by Karen Swan
How can I describe these light as clouds, rich with caramel, morsels of sheer pleasure? Heavenly. Luscious. Decadent….. are just a few words that spring to mind. Made with cornflour, these melt in your mouth alfajores (biscuits), are a true gluten free masterpiece and have been known to bring grown men to tears.
You’ll find dulce de leche in specialist cookery stores like The Essential Ingredient, or in a good continental deli. Seek it out. It’s eyes rolling back in your head amazing. OR, you can make your own – try our recipe here.
Being gluten free, the uncooked dough needs to chill before baking so they don’t ooze and spread into a sheet of biscuits rather than the perfectly formed little circles you’ve cut. If you can, start this the night before and let the dough rest in the fridge (cut or uncut) overnight. Otherwise, give them at least an hour before putting in the oven.
Ingredients:
110g cornflour
45g plain gluten free flour
120g butter – softened
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
40g caster sugar
1 jar of Dulce de Leche
Method:
In a medium bowl, sift together the cornflour and plain flour.
In a separate bowl, cream the butter really well until it’s plae and fluffy.
Add the salt and sugar and continue to cream until the sugar is dissolved.
Add the flours and baking powder and mix to combine into a light dough.
Transfer to the fridge for at least an hour or overnight.
When ready to roll, press the mix between two pieces of baking paper and roll to around 5mm thick.
Using a small round cookie cutter, cut into rounds.
Lay on a baking tray lined with paper and refrigerate again for a minimum of 1 hour.
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees for 8 minutes.
When cool, pipe or spoon a generous dollop of dulce de leche onto half of the rounds and then gently press the tops on.
Enjoy with an espresso!
Unsuitable for freezing, these will last for up to 3 days in an airtight container in the fridge (though the biscuits may lose some crunch and are best eaten on the day of baking.)
