Alfajor

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Peruvian alfajores
Peruvian alfajores
Two alfajores ("black" and "white" flavours)
Two alfajores ("black" and "white" flavours)

Contents

[edit] The Alfajor

An alfajor (Spanish, in IPA: [alfa'xoɾ]; plural alfajores) is a traditional cookie in some countries of the Americas , most notably in Peru as well as Ecuador, Paraguay, Brazil, Uruguay and Chile although the main producers are from Argentina and worlwide it's mainly recognised as an Argentinean sweet. Its most basic form consists of two round sweet biscuits generally joined together with dulce de leche and/or jam and covered with powder sugar. In most alfajores there are layers like cake, and the dulce de leche fills in between.


[edit] Features of the Alfajor

Another popular feature of the alfajor, although not always present, is a coating of black or white chocolate (many alfajores are sold in "black" and "white" flavours). There's also one variation, called "Alfajor de nieve", that instead of having a white or black chocolate coating, it has a "snow" coating. The "snow coating" consists mostly of a mixture of egg whites and sugar. Peruvian alfajores are usually coated in powdered sugar, as seen in the picture, and are filled with manjar blanco. Most alfajores come packaged in aluminium foil, similarly to most chocolate bars, though hand-made are just as accessible and generally packaged in plastic wrap or wax paper.


[edit] Varieties of Alfajores

Other varieties of alfajor include different elements in the preparation of the biscuits, such as peanuts; they also vary the filling and coating and even add a third biscuit (alfajor triple).


[edit] Popularity

Though the food has been popular in Argentina and Uruguay since the mid 19th century, it has its roots in the Middle East. The name alfajor is derived from Arabic ﺍﻞﻓﺸﺮ IPA: [alfaˈʃur], which means "stuffed" or "filled". The archetypal alfajor having entered Iberia during the period of al-Andalus.


[edit] Other kinds of Alfajores

In the province of Cádiz, Spain, there is a completely different confection also called alfajor that is made of flour, honey, almonds and several spices, such as cinnamon. It is most commonly sold around Christmas.


[edit] Alfajores Recipe

1/2 cup butter, 1 cup sugar, 1 egg, 2 egg yolks, 1 tsp. vanilla, 2 tsp. lemon rind, grated, 1 1/2 cup cornstarch, 1/2 cup flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, and 1/4 tsp. salt.

Cream butter; add sugar and beat until fluffy. Add egg (food) and egg yolks, one at a time, beating well. Beat in vanilla and lemon rind. Sift together cornstarch, flour, baking powder and salt. Add to mixture and mix well. Drop batter by small spoonfuls onto well buttered baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove immediately. Sandwich the cookies together with (dulce de leche) sweet milk dessert. Makes 40 cookies.


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