Alfajores

Alfajores(Adapted from A Baker's Tour)

1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 2/3 cups cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon brandy
4 egg yolks

For the dulce de leche

14-ounce can sweentened condensed milk
12-ounce can evaporated milk
2-3 tablespoons milk

For Rolling
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut, ground medium fine with a food processor

Preheat to 350

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, and baking power.

Cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the lemon zest and brandy.

Add the egg yokes one at a time, beating well after each one.

Add in the flour and mix together with a large rubber spatula.

Scrape the dough from the bowl to a lightly floured work surface and fold it over on itself 2 or 3 times to make it smooth.

Divide the dough into 3 pieces. Place 1 piece of the dough on a lightly floured work surface and sprinkle the dough with flour o keep it from sticking. Roll the dough about ¼ inch thick, moving it often to prevent sticking.

Cut out circles with a 2 1/2 inch cookie cutter. Place the cookies 1 inch apart on parchment lined baking sheets.

Gently knead to incorporate the scraps into the next piece of dough and repeat rolling and cutting. Repeat incorporating scraps and rolling and cutting the last piece of dough. Roll the remaining scraps once more, but discard the scraps after rolling twice. The end cookies will be too tough if rerolled too many times.

Bake the cookies until they are golden, about 13-15 minutes. Rotating pans halfway through.

Carefully move the cookies to a wire rack to cool competely.

To make the dulce de leche keep the oven at 350.

In a medium saucepan, heat the sweetened condensed milk and the evaporated milk over low heat, stirring occasionally, until it comes to a boil. Pour the hot milk into a 9 x 13 inch glass bake it, stirring often, until it is thick and caramel-colored, about 20-30 minutes. Mine took closer to 40 minutes to be done. Place the dulce de leche into a glass or stainless steel bowl. Stir in a couple of tablespoons of milk to bring the filling to a spreading consistency. Press plastic wrap against the surface and chill it until you are ready to assemble the cookies.

To assemble the cookies, turn half of them upside down and spoon about 1 teaspoon of the dulce de leche onto each. Place the other cookies on the filling, flat side down, gently pressing to adhere. After sandwiching all the cookies, spread some of the dulce de leche on the outside of each cookie, then roll in the coconut.

Makes 15-20 cookies