Chocolate Alfajores

Chocolate Alfajores are a twist on the classic South American shortbread cookie. They’re made of a not so sweet shortbread cookie filled with thick and creamy milk caramel dulce de leche. There are loads of ways of making them, some people cover them completely in chocolate, some add coconut to mix, I’m going to show you the quick and easy way to make this delicious cookie!

Nicks favourite thing…

I absolutely adore how cute these cookies are. They’re really easy to put together. In this recipe I show you two different ways to make

What does it taste like?

They’re not overly sweet either. The cookies themselves have more of a cocoa flavour and aren’t very sweet. That’s evened out by the creamy milk caramel dulce de leche!

What is Dulce De leche?

The words Dulce De Leche, translate to candy of milk. It is literally caramelised sugar and milk. Although don’t tell dulce de leche enthusiasts that it’s caramel. They’ll literally rip your head off haha.

Let me take this opportunity to make my case.

The only ingredient you need in to make dulce de leche is sweetened condensed milk. It’s literally sugar and milk, cooked together and then you end up with a thick and sweet milk. If you cook that and continue cooking it for a couple hours, the sugar will caramelise. Boom, milk caramel.

How do you make Dulce De Leche?

I’m going to show you two ways. The oven method and the stove top method.

Dulce De Leche (stove top method)

Bring a large pan of water to a boil. Make sure there is enough water to cover the cans when they are submerged.

Carefully add the cans of sweetened condensed milk (labels removed) into the water. Cook for 2-3 hours depending on how dark you ant it to be. Be sure to keep an eye on water levels as they can drop. If they do, add more boiling water. If they get lower than the cans the dulce de leche can explode or burn. Allow to cool to room temperature once done. Can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 weeks!

Dulce De Leche (oven method)

Preheat your oven to 175C / 350F. Pour the sweetened condensed milk into a baking dish and cover with foil. Place in a large deep baking dish and fill halfway with water. Place in the oven and bake for 3-4 hours, making sure to replenish the water as it evaporates. Take out of the oven every 3 hours and stir, covering back up and keeping an eye on water levels as you put it back in. Once finished, take out of the oven and allow to cool completely before using. Can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 weeks!

What are the ingredients I need?

Sweetened condensed milk – you can use this to make your own dulce de leche or just use store bought.

All-purpose flour – also known as plain flour.

Salt – I used fine salt.

Baking powder – helps lighten the cookies.

Cocoa powder – I used unsweetened cocoa powder.

Butter – I used unsalted butter. Make sure it’s softened.

Caster sugar – also known as superfine sugar.

Eggs – I used large eggs.

Vanilla Extract – Always use good quality vanilla extract when baking, it makes a huge difference. I have a great recipe here for it if you’d like to try your own!

Let’s go through each step.

Cookies

1. Add the flour, salt, baking powder and cocoa powder into a large mixing bowl and use a whisk to combine.
2. Add the butter and sugar to a separate large mixing bowl. Use an electric hand mixer to whip until pale and creamy, about 3 minutes.

3. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well each time.
4. Add the dry ingredients and use a spatula to mix until a dough forms.

5. Transfer to a large piece of plastic wrap and wrap up. Shape into a disc and refrigerate for 2 hours.
6. Preheat your oven to 175C / 350F. Dust your workbench with flour and unwrap the dough. Begin rolling out.

7. Pinching any cracks that may form back together.
8. Roll out to 1/2 cm in thickness.

9. Use a 2 inch cookie cutter to cut out cookies.
10. Use a spatula or knife to transfer the cookie disks to a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake in the middle wrack for 12 minutes. Once baked, allow to cool completely.

11. To assemble, fill half of the cookies with dulce de leche.
12. Sandwich with the other half.

My Top Tips!

Making your own Dulce De Leche is easy!

In this recipe I Show you how to make your own dulce de leche but you can absolutely just use store bought. If you do make your own dulce de leche, make sure you remove the labels from the cans before doing anything with them.

Making them ahead of time!

You can make these up to a week in advance.

Other Recipes You Might Like!

• Raspberry Linzer Cookies

• Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

• Lofthouse Cookies

• Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies

• Nutella Stuffed Cookies

Gave this a go? Don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below! Hungry for more? Join me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and TikTok for more great recipes!

Chocolate Alfajores Cookies

Delicious shortbread chocolate cookies stuffed with milk caramel dulce de leche made two ways!

Serves 20

4.7 from 3 votes

Author: Nick Makrides

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep: 10 minutes mins

Cook: 12 minutes mins

Total: 30 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: South American

Calories: 178kcal

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Ingredients

Dulce De Leche

• ▢ 2 / 500 ml cans sweetened condensed milk, see notes

Cookies

• ▢ 3 cups / 450 g all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1/2 tsp salt
• ▢ 1/2 tsp baking powder, see notes
• ▢ 2/3 cup / 90 g cocoa powder
• ▢ 1 cup / 250 g unsalted butter, softened
• ▢ 1/2 cup / 105 g caster sugar
• ▢ 2 large eggs
• ▢ 1 tsp vanilla extract

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Learn How To Make it! [VIDEO]

https://youtu.be/ucBoYab5tXY

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Instructions

Dulce De Leche (stove top method)

• Bring a large pan of water to a boil. Make sure there is enough water to cover the cans when they are submerged.
• Carefully add the cans of sweetened condensed milk (labels removed) into the water. Cook for 2-3 hours depending on how dark you ant it to be. Be sure to keep an eye on water levels as they can drop. If they do, add more boiling water. If they get lower than the cans the dulce de leche can explode or burn. Allow to cool to room temperature once done. Can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 weeks!

Dulce De Leche (oven method)

• Preheat your oven to 175C / 350F. Pour the sweetened condensed milk into a baking dish and cover with foil. Place in a large deep baking dish and fill halfway with water. Place in the oven and bake for 3-4 hours, making sure to replenish the water as it evaporates. Take out of the oven every 3 hours and stir, covering back up and keeping an eye on water levels as you put it back in. Once finished, take out of the oven and allow to cool completely before using. Can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 weeks!

Cookies

• Add the flour, salt, baking powder and cocoa powder into a large mixing bowl and use a whisk to combine.
• Add the butter and sugar to a separate large mixing bowl. Use an electric hand mixer to whip until pale and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well each time.
• Add the dry ingredients and use a spatula to mix until a dough forms. Transfer to a large piece of plastic wrap and wrap up. Shape into a disc and refrigerate for 2 hours.
• Preheat your oven to 175C / 350F. Dust your workbench with flour and unwrap the dough. Begin rolling out, pinching any cracks that may form back together. Roll out to 1/2 cm in thickness. Use a 2-inch cookie cutter to cut out cookies. Use a spatula or knife to transfer the cookie disks to a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake in the middle rack for 12 minutes. Once baked, allow to cool completely.
• To assemble, fill half of the cookies with dulce de leche and sandwich with the other half.

Notes

Error in the video

I accidentally wrote bicarb soda instead of baking powder in the recipe.

Dulce De leche

In this recipe I Show you how to make your own dulce de leche but you can absolutely just use store bought. If you do make your own dulce de leche, make sure you remove the labels from the cans before doing anything with them.

Nutrition

Calories : 178kcal

Carbonhydrates: 17g

Protein: 3g

Fat: 10g

Saturated Fat: 6g

Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g

Monounsaturated Fat : 3g

Trans Fat : 1g

Cholesterol: 41mg

Sodium: 78mg

Potassium : 81mg

Fiber: 1g

Sugar : 1g

Vitamin A: 307IU

Calcium: 18mg

Iron: 1mg

Nutrition Disclosure

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