Chocolate Alfajores Recipe with Homemade Dulce de Leche

These chocolate alfajores are buttery, bite-sized sandwich cookies with a soft, melt-in-your-mouth texture. They’re filled with thick, creamy milk caramel (dulce de leche) and finished with a thin coating of chocolate and a sprinkle of coconut. They’re easy to make and perfect for gifting, sharing, or just keeping a stash for yourself.

Hey guys, Nick here. Coming in with a delicious update to a classic South American cookie that I absolutely love. The main update here is to the cookie which actually uses my chocolate shortbread cookie recipe. It’s buttery, rich in chocolate flavor which it gets from Dutch processed cocoa powder and not overly sweet which is perfect because you get a hit of sweetness from the dulce de leche filling.

I’ve gotten in trouble before for calling dulce de leche caramel. People strongly object to that word. But it is literally milk and sugar which is slowly cooked until it caramelizes, giving you the most delicious flavor. Maybe I should call it milk caramel? Happy medium. Whatever I call it, it’s really easy to make. I actually have a separate recipe on 3 easy ways to make Dulce De Leche. My favorite is the slow cooker method which takes 60 seconds of prep and the rest is done by the slow cooker!

I thought I’d be a little extra with this new version and coat it in a thin layer of chocolate and sprinkle it with coconut for a little hint of the classic cookie. Trust me when I say, these cookies are totally worth it. It’s such a great flavor combo and the buttery texture makes them irresistible.

What are Alfajores?

It’s a hard one to answer because it can vary between regions, depending on where the recipe originated. Some things are constants though. They’re a south American sandwich cookie that is made of buttery shortbread like cookies and filled with dulce de leche. A creamy milk caramel that is thick.

My version is a chocolate twist on the original. I use cocoa powder for a deep, rich flavor and keep the classic dulce de leche filling. To take it a step further, I coat the cookies in a thin layer of chocolate and sprinkle them with coconut, a subtle nod to the traditional version where the filling is sometimes rolled in coconut.

How To Make The Dulce De Leche Filling

I use homemade dulce de leche in these cookies, and it’s worth the little bit of extra effort. Although, store bought works just as fine, making it at home is really easy and much cheaper too. It’s made by slowly heating sweetened condensed milk until it thickens into a rich, smooth caramel that’s creamy and full of flavor.

There are three easy ways to make it: stovetop, oven, or slow cooker. I go with the slow cooker because it’s completely hands-off and gives you the perfect piping consistency for sandwiching these cookies together without it oozing everywhere. If you haven’t made it before, I’ve got a simple guide on how to make dule de leche, that walks you through all three methods.

Tip: if you’re making it yourself, transfer it to a bowl and mix it with a spoon before piping. If it seems a little loose and spreads too much when you pipe it on half the cookies, pipe less of it. Then chill the sandwiched cookies for 30-60minutes before dipping in the chocolate coating.

Let’s make the cookies!

This recipe uses my Chocolate Shortbread recipe. It’s really rich in chocolate flavor and simple to make too.

• Cream the softened butter and sugar together.
• Add the flour and cocoa powder and mix in until a dough forms.

• I used my hand mixer and then switched over to a spatula to make sure it was properly mixed.
• Roll the dough out. I used rolling guides to help me get a nice even layer of dough. I also rolled it on top of a large piece of baking paper and placed another piece on top. It stops the dough sticking to the

• Chill the dough. That’s going to help you cut the dough out easier.
• Use a cookie cutter to cut out your cookies

• The dough will start to soften as soon as it comes of the fridge so if it sticks to the baking paper, use a spatula to carefully go under the dough and lift it up to release it.
• Bake the cookies and let them cool completely.

Putting them together is easy too

• Top half of the cooled cookies with dulce de leche.
• Sandwich with a cookie half and press down slightly. If the filling is overly soft, fill them less and pop them in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up.

• To melt the chocolate – Fill a large pot one-third full with water and bring it to a gentle boil. Place a heatproof bowl on top, making sure the bottom doesn’t touch the water. Add the chocolate and oil, then stir until smooth and fully melted. I like to pour the melted chocolate into a smaller bowl to make it deeper, which makes dipping the biscuits easier.
• Dip half of the sandwiched cookies in the chocolate. Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper and let it set.

• Sprinkle with some coconut before it sets if you like!

Tips & Tricks For Recipe Success!

• You want to make sure your butter is properly softened for this recipe. I have a full guide on how to do soften butter that if you want to check it out. It should leave a slight indent when pressed with your finger and feel cool to the touch.
• Using rolling guides to roll the dough out makes this so much easier. I bought mine on amazon.
• When you roll out the dough lay another piece of baking paper on top to stop the dough sticking to the rolling pin.
• When you’re cutting out your cookies, just work on one rolled out piece at a time. Work quickly so that you can get it out of the cookie cutter while the dough is still stiff.

Why is this recipe in grams and not cups?

The short answer is accuracy! It is far easier, more accurate and you get more consistency results when you measure ingredients by weight, especially in dessert and bread baking! I wrote all about this in my post about using digital kitchen scales!

Chocolate Alfajores Recipe with Homemade Dulce de Leche

Chocolate Alfajores are a soft chocolate shortbread cookie filled with yummy milk caramel dulce de leche.

Serves 20

4.7 from 3 votes

Author: Nick Makrides

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep: 45 minutes mins

Cook: 20 minutes mins

Chill: 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Total: 3 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: South American

Calories: 372kcal

---

Ingredients

Dulce De Leche

• ▢ 2 cans sweetened condensed milk, see notes on how to make it yourself

Chocolate Shortbread

• ▢ 200 g unsalted butter, softened (see notes)
• ▢ 110 g powdered sugar, icing sugar
• ▢ 3 g fine salt
• ▢ 14 g vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 orange zested, optional
• ▢ 290 g all-purpose flour, plain flour
• ▢ 40 g Dutch processed cocoa powder, sifted (see notes)

Chocolate Coating

• ▢ 300 g dark cooking chocolate, see notes
• ▢ 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• ▢ 50 g shredded coconut, optional

---

---

Instructions

Dulce De Leche

• For this recipe, you can use store bought dulce de leche or make it yourself. Making it at home is really easy and much cheaper too. To learn how to make it at home, check out the notes section which links you to my recipe!

Chocolate Shortbread

• Whip butter and sugar – Add your softened butter, sugar, salt, vanilla extract and orange zest (optional) to a medium sized mixing bowl. Use an electric hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment to cream the ingredients together until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
• Add dry ingredients – Add half the flour and cocoa powder (sifted) and use a spatula to mix until a dough forms and no dry ingredients are showing. Then add the remaining dry ingredients and repeat. The dough will be soft and smooth when pressed together. If it’s a warm day the dough may be too soft to work with so pop it in the fridge for 30 min to firm up before moving to the next step.
• Rolling out the dough – Form the dough into two flat oval shapes using your hands. Place one dough disc on top of a large piece of baking paper and place another large piece of baking paper on top. Roll out to about 1/2cm / 0.20-inch in thickness. Repeat with the other dough disc.
• Chill the dough – place the rolled dough onto a large baking tray and chill in the fridge for an hour.
• Preheat your oven to 150C / 300F (fan off), 130C / 265F (fan on).
• Cutting out the biscuits – Use a 4cm / 1.5-inch round cookie cutter to cut out your cookies. I used fluted edged ones.
• Baking – Place on the baking tray, spacing about 2cm apart to allow them to spread slightly. Bake for 20 minutes. They’ll be slightly soft when they come out of the oven but will firm up as they cool.
• To assemble – Fill half of the cookies with dulce de leche and sandwich with the other half. I did this by using a piping bag and snipped the end off. You can also use two teaspoons to do this.

Chocolate Coating (optional)

• To prepare the chocolate coating – Add the chocolate and oil into a heat proof bowl and melt in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring each time until melted. Alternatively, you can bring a pot of water to a gentle simmer and place the bowl on top, making sure the bottom of the bowl isn’t touching the water and stir until melted. Allow to cool slightly before using.
• Coat in chocolate – I like to dip half of my sandwiched cookies into melted chocolate allowing excess chocolate to drip off. Place them on a baking tray to set before serving. You can sprinkle some coconut on the chocolate before it sets if you like.

Notes

Storage – cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week.

Dulce De leche

I have three simple methods for making dulce de leche at home which is much easier and hands off than you think. Especially if you have a slow cooker which is my favorite method of making it. Learn how to make Dulce De Leche at home using my recipe! The blog post also includes my tips and tricks too!

Softened Butter – Make sure your butter is softened for this recipe. It’ll ensure it mixes well with the sugar and also that the dough isn’t overly soft. That’ll make it easier to work with.. I have a full guide on how to properly soften butter on the blog, but for reference, softened butter is 18C / 65F on a thermometer. Cut it into cubes and let it sit at room temperature for 1-2 hours until it reaches this temperature to until it’s soft enough that when you press on it with your finger, it leaves an indent with some resistance.

Silicone rolling guides – These are so great for rolling dough out to an even thickness. You can buy them online. I bought mine on amazon.

A note on measurements – This recipe uses weight measurements for the most accurate results. Cup measurements can vary depending on where you are, which affects the precision needed for a recipe like this. Here is where you can learn more about how to measure ingredients using digital kitchen scales.

Nutrition

Calories : 372kcal

Carbonhydrates: 48g

Protein: 6g

Fat: 19g

Saturated Fat: 12g

Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g

Monounsaturated Fat : 5g

Trans Fat : 0.3g

Cholesterol: 35mg

Sodium: 118mg

Potassium : 206mg

Fiber: 3g

Sugar : 33g

Vitamin A: 358IU

Vitamin C: 2mg

Calcium: 121mg

Iron: 1mg

Nutrition Disclosure

Gave this recipe a go?Mention @thescranline or tag #thescranline!

Tried this recipe and loved it? Awesome! Drop me a comment below and tell me about it! Can’t wait to hear how it turned out for you! You can also keep up to date with me during the week by joining me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest!