Alfajores

Name: Alfajores
Prep time: 11 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 31 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Argentina
Ingredients: 300g All purpose flour; 200g Cornstarch; 200g Butter; 100g Sugar; 2 Egg Yolks; 1 teaspoon Lemon Zest; Dulce de leche; Sprinkling Desiccated Coconut

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Dessert recipe with Argentina flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 48 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Step-by-step instructions

Make the Dough: Cream butter and sugar. Add egg yolks and lemon zest. Gradually mix in flour and cornstarch to form a dough. Chill for 1 hour.
Bake the Cookies: Roll out the dough, cut into circles, and bake at 180°C (350°F) for 12-15 minutes. Let cool.
Assemble: Spread dulce de leche on one cookie, then sandwich with another. Roll the edges in coconut flakes.
Pro Tips:.
Chill the dough before rolling it out to make it easier to handle and to prevent the cookies from spreading too much while baking.
Dip the alfajores in melted chocolate and let them set on a wire rack for an extra decadent treat.

Why this works on a weeknight

Alfajores lands at about 31 minutes total — a little longer than our 30-minute target, but most of that time is hands-off simmering, which is why it earned a spot in our Sweet Finishes collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Alfajores actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🍮 Sweet Finishes Dessert Argentina