Alfajor

Infobox Prepared Food
name = Alfajor


caption = Two alfajores ("black" and "white" chocolate)
alternate_name =
country = Medina-Sidonia Alfajor, and Alfajor of Murcia: Spain
Modern style: Argentina
region =
creator =
course = Sweet
served = Cold
main_ingredient = Biscuit, "Dulce de leche", Chocolate
variations =
calories =
other = An "alfajor" (Spanish, in IPA2|alfa'xoɾ; plural "alfajores") is a traditional cookie in some regions of Spain and in countries of Latin America, found all over South American and Central America and Mexico, most notably in Uruguay and Perú, although the main producers are from Argentina. Its basic form consists of two round sweet biscuits joined together with dulce de leche or jam and covered with powdered sugar. In most alfajores there are two layers of cake, and a filling in between.

Though the food has been popular in Argentina and Uruguay since the mid 19th century, it has its roots in the Middle East. The name "alfajor" is derived from Arabic ﺍﻞﻓﺸﺮ IPA2|alfaˈʃur, which means "stuffed" or "filled". The archetypal alfajor entered Iberia during the period of al-Andalus.

Variations

Another popular feature of the alfajor, although not always present, is a coating of black or white chocolate (many alfajores are sold in "black" and "white" flavours). There's also one variation, called "Alfajor de nieve", that instead of having a white or black chocolate coating, it has a "snow" coating. The "snow coating" consists of a mixture of egg whites and sugar. Peruvian alfajores are usually coated in powdered sugar, as seen in the picture, and are filled with manjar blanco. Most alfajores come packaged in aluminium foil, In Mexico they are made with just coconut, and are normally a tri-color coconut confection, in Nicaragua, they follow more in the lines of the Canary island type of alfajores and are made with molasses and different type of grains including corn, and cacao similarly to most chocolate bars, though hand-made are just as accessible and generally packaged in plastic wrap or wax paper.

Other varieties of alfajor include different elements in the preparation of the biscuits, such as peanuts; they also vary the filling and coating and even add a third biscuit ("alfajor triple").

In the province of Cádiz, Spain, there is a completely different confection also called "alfajor" that is made of flour, honey, almonds and several spices, such as cinnamon. It is most commonly sold around Christmas.

Recipe

1/2 cup butter,1 cup sugar,1 egg,2 egg yolks,1 tsp. vanilla,2 tsp. lemon rind, grated,1 1/2 cup cornstarch,1/2 cup flour,1 tsp. baking powder, and1/4 tsp. salt.

Cream butter; add sugar and beat until fluffy. Add egg (food) and egg yolks, one at a time, beating well. Beat in vanilla and lemon rind. Sift together cornstarch, flour, baking powder and salt. Add to mixture and mix well. Drop batter by small spoonfuls onto well buttered baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove immediately. Sandwich the cookies together with (dulce de leche) sweet milk dessert. Makes 40 cookies.

External links

* [http://www.alfajorargentino.com.ar/ Alfajores de Argentina] Languageicon|es|Spanish Languageicon|en|English
* [http://www.postresbalcarce.com.ar/ Alfajores Balcarce] Languageicon|es|Spanish Languageicon|en|English
* [http://www.alfajoresmerengo.com/ Alfajores Merengo (Santafesino Type)] Languageicon|es|Spanish Languageicon|en|English
* [http://www.estanciaelrosario.com.ar/ Alfajores Estancia El Rosario (Cordobes Type)] Languageicon|es|Spanish Languageicon|en|English
* [http://www.alfajoresportezuelo.com.uy Alfajores Portezuelo] Languageicon|es|Spanish Languageicon|en|English
*http://www.alfajoresdechile.com/chile/caramel/ Languageicon|es|Spanish Languageicon|en|English
* [http://www.ibopeplus.com.ar/ Alfajor Ibopé made entirelly from Carob tree fruit] Languageicon|es|Spanish

Galery