Friday, April 04, 2008

A treat: los alfajores

Ever had an alfajor? If you've never been to Uruguay or Argentina, that's unlikely. It is the Uruguayan treat. It is made with dulce de leche, or 'milk jam', a super-sweet caramel-y spread that no Uruguayan could live without. Many European and American brands now offer dulce de leche, but only here can you find the read thing - local milk has a certain sweetness that is unique. My own favorite brand is La Pataia, of the cheerful cow logo... Dulce de leche is wonderful on toast or panqueques (crêpe-like pancakes), a classic Uruguayan dessert, in churros or as a toping over ice-cream...
Alfajores come in two varieties: blanco (covered with meringue, my favorite) or negro (chocolate-coated). In this sandwich-like cookie, crumbly maizena-based circles hold a thick layer of dulce de leche. Personally, I love those maizena cookies even without dulce de leche.
Is anyone interested in the recipe?

19 comments:

Kitt said...

Yes, please! They look so tasty.

Chloé Van Paris said...

Punkie,
tu es dure avec moi...
Je suis au régime!
Je goûte en rêve cette merveilleuse confiture de lait.

artycho said...

Hello mary-laure, all your pictures from uruguay are wahou! I have just spend a while wandering here, how nice! are these alfajores like "confiture de lait" then?

marie said...

oui oui!

Kira Aderne said...

hello!!

i eat that amazing dessert a lot two weeks ago when i went to Argentina, i still have some here at home, it´s delecious!!
i love it!!!

so, you are in my links of the day!

a kiss and a hug,
Kira

Jo said...

oooohhhhh que delicia!!!! enjoy an alfajor for me, will you? ;)

Aisha said...

Por supuesto que he probado los alfajores! son buenísimos, aquí también los venden!

Anonymous said...

If I could get corn meal here I would be! Those look delicious!

Laura in Paris said...

Yes, recipe please!

Solange said...

Hi there! I have been trying to find dulche de leche, somewhere in europe, I tasted it several times in restaurants, and it's oh so good!!
Do you know if we can get it anywhere in Europe?

enjoy your time there and thanks for your ever lovely posts,

Solange

pve design said...

more please.

Anonymous said...

i love the old fashioned wrapping.

Mary-Laure said...

Artycho - yes, dulce de leche is kind of like 'confiture de lait' but for some reason it tastes different (not really better, just different)... It's because the taste of milk is kind of different from one country to the other...

Kira - thanks for including me in your links of the day!!! I hope you enjoyed your trip to Argentina, such a beautiful country...

Solange - I'm not sure you can find 'dulce the leche' in many places. I know that La Cocotte, a store on rue Paul Bert in Paris, carries some brands from Argentina because the owner, Andrea, is from Argentina.

I'll post a recipe as soon as I find the one I have...

EvaAmarri said...

Yum that looks soooo tasty

Alya said...

yes!

Anonymous said...

dying to get the recipe of aflajores!

Kwana said...

Oh I wish I could find this here in NY. It sounds de-lish. As always your photos are beautiful.

Anonymous said...

hello,I'm from uruguay,and you're right about alfajores and dulce de leche,people from here and from aregentina are kinda addicted to them!. my favorite alfajores are "portezuelo",but I've eaten the ones with the blue lady in the logo,and they are great too,they are a speciality from a zone called "las sierras de minas",but of course they are avaiable in the whole country.
about dulce de leche I like "conaprole"...in fact,I like all the brands as long as it's dulce de leche,hahaha!.

spillosophy said...

WE would LOVE your alfajores recipe please!!!!!!!!!!! It is a must have for a special Uruguayan friend! Thank you so much :o)