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Angel Kisses (Alfajores)


This cookie has a ‘melt in your mouth’ kind of texture, like shortbread. The filling is cooked sweetened condensed milk, also known as dulce de leche, if purchased in a jar. The recipe came from a friendly neighbor, who invited me for coffee when I was a newly wed. I loved the cookies because the filling was just like what we used to spread on our bread when we lived in South America. I found out that they were quite a bit of work to make when I made them for our daughter’s first birthday, so I decided that they would be Christmas cookies and eventually we ended up calling them angel kisses, because we did not know the real name.

Ingredients:
  • 1 cup soft butter
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 cups cornstarch
  • 1 cup flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 can sweetened condensed milk
  • flaked coconut
Method:
  1. Put unopened can of sweetened condensed milk, standing up, in a pot of water, water coming up about 3/4 of the way. Bring water to boil and simmer for 11/2 hours. Add water if needed. Cool completely in fridge. Good if you can do this the day ahead. I like this method because the dulce tastes fresh and creamy. If you prefer, you can use 1 jar purchased Dulce de Leche. 
  2. This cookie recipe has no liquids, so I find it is very important to use very soft butter, but not melted. I take it out of the fridge the night before. It also helps to use a large mixer that has a dough (hook) attachment.
  3. Beat butter until very creamy. Beat in the yolks. 
  4. Mix sugar and lemon rind, then add to creamed mixture, along with vanilla. 
  5. Stir in cornstarch and combined other dry ingredients (using hook attachment if you have) until smooth. Shape into ball.
  6. Taking about 1/4 of the dough at a time, roll out on floured surface to about 1/4 inch thickness.
  7. Cut with small, round cookie cutter or tomato paste can. 
  8. Place on floured cookie sheets and bake at 350° F for about 8 min. Do not over bake. Cookies should just be starting to get color on the underside, not on top. Cool.
  9. Stick two cookies together with cooked sweetened condensed milk, spreading the sides (edges) as well and rolling them in coconut. 
  10. Freeze to set. Store in air tight container in freezer and beware if someone in your family likes eating them frozen! Yields 4 dozen cookies 





24 comments:

  1. Oh my...what beautiful and decadent looking cookies. Yum....I sure would like to try one right now.

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  2. Oh my! I am certainly going to try baking this cookie. It looks so unique and so yummy!

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  3. Oh, my dil has brought these to our house to share. . .I wonder if the recipe is the same, I'll have to ask her. . .thanks for sharing, they look wonderful.

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  4. Great looking cookie. A definite must try. Your picture looks fantastic

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  5. hey hey hey......i was just about to post these. the cookie is called "alfahores" in spainish and we love them too!!!!
    my recipe doesn't have lemon rind, but i bet that would be good!
    besides you pictures look way better :^Q (that is a toungue liking the lips in case you didn't figure that out...smile)
    almost gluten free julie, just a little tweeking

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  6. Yummy Yummy Yummy!!! You better be saving some of these treasures for when we're up there in three weeks!!!

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  7. oh i just thought i would mention.
    if you can't find dulce then i have used a caremel spread in place, it works but the dulce is nicer.

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  8. Those look quite gourmet! And they sound most delicious. I love all these interesting recipes from different backgrounds.

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  9. Oh how yummy!! Thanks so much! I have some of the sweetened condensed milk in my pantry... how fun! any recipe with that particular ingredient is a 10 in my book...of course, I must be the only one that could pop one of those open and sip away... i know i know! That's bad bad I know!

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  10. Oh, I was going to say also, I have a pie that is called a Caramel Pie that uses 3 cans of swt. condens. milk cooked for 5 hours in the crock pot...ooooo my! Crazy good :)

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  11. Just wanted to say I love this site and am enjoying many recipes. Here in Argentina, my husband and I are missionaries here, that cookie is very popular. It is called an alfajor. We are in the land of dulce de leche and if I want to cheat I can buy those cookies premade and just put on the dulce de leche. The alfajors you can get in the bakery are wonderful. I am sure yours are just as good.
    Leana

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  12. What a cute picture of my favourite Christmas cookie!

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  13. These look beautiful! About how many cookies does one batch make? Also, do you think they'd be good for a cookie exchange? How long can they stay out of the freezer?

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  14. Hi Teresa,
    This recipe makes about 5 dozen once assembled, if you use a small cookie cutter (1 1/2" at the widest), if you use a larger cookie cutter you will obviously get less. They would be great for a cookie exchange. I would bring them frozen and it doesn't matter if they thaw and you refreeze them. They keep (out of the freezer)like most other cookies, I just find they keep their shape better if the filling doesn't get soft...and they do thaw quite quickly. All the best!
    P.S. If you need to double the recipe, make sure you use a mixer with a hook attachment or a food processor.

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  15. I made these a couple of days ago for the teachers gifts this year - thank so much for a fool-proof recipe!

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  16. I Love these!!!

    ..but they aren't called "Angel Kisses" ..they are called Alfajores

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    1. Thank you for giving us the real name... I wonder what it means? I did not get the name with the recipe and rather than calling the dulce de leche cookies we decided many years ago to give them a Christmas name that made sense to us... I imagine that is what happens to other recipes as well as time goes on.

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  17. If you use the dulce de leche do you have to cook it like the sweetened condensed milk? I have some of this on hand and would like to use it.

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    1. If you use ducle de leche from a jar... you do not need to cook it. It's ready to spread. When you use the sweetened condensed milk, it has to be cooked to thicken it.

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  18. I love the recipe and was just starting to cook the closed sweetened condensed milk but hubby stopped me b/c he figures it will explode. I told him if Mennonite are doing it, it must be okay or else there are a lot of kitchens with sweet splattered ceilings.
    QUESTION. Is there another way to cook this? If I try cooking this in the closed can when he's not home do I just bring it to a gentle boil for the hour, or what ? During the cooking does the can bulge at all? Must I stand guard for an hour to watch?
    Thanks for any help you can provide.

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    1. To be fair to your husband, it does say on the can that you are not supposed to heat it. I wonder if that is in the microwave? I have cooked this filling in the tin every year for maybe thirty years. My mom has cooked numerous recipes every year for a long time and I've never experienced or heard of one tin exploding. I put it in a pot of water, almost covered in water and bring it to a boil and continue boiling it slow with lid partly on. If the water goes down , I add more water. I did try to heat it in what would seem a more safe way once. I poured the filling into a pot to heat slowly, but it did not turn out nice.'
      Now.. having said all that, I find that in the last year or two some of the sweetened condensed milk is not the same any more. Something has changed to make it take longer to thicken. I cooked my tin 2 hours this year and refrigerated it before using it. You could also look for ready to spread sweetened condensed milk . It's called Dulce de Leche.

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  19. Finally made these cookies 2 days ago. Really melts in your mouth and delish. Fool proof recipe. I am diabetic, I have a limit of sweetness. But, while putting together the cookies, dulce de leche and coconut flakes, I ate more than I should. Can't help it. Really delicious and festive for the holidays. Easy to make and ingredients is always in my pantry.Thanks very very much for this site. from MGCC follower and a fan from Vancouver, BC

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