Angel Kisses (Alfajores)

This cookie has a ‘melt in your mouth’ kind of texture, like shortbread. The filling is cooked sweetened condensed milk OR dulce de leche, available in Canada by Presidents Choice. This year I tried the latter on some of the cookies and it works well too. It's a darker color and not quite as creamy.
I got this recipe about 30 years ago from Elvira W. who brought this recipe from South America, where I also lived as a child. I loved the cookies because the filling was just like what we used to spread on our bread, like honey. 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, mainly because we did not know the real name for them.

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. Cook unopened can of sweetened condensed milk, in water, for 1 hour. Cool completely in fridge. Good if you can do this the day ahead. 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!

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