Peruvian Alfajores with Manjar Blanco
Description
Alfajores are shortbread cookie sandwiches filled with a luscious homemade caramel, aka manjar blanco. This Peruvian version features a hint of pisco!
Ingredients
•
2 cups white sugar
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3 sticks butter
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5 cups cornstarch
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2 cups all-purpose flour
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4 eggs
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3 tablespoons pisco
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2 teaspoons vanilla extract
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1 teaspoon baking powder
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3 tablespoons water, or as needed
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2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar, or as needed
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2 (14 ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk
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1 (6 ounce) can evaporated milk
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1/4 cup brown sugar
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1/4 cup confectioners' sugar, or to taste
Directions
1
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
2
Beat white sugar and butter together in a large bowl using an electric mixer until creamy. Add cornstarch, flour, eggs, pisco, vanilla extract, and baking powder. Mix gently until combined.
3
Turn dough out onto a clean work surface and knead by hand until smooth. Add water as needed. Divide in half, refrigerate 1 portion, and leave the other out.
4
Coat your work surface with powdered sugar. Roll dough out to 1/4-inch thickness and cut into 2-inch rounds with a cookie cutter or shot glass. Place rounds close together on a baking sheet. Prick each cookie twice with a fork.
5
Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes; cookies should still be white and soft, not crispy, and will firm up as they cool. Repeat with remaining cookie dough.
6
Pour condensed milk, evaporated milk, and brown sugar into a saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir constantly until filling approaches the consistency of thick caramel, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat; mixture will firm up as it cools to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
7
Pour confectioners' sugar into a shallow bowl. Spread about 1/2 tablespoon of the filling over cooled cookies. Attach every two cookies together to make the alfajores. Roll alfajores in confectioners' sugar.