjoyed by all ;)