Delicate, pale and crumbly alfajor cookies made with a high ratio of cornstarch so they melt into fine crumbs. They are sandwiched with milk jam perfumed with pisco, then finished with a veil of powdered sugar. Light, tender, and unmistakably Peruvian.
Sift the cornstarch, cake flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Mix briefly so the dry ingredients are even and lump-free.
In another bowl, work the unsalted butter with part of the powdered sugar for 2 minutes, until creamy and pale. Add the egg yolks and vanilla essence; mix until combined.
Turn what you find into an experience you can actually bring to your kitchen.
Add the dry mix to the butter in two additions, mixing only until a soft dough forms. Do not knead hard: once no loose flour remains, stop.
Flatten the dough into a disk, cover it, and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Then roll it to about 5 mm thick and cut 24 cookies; move them to a tray lined with parchment paper.
Bake the cookies at 170°C for 11 minutes, until firm but still pale. Let them cool for 10 minutes on the tray before moving them; when hot, they break if you even look at them wrong.
Mix the milk jam with the pisco quebranta until creamy but still firm. Fill the cookies, assemble 12 alfajores, and finish with the remaining powdered sugar on top.
