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    Home » Recipes » Cookies & Crackers

    Published: Sep 15, 2019 · Modified: Sep 10, 2020 by Paula Montenegro · Income from ads and affiliate links 15 Comments

    Easy Walnut Alfajores Recipe

    Jump to Recipe
    Walnut Alfajores long pin with text
    Walnut Alfajores long pin with text

    If you never tried alfajores before these will blow your mind. Why? Because they are filled with dulce de leche!
    These are made with walnut cookies and they are freaking fantastic!

    Stacks of alfajores on a white cloth, glass of milk, vase with flowers, grey background

    Seriously, if you never tried alfajores you should as fast as you can. You won't believe what a spoonful of dulce de leche can do to a cookie! Mind-blowing.

    I hail from Argentina where dulce de leche was first invented and where the consumption of alfajores is off the charts. And I mean that literally: 6M (that's six million!) alfajores are eaten every single day here! Every day. I live here and I'm still hesitant to admit it so don't worry if you think we're nuts. We probably are.

    Anyway, there is such an immense variety of alfajores in this country I probably don't know about half of them.

    Stacks of alfajores on a white cloth, glass of milk, grey background

    So, for the sake of this post, let's stay close to our alfajores here, a recipe that uses the much-loved chocolate chip cookie as a base for the nut cookies.

    I added only walnuts to my favorite cookie recipe, formed the dough into cylinders (image below), wrapped them and let them park in the fridge for 2 days before baking them.

    The flavor is amazing. The nuts toast and the cookie dough has that caramel undertone we all love.

    Cylinder of raw cookie dough on white surface, cut slices

    Table of Contents Hide
    So, what are alfajores?
    Steps for making these fantastic walnut alfajores.
    What is dulce de leche?
    Filling the cookies.
    Tips & tricks for making this recipe.
    Easy Walnut Alfajores Recipe

    So, what are alfajores?

    An alfajor (singular) is a sandwich made of two discs of dough with a filling in between.

    They are very popular in South America, especially Argentina, Perú and Uruguay.

    The most traditional ones are two: one made with cornstarch shortbread cookies with coconut on the sides, and the other made with a vanilla dough and covered with dark chocolate. Both are filled with dulce de leche, of course.

    Rounds of raw cookie dough on white parchment paper

    Steps for making these fantastic walnut alfajores.

    1. Make walnut cookie dough.
    2. Freeze in a cylinder. These favors having a rounder cookie, but you can make them the way you usually make chocolate chip cookies.
    3. Cut the cookies half an inch or so and arrange on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper (image above).
    4. Bake them (image below). Let cool completely.
    5. Fill them with dulce de leche (more info below).
    6. Eat them and wait to feel amazed at the flavor!

    Baked walnut cookies on white parchment paper

    So what you see as an innocent walnut cookie in the image above, turns into this mind-blowing alfajor (or sandwich cookie) that will completely change you. Trust me.

    Starting to fill everything with dulce de leche is a one-way trip.

    Case in point: Dulce de Leche Brownies, everyday Vanilla Layer Cake, Birthday Chocolate Cake, and the most amazing Banana Muffin Cake.

    Hand dipping spoon in white bowl of dulce de leche

    What is dulce de leche?

    Dulce de leche is a sweet jam (image below) made with milk, sugar and baking soda, the latter being accountable for its dark color. It takes a few hours to make and there are as many tips and tricks as there are grandmothers in this country. Each with its own recipe.

    We have an abundance of brands and styles, pretty much like peanut butter in the US. So we use it a lot as you might imagine.

    The flavor is very sweet, similar to caramel but not quite. It does have a milk undertone, something that caramel lacks, and some might say it’s not as sophisticated, and they might be right. I’m a raving fan so my opinion is biased.

    You can easily buy it online. Brands I recommend are Cachafaz and Havanna.

    Stacks of alfajores on a white cloth, glass of milk

    Filling the cookies.

    There are two ways of sandwiching the dulce de leche filling:

    1. Spoon: this is my favorite way because it means taking a tablespoon of dulce de leche and arranging it in the middle of one cookie. When you press down with the second one it flattens out a bit and you get your alfajor. The result is rustic and not picture perfect. Which is fine since these are meant to be eaten at home.
    2. Piping bag: you can pipe the dulce de leche. This is a great way of filling these alfajores if you sell them or want to give them out as gifts. It is more time and labor-intensive, though not complicated.

    Close up image of walnut alfajores, bitten piece and crumbs

    Tips & tricks for making this recipe.

    • Cookies: they are better is baked barely soft. Not underbaked. But a softer cookie is better because when you bite the alfajor the cookies are not hard and the dulce de leche doesn't ooze out before you're able to take a bite.
    • Dulce de leche: there are two common types of dulce de leche, regular and pastry. The latter is better for filling alfajores because it holds better, it's thicker. You can buy them online: small container or large (almost 5-pound) container.
    • Keeping: they can be kept in tins or airtight containers, but if they are already filled, they will soften as the days go by. I find this to be a plus, but if you don't, you can keep the cookies alone in a tin and fill them when ready to eat.

    Hand dipping bitten alfajor in glass of milk; stacks of alfajores around on a white cloth

    Other recipes you might like:
    The Best Dulce de Leche Brownies
    Walnut Quick Bread
    Easy Oatmeal Walnut Cookies
    Dulce de Leche Coconut Fudge Truffles
    Banana Muffin Cake
    Maple Walnut Pound Cake

    Let me know if you make this recipe! I’d love to hear what you think about it.
    Thank you for being here, I appreciate it! Let’s connect via Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.
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    Stacks of dulce de leche alfajores, one bitten, with a glass of milk on a white linen.

    Easy Walnut Alfajores Recipe

    ★★★★★

    5 from 12 reviews

    Print Recipe
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    These alfajores are made with walnut cookies and filled with dulce de leche. A super easy recipe that yields fantastic results!

    • Total Time: 32 minutes
    • Yield: 15 medium alfajores

    Ingredients

    Units
    • ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
    • ¾ cup light brown sugar
    • ¼ cup granulated sugar
    • 1 egg, at room temperature
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 1 ½ cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
    • ½ teaspoon baking powder
    • ½ teaspoon baking soda
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • 1 cup walnuts, chopped
    • Dulce de leche, for filling (see Notes below)

    Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to 350°F /180°C.
    2. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
    3. In a large bowl beat soft butter with both sugars.
    4. Add egg and vanilla and mix very well.
    5. Add sifted dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt) in 2 additions and mix.
    6. Add nuts and mix well.
    7. Have prepared a piece of plastic wrap, put half of the batter along the long side of the plastic.
    8. Taking one long side, wrap it over the cookie dough and roll the plastic to cover tightly and produce a cylinder.
    9. Prick with a fork and let the trapped air out. That way the plastic will stick to the dough.
    10. Roll lightly to make the cylinder as round as possible.
    11. Freeze it for several hours or up to a month.
    12. When you’re ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F /180°C.
    13. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
    14. Take out cookie cylinders from the freezer and wait 5-10 minutes until they can be cut with a sharp kitchen knife.
    15. They don’t have to be soft or they will loose the shape.
    16. Cut rounds about ½ inch thick and place on prepared cookie sheets.
    17. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden but barely soft.
    18. Let cool completely on wire rack and fill.
    19. Take heaped spoonfuls of dulce de leche and place on flat side of one cookie.
    20. Cover with anothe cookie and press lightly to spread the dulce de leche.
    21. They will become softer the next day.

    Notes

    Cookies: they are better is baked barely soft. Not underbaked. But a softer cookie is better because when you bite the alfajor the cookies are not hard and the dulce de leche doesn't ooze out before you're able to take a bite.

    • Dulce de leche: there are two common types of dulce de leche, regular and pastry. The latter is better for filling alfajores because it holds better, it's thicker. You can buy them online: small container or large (almost 5-pound) container.
    • Keeping: they can be kept in tins or airtight containers, but if they are already filled, they will soften as the days go by. I find this to be a plus, but if you don't, you can keep the cookies alone in a tin and fill them when ready to eat.

    Filling the cookies.

    There are two ways of sandwiching the dulce de leche filling:

    1. Spoon: this is my favorite way because it means taking a tablespoon of dulce de leche and arranging it in the middle of one cookie. When you press down with the second one it flattens out a bit and you get your alfajor. The result is rustic and not picture perfect. Which is fine since these are meant to be eaten at home.
    2. Piping bag: you can pipe the dulce de leche. This is a great way of filling these alfajores if you sell them or want to give them out as gifts. It is more time and labor-intensive, though not complicated.
    • Author: Paula Montenegro
    • Prep Time: 20 minutes
    • Cook Time: 12 minutes
    • Category: Cookies
    • Method: Baking
    • Cuisine: International

    Nutrition

    • Serving Size: 1/15
    • Calories: 238
    • Sugar: 17 g
    • Sodium: 144.2 mg
    • Fat: 12.7 g
    • Carbohydrates: 28.3 g
    • Fiber: 0.9 g
    • Protein: 3.9 g
    • Cholesterol: 32.3 mg

    Keywords: walnut alfajores

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @vintagekitchenblog on Instagram and hashtag it #vintagekitchenblog

    More Cookies & Crackers Recipes

    • Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
    • White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
    • Gingerbread Cookies (with video)
    • Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

    About Paula Montenegro

    I'm Paula, a baker for more than 30 years and your designated recipe developer, sharing the best ones here with simple ingredients + easy-to-follow instructions.

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    1. Cathy says

      December 10, 2022 at 1:31 am

      This is an awesome cookie! Thanks for the recipe!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Paula Montenegro says

        December 10, 2022 at 6:40 am

        Happy to know you liked them Cathy! Have a great end of the year.

        Reply
    2. Daniela says

      September 23, 2019 at 2:59 am

      Loveee eating lots of alfajores when I go to Argentina! And never had them with walnuts! Sounds so delicious :).

      Reply
    3. Sara says

      September 22, 2019 at 9:22 pm

      Gorgeous! These look like a perfect cookie for Santa. Totally adding Walnut Alfajores to my baking list! I know no one else will bring these to the cookie exchange!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    4. GUNJAN C Dudani says

      September 22, 2019 at 8:32 pm

      Beautiful images and delicious recipe. Totally worth making this holiday.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
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    A baker for more than 30 years and your designated recipe finder, sharing the best ones on this blog, with simple ingredients + easy-to-follow instructions.

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