Pumpkin Spice Alfajores

I love Argentinian Alfajores! These shortbread cookies melt in your mouth and are as beautiful as they are delicious! I also really love fall and all things pumpkin spice. So I thought, why not combine the two? SO I introduce you to Pumpkin Spiced Alfajores.

This recipe is adapted from a recipe from En Casa Contigo, it is simple but does take some time and preparation. The ingredients are not all daily household baking ingredients and you will likely need to make a trip to the store for these! The key to making the cookies crumbly and soft is the Wheat Flour & Cornstarch. I tried this recipe with regular flour and "Whole wheat" flour at first, but then I finally found the right flour and it made the world of a difference. 

Prep Time: 35 minutes

Chilling Time: 30 minutes

Baking Time: 8-10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup - Wheat flour

• 1 cup - Corn Starch

• 1 teaspoon - Baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon - Baking soda

• 1/2 cup - Unsalted butter at room temperature

• 1/2 cup + 1 teaspoon - Powdered sugar

• 2 large egg yolks

• 1/2 teaspoon - Vanilla extract

• 1 teaspoon -  Cognac or Brandy

• 1 tablespoon - Pumpkin Pie Spice (Add an additional 1/2 Tablespoon if you want a stronger spiced flavor)

Filling:

• 3/4 cup - Dulce de leche

• 3 Tablespoon - Pumpkin Puree

OR

• Pumpkin Caramel / Pumpkin Butter

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

• In a bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, starch, baking powder, baking soda, and . Mix well and set aside this flour mixture.

•  In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter with the powdered sugar.

• Once the butter is creamy and pale yellow, add the yolks one by one. Mix well.

• Add the vanilla extract and brandy. Mix well.

• Add the flour mixture that you have reserved, little by little, scraping the sides about halfway through.

• Once it is mostly incorporated and reaches a playdough-like consistency, take it out of the bowl and place on a floured countertop or parchment paper. Knead gently to finish incorporating anything that could not mix in the stand mixer, and then roll into a ball. Flatten it a little into a circle and cover with plastic wrap.

• Take to the fridge to rest for 30 minutes or overnight.

• Remove from the fridge. Put a little flour on the table and roll out with a previously floured rolling pin so that the dough does not stick to the rolling pin. Stretch to a thickness of 0.50 to 1 cm, with the cookie cutter of your choice.

• Place on a baking sheet with greaseproof paper and bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until you see the slightly golden edge, do not over time, they should be rather pale.

• Take out of the oven. Leave 2 minutes without touching them and then take them to a rack to finish cooling.

• Once cooled, fill a piping bag with the dulce de leche or caramel mixture and pipe it on to one cookie and then cover it with another cookie.

• Squeeze slightly until the dulce de leche protrudes a little

• Sprinkle with icing sugar for an added touch of elegance!