Ingredients:
- 1 cup cornstarch
- 1 3/4 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon Pisco or Brandy
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup dulce de leche (see link to recipe below)
Preparation:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place the cornstarch, flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and mix briefly.
- Cut the butter into small pieces and add to the flour mixture, blending with your fingers until the mixture is smooth.
- Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and Pisco or brandy, and mix with your hands until the dough is homogeneous and smooth. Let the dough rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Roll out dough to 3/8" thickness. Using small heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out heart shapes.
- Place cookies on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake cookies for 10-15 minutes, until they are barely golden brown. Let cookies cook 5 minutes, then transfer to rack to cool completely.
- To fill the cookies, spread one cookie with dulce de leche and top with second cookie. Roll the edges in the coconut, and dust tops of cookies with powdered sugar.
- Store in an airtight container.
Makes about 25 cookies.
Variation: To make chocolate-dipped alfajores, heat 8 ounces chocolate chips with 1 tablespoon shortening and 1 teaspoon corn syrup in the microwave for 30 second intervals, stirring after each 30 seconds, until the chocolate is melted. Dip half of the cookie (sandwiched with its filling) into the chocolate. Lift the cookie out and scrape along the edge of the bowl to remove the excess chocolate. Place on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper and let cool. When the chocolate has mostly set, roll the edges in the toasted coconut.
