Bake Alfajores for a Peruvian Cookie

In Lima, Peru my family has owned a bakery for more than 30 years. My great great aunt, who was the head baker and holder of all our family's recipes, would come visit our family in the United States about once a year. She'd always spend a day or two in the kitchen, her favorite place, showing us how to bake some of her favorite Peruvian treats. These cookies were always my absolute favorite.

These cookies are a basic shortbread cookie filled with manjar blanco. (The rest of South America calls it dulce de leche, while Central Americans call it cajeta.) This recipe is tad bit different from the one she taught me how to make. I use butter instead of margarine and skip the need for corn starch (I've never been a fan). The manjar blanco usually calls for one to stand at the stove top, stirring and stirring until it transforms into a beautiful caramel color. Since I'm a lover of a shortcut or two, I opt to boil the entire can of sweetened condensed milk for a few hours. When it's opened, the milk will have transformed into manjar blanco. It's pretty magical.

I will give you a heads up that boiling a whole can may be a bit strange. I've done it a dozen times and have never had a problem, but it does make some people nervous. My tip is to make sure you fill it up every 15 minutes or so; the can should never be cooking in the pot without water. And, before opening the can make sure it's cooled to room temperature. That's it. I hope you enjoy these alfajores--they're some of favorites to make at this time of year.

Adrianna Adarme is a food blogger and author living in Los Angeles, California. She writes the blog A Cozy Kitchen, where she shares comforting, everyday recipes from her kitchen. She recently authored her first cookbook, PANCAKES: 72 Sweet and Savory Recipes for the Perfect Stack. She's a lover of breakfast, pie (and sometimes even pie for breakfast), corgis and cute things. You can find her on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.