Chula alfajores by Laura Macías, Allie Lazar, and Chula Galvez
Chula Galvez
This is Julieta Galvez, but her friends call her Chula. She is a 31-year-old pastry chef from Argentina and has mastered the art of making beautiful and tasty alfajores.
What is an alfajor?
"An alfajor is like a sandwich in a way. It’s a sweet biscuit: two cookies with dulce de leche spread in the middle. That’s our typical alfajor. But then we have alfajor de maicena, which is made with corn starch, which is very soft and delicate biscuit. Alfajor de maicena is the most typical from Argentina."
Alfajores sandwiches by Laura Macías, Allie Lazar, and Chula Galvez
Corn starch alfajor
I made a corn starch alfajor, a classic recipe, with dulce de leche and spread it around with coconut.
Alfajores Ingredients by Chula Galvez, Laura Macías, and Allie Lazar
The Recipe
Chula's alfajores de maicena recipe comes from when she was studying at Argentina's Culinary Institute. It is a very classic recipe, but she puts her own spin on it like adding lemon or lime zest, cognac, and edible flowers.
Chula baking by Laura Macías, Allie Lazar, and Chula Galvez
The Dough
First, Chula creams the butter with sugar. Then, she adds egg yolks. After, she adds dry ingredients: corn starch, pastry flour, and baking powder. She mixes the dough and lets it rest for at least two hours or overnight.
Cutting shapes by Laura Macías, Chula Galvez, and Allie Lazar
Rolling and Cutting
Chula rolls the dough 5-7 mm thick, then she uses a 2 inch cutter to make discs.
Alfajores flores
Edible Flowers
When Chula lived in New York City, she began making cornstarch alfajores but they weren’t very popular to the local clientele. So, she decided to stamp edible flowers on top, and they became a huge success.
Baking by Chula Galvez, Laura Macías, and Allie Lazar
Baking
Chula bakes the alfajores in the oven at 150°C for about 8 minutes. Then, she lets it cool.
Dulce de leche by Laura Macías, Allie Lazar, and Chula Galvez
Dulce de leche
She puts dulce de leche on the bottom of each cookie. While some alfajores differ in size and ingredients, most all need to be filled with dulce de leche.
Alfajor cookies by Chula Galvez, Laura Macías, and Allie Lazar
Alfajores & Mate
Chula forms the cookie and dulce de leche sandwich and sprinkles the edges with coconut. Chula says the best time to eat alfajores is with yerba mate during merienda, the tea time after lunch and before dinner.