Description :

A coffee-shop staple in Argentina, traditional alfajores are a caramel-filled delight.

Direction :

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Into large bowl, sift flour, cornstarch, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. With mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and sugar until creamy. Beat in vanilla, then egg yolks, 1 at a time. With mixer on low, beat in flour mixture until just combined, stopping and scraping down side of bowl occasionally.
2. On lightly floured surface, with lightly floured rolling pin, roll half of dough to 1/4-inch thickness. With 1 1/2-inch round cutter, cut out rounds. With small knife or mini offset spatula, transfer rounds to large parchment-lined cookie sheet, spacing 1 inch apart. Reroll scraps once. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown on bottoms.
3. Let cookies cool on cookie sheet 5 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Repeat rolling, cutting and baking with remaining dough.
4. Make the Slow-Cooker Dulce de Leche: Transfer sweetened condensed milk to one 1-cup canning jar or three 13-cup jars. Stir in salt and seal tightly with lid; place in slow-cooker bowl (if using large jar, lay down sideways). cover with water. Replace lid on slow cooker and cook on low 8 hours. Carefully remove jar from water and wipe dry. Let cool 1 hour in refrigerator before opening. Makes about 1 cup.
5. To assemble, place dulce de leche in piping bag fitted with star tip. Pipe onto half of cookies. Top with remaining cookies.
6. Cookie sandwiches can be stored in airtight containers in freezer for up to 1 month.
7. For the Hazelnut-Cocoa variation: Spread half of cookies with 1 teaspoon each hazelnut-cocoa spread instead of dulce de leche.
8. For Fiesta Alfajores variation: After sandwiching, with small knife, spread dulce de leche all over sides of sandwich cookies. Roll in choice of sprinkles, flaked coconut, mini chips, or chopped nuts.

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