Exquisitely light Argentine shortbread cookies filled with sweet, creamy dulce de leche. Alfajores de maicena are extra tender and delicate thanks to a generous amount of cornstarch (maicena in Spanish) in the cookie dough.
additional powdered sugar - for dusting onto tops of filled cookies
Instructions
In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, corn starch, baking soda, baking powder and kosher salt. Whisk together thoroughly and set aside.
100 grams (¾ cup plus 1½ Tablespoons) all purpose flour, 150 grams (1¼ cups) corn starch, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter and powdered sugar. Beat together on medium speed until well combined. Scrape down sides of bowl.
113 grams (4 ounces; 8 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, 75 grams (½ cup plus 2 Tablespoons) powdered sugar
Add egg yolks one at a time, beating well between additions. Scrape down bowl to ensure mixture is well combined. Add vanilla and mix again.
2 large egg yolks, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Add dry ingredients, mixing on low just until incorporated. Scrape the bowl several times to help ensure the butter mixture is fully blended in.
Gather dough into a disc and place between two large sheets of parchment paper. Roll out dough to a thickness of ⅛". Refrigerate rolled dough (still in parchment) on an upside down baking sheet for 30+ minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (177° Celsius, Gas mark 4).
Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Loosen both layers of parchment paper, but keep the dough on a parchment base. Using a 2 inch round cookie cutter, cut out 32 circles.
Evenly space the circles 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) apart on parchment lined baking sheets. Chill for 10 minutes prior to baking.
Bake one sheet of cookies at a time for 10 minutes on center rack of oven. Cookie should be a light golden brown on the base, but still pale on top. Leave to fully cool on baking sheet. Repeat with remaining cookies.
Fill a 16 inch (40 centimeter) piping bag with dulce de leche. Pipe approximately 14 grams (¾ Tablespoon) of dulce de leche onto the bottom of half of the cookies. Cover gently with the remaining cookies.
240 grams (8.5 ounces; ¾ cup) dulce de leche,
Place the shredded coconut into a small shallow bowl. Roll the edge of each cookie into the coconut so that it sticks to the dulce de leche filling.