Today I have something exciting to share. I am doing a cookie week. Yes, you read right, cookie week means I will publish seven cookie recipes on seven consecutive days starting today. I decided to start with meringue alfajores or in Spanish alfajores de nieve, which are chocolate sandwich cookies filled with caramel made from sweetened condensed milk and are dunked in dried meringue. They are my favorite cookie from Uruguay after the chocolate alfajores. I thought it was about time to introduce another variety of alfajores. You can also find classic alfajores, which is a shortbread sandwich cookie with cornstarch, double chocolate alfajores, and today finally alfajores with a thick layer of dried meringue: Alfajores de Nieve. Let’s get started on Uruguayan cookie week!
I find the combination of chocolate cookie plus caramel plus meringue especially attractive in winter. When I took them to work to see how my colleagues would like them, they were gone so fast, it was amazing. I believe this combination isn’t necessarily a very common one. But be it as it may, the fact that several colleagues immediately requested the recipe speaks for itself. It makes me so happy that this Uruguayan cookie is also popular in Germany and was approved by my German colleagues. 
Alfajores are orginally from Spain but are a staple in Latin America nowadays. An alfajor will always be a sandwich cookie in Uruguay. Usually the cookie is similar to a shortberad-type of cookie. However, there will always be some part of the flour swapped out for cornstarch. This makes the cookie extra crumbly. It is a wonderful carriert for the sweet filling. Either sandwiched together with jam, traditionally in Latin America the caramel spread called dulce de leche will be used. The classic alfajor is rolled in coconut flakes, but as stated before, you will also find chocolate variations. Today I am introducing you to the version with meringue.
The meringue alfajor became famous as it was constantly produced in the factory Alfajores de las Sierras del Minas. This facotry has been producing alfajores for generations and is from the region sierra de minas (hence the name). Obviously the owners are unwilling to share the recipe, but keep it as their family secret. But that didn’t keep me from trying my own version of alfajores de nieve. The way how my colleagues reacted to this cookie confirms what I thought perviously, this cookie is worth every single calorie.
Meringue Alfajores from Uruguay are chocolate sandwich cookies that are filled with dulce de leche and are covered in dried meringue. For the cookies cream the butter with the sugar for a few minutes. Then add the egg and honey and mix well. Add flour, cornstarch, cocoa, baking soda and baking powder and mix until you get a dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least half an hour or overnight. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Divide dough into two parts, put one part back in the fridge before using. Roll out second part to about 2 millimeters and cut out round cookies with 5 centimeters in diameter. This can be done with a cookie cutter or glass. You should get 30 cookies in total or even more, I usually get about 40. Bake one baking sheet at the time for about 8-10min. Let cookies cool. For the filling look for two cookies of the same size and place about one teaspoon of dulce de leche onto the bottom one before sandwiching together. For the meringue boil the sugar with the water in a small pot for about five minutes. Meanwhile start beating the egg white until soft peaks form. Pour in the hot syrup in one stream into the egg white and beat until the egg white has cooled off. This may take around five minutes. The meringue should look glossy and be firm. With a knife smear meringue as a thin layer around the cookie, I usually leave the cookies on the surface for this. Heat oven to about 90 degrees Celsius and let the cookies dry for about 1 1/2 hours. The meringue still might be a bit sticky, but that's OK. Enjoy. No idea what to do with the leftover egg yolk? Check out see this blog post including how to freeze them properly.Meringue Alfajores from Uruguay
Ingredients
Instructions
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P.S.: Below you see the classic alfajor and alfajores marplatenses
2 Comments
Lizet
Thursday November 28th, 2019 at 01:52 PMMmm. They look delicious. I’ve seen white ones covered in meringue, but not chocolate ones. They look even prettier. Can’t wait to try them ?
Jenny
Thursday November 28th, 2019 at 02:17 PMWhere did you see whites ones covered in meringue? And please let me know if you try them!