A traditional Peruvian alfajor with a delicate, crumbly shell and generous manjar blanco. The flour-based cookies bake pale and tender, then give way to the creamy filling. A classic afternoon sweet made for coffee, visitors, and disappearing from the plate.
Turn what you find into an experience you can actually bring to your kitchen.
Sift the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, three quarters of the powdered sugar, and the salt into a bowl. Mix briefly to distribute everything evenly; the dry base should look fine, loose, and free of lumps.
Add the cold cubed unsalted butter and rub it into the dry ingredients with your fingertips until the mixture resembles damp sand. Press it together against the bowl until it forms a compact dough; do not knead it. Wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes. While it rests, preheat the oven to 170°C.
Roll the dough to about 4 millimeters thick and cut 24 evenly sized rounds. Transfer them to the baking tray and press the scraps back together without kneading. The rounds should feel firm and easy to lift; if the dough becomes too soft, chill it briefly before continuing.
Bake the rounds at 170°C for 12 to 15 minutes, until the surface looks dry and pale with only the slightest color underneath or around the edges. Do not wait for deep browning, which makes the alfajores hard. Transfer them to a rack and cool for 10 minutes, until firm and completely cool to the touch.
Divide the manjar blanco among 12 cookies, keeping the filling slightly thicker in the center. Top with the remaining cookies and press very gently, just until the filling approaches the edges without cracking them. Finish by sifting over the remaining powdered sugar. Done! If the shell breaks delicately when bitten and the center stays generous with manjar, that is exactly the flour alfajor we wanted. 🧡
