S'sK Cocoa Alfajores with Dulce de Leche dipped in Dark Chocolate

* A Sebastian's Kitchen Original Recipe for traditional Argentine Cocoa Alfajores

Cocoa Alfajores with Dulce de Leche dipped in Dark Chocolate

Total ingredients list:
1 ½ cups butter softened
2/3 cups sugar
2 eggs
3 cups flour
2 tablespoons premium cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 jar dulce de leche
1 to 2 bags dark chocolate Ghirardelli Chocolate


Cocoa Cookie Dough:
Wet bowl:
1 ½ cups butter softened to room temperature
2/3 cups sugar
2 eggs

Dry bowl:
3 cups flour
2 tablespoons premium cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder

Step 1: Prep dough
In a large bowl beat the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and continue beating until well combined. In a separate bowl mix flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to wet bowl. Wrap dough flat with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 1 hour.


Step 2: Shape cookies
Roll the dough onto plastic wrap covered counter. Roll until desired thickness.  I usually roll them out to about a fourth of an inch. Use a cookie cutter or a small glass to cut the cookies to be round and identical in size.

Step 3: Add cookies to baking sheet and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add cookies to parchment paper.


Step 4: Bake
Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes. Cookies should be slightly firm, but not browned on the bottom. We want these cookies to be soft, not crunchy. Let them cool on the pan for 10 minutes, then remove the parchment paper with the cookies on top and set that on the counter to cool even more. Once cool enough to handle so that they won't fall apart, put cookies in an air tight container and put them in the refrigerator to harden for about 30 minutes.

Step 5: Assemble the alfajores/spreading the Dulce de Leche
Open your jar of dulce de leche. Now that the cookies are cold and firm, spread (with a knife) a dollop of dulce de leche on the flat side of the cookie (you can add it however thick you'd like) and place another cookie on top making a sandwich. Squeeze them lightly together and then even out the dulce de leche coming off the sides with a knife.

Step 6: Dip alfajores in chocolate (or spread chocolate on top and sides of sandwich cookie)
1 to 2 bags dark chocolate Ghirardelli Chocolate

Dipping chocolate can be messy, so I like to spread a dollop of melted chocolate on top of the sandwich cookie and spread it around with the back of a spoon, or a knife. You can do whichever method you find easier.

Melt dark chocolate in the microwave or in a double broiler on low heat. Pour melted chocolate on top of cookie and spread it even with a knife or spatula. (If you like more chocolate to cookie ratio, you can completely dip the alfajor in chocolate.) Let chocolate sit on counter for about 10 minutes to set. Then refrigerate alfajores. If you'd like to also cover the bottom in chocolate and dipping seems to be too messy, another technique is to first pour and spread the chocolate on the top layer, then refrigerate. When chocolate is hard, turn cookie over and pour and spread the chocolate on the other side. (If you are completely dipping the chocolate, you may need more than 1 bag of Ghirardelli chocolate.

Store alfajores in an air tight container in the refrigerator. Alfajores will last about 3-5 days if stored properly.