Gluten Free Argentinian Alfajores
Light and airy traditional alfajores filled with rich and creamy dulce de leche; you’ve never had anything like them! Bring them to your next soiree and you will have every one begging you for the recipe!
Boy oh boy! Do I have a super special treat for you today!
I bet you didn’t see this one coming! Traditional Argentinian Alfajores, and yes, they’re gluten free my friends!
I can’t take credit for this recipe as it is my mother’s specialty and she has been making this recipe since I was teenie-tiny and we were living in Argentina. Needless to say, she continues to spoil us with traditional Argentinian goodies till this day!
Lucky for me, and now also you, my mother has been generous about sharing all of her perfected recipes and letting me have a copy of her entire collection. That being said, you know that means I will be bringing you more Argentinian goodness your way in the future!
There are many types of Alfajores, these are called “Alfajores de Maizena”, which translates to Cornstarch Alfajores. I like the Spanish name for them better, haha!
One day I will share with you my mom’s other Alfajor recipes, as well as other traditional Argentinian desserts! She has a collection of recipes she has been perfecting over the years and I am SO lucky that she shares them with me.
Along with the Argentinian recipes, we have a whole bunch of Italian recipes that my mom & nonna have passed down to us. Am I a lucky girl or what? I guess now we all know how I won my husband over 😂. At the end of the day, he is pretty darn lucky, too!
The original recipe uses all-purpose flour, but since the quantity is so small, I had no problem swapping the wheat flour to GF flour. I like using Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Baking Flour, as they have already added the thickeners and binders, so it makes my life a whole lot easier!
I should also mention that the recipe is in metric measurements and that ensures that they will come out perfectly every time. Digital kitchen scales are super affordable and you can find them anywhere these days and is definitely on the top of my must-have kitchen gadgets list.
You’ll want to roll out the cookie dough to about 1/4″ thick; I love using this Joseph Joseph Adjustable Rolling Pin. You can add or remove the rings to adjust the height, depending on how thick you want your dough, making it perfectly even and consistent.
To cut out the cookies, I used a 5 cm circle cutter, however, they can also be made into bit-sized treats using a 3 cm cutter. Both are traditional sizes, just depends on how you want to make them.
Gluten Free Argentinian Alfajores / Alfajores de Maizena
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- 150 grams butter room temperature
- 200 grams sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 large egg
- 100 grams gluten free flour
- 300 grams corn starch
- 1 tsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 1 tbsp cognac or lemon juice
Additional Ingredients
- dulce de leche see note below
- desiccated coconut for rolling finished alfajor
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325° F / Prepare your baking sheets and line them with parchment paper or a silpat mat.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, or using a hand mixer, combine the butter and sugar together on medium speed until it forms a creamy paste that is pale in color, 2-3 minutes.
- With the mixer on low speed, add in the egg yolks and whole egg, one at a time, mixing each addition thoroughly before adding the next. Continue to mix until everything is well incorporated.
- In a medium sized bowl, sift together the flour, corn starch, baking powder and salt.
- Add the flour mixture to your wet batter, little by little on low speed, allowing each addition to be fully mixed in. Add the lemon juice (or cognac, if using) and mix once more to combine.
- Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead it a few times, just until it comes together. Wrap it in parchment paper or cling wrap and let rest in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.
- Roll out the dough with a rolling pin until it is about 1/4" thick; I like to work in sections, diving it into 3 pieces and working with one section at a time.
- Use your desired size of circle cutter to cut out the cookies and gently transfer them onto your lined baking sheets, leaving about 1/2"-1" space in between the cookies, as they will grow slightly while baking.
- Bake for 16 min, or until the edges are slightly turning golden brown; you want the cookies to still be fairly light in color, otherwise they will be too dry. Allow them to cool completely before assembling.
Assembling the Alfajores
- Spread a generous amount of dulce de leche in the center of a cookie and sandwhich another one on top, pressing lightly to allow the dulce de leche to reach the edges. Gently roll them in the desiccated coconut to finish.
