Alfajores 101

In my last post I mentioned that my trip to Buenos Aires resulted in a freakish obsession with alfajores.As if writing that blog post wasn't enough to make me miss my favorite treat from South America, I happened to speak to somebody later that week at a BBQ who had been to Argentina, tasted alfajores, and shared my love for them! That did it. I went home, researched recipes for a few days, and set outto recreate those little shortbread/caramel/coconut gems. Here are my results:
Alfajores de maizena by Pip in the City All-purpose flour 1 2/3 cups  Maizena (corn starch) 2 1/2 cups  Baking soda 1/2 teaspoon  Baking powder 2 teaspoons  Butter 1 cup Sugar 3/4 cup  Egg yolks 3  Cognac or whiskey 1 teaspoon  Vanilla extract 1 teaspoon  Grated lemon zest 1-2 teaspoons

1. Sift dry ingredients together. 2. Cream the butter with the sugar. Add the egg yolks, the vanilla extract, the cognac/whiskey, and the lemon zest. 3. Add this cream to the dry ingredients, making a hole in the middle of the flour. Use a spoon to make a crumbly dough and be VERY careful not to overwork the dough or knead with your hands. When you see that the dough is cohesive enough, make a ball with your hands pressing the different pieces together. 4. Cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 30-60 minutes (30 is usually enough if you are in a hurry).

5. Roll out the dough, carefully flouring the counter until it gets around 1/2 a centimeter thick. Cut with a round cutter and continue to join the scraps again and again until you´ve used all the dough.  6. Place in a clean cookie sheet and bake for around 17-20 minutes in a 180°C-350°F oven. Please check often after the first 10 minutes. The dough should be white, not golden (it can appear undone, but it is not! And if you wait too much you will end up with a dry alfajor).  7. Quickly remove the cookies and place them in a rack (otherwise they can get burned and will get stuck to the cookie sheet).
 
8. Once the cookies are cold, put a spoonful of dulce de leche in the middle of one cookie and carefully place another cookie on top. Press the top cookie gently to get the dulce de leche to the corners of the alfajor. 9. Roll the sides on some shredded coconut for a classic look. If you are feeling fancy, dip the alfajores in some chocolate ganache!!
 
I was overjoyed with the result. I thought it would be funny to take a picture of myself takingthe first bite, but I was nowhere near prepared for the ecstasy I was about to experience. That picture below (left) is not staged or fake HAHAHA. That is what you call pure bliss. 

I was afraid that my opinion of the cookies was biased and was really nervous when I handed themout to my cousins and aunts. The chorus of moans and "Oh my Gods" reassured me that theyturned out every bit as delicious as I thought. Many thanks to Pip for a wonderful recipe. 
Let me know if you make these! You won't regret it!

Garden Hopping

So, here's the thing: I'm not one of those tourists who tries hard to blend in and pretend she's not a tourist, but I reallyyy don't like being led around stuffy old buildings by someone who is telling me all sorts of "interesting" facts. While traveling, I'd rather skip the tours and roam around a new city aimlessly; soaking in the sights and smells, tasting the food, observing the people. To me, that just feels like the best way to get to know a new city. 
While I was in Buenos Aires, all I wanted to do was wander around the cobblestone streets, drink cappuccinos, eat every alfajore I came across, and keep an eye out for random tango performances. I was traveling with friends, however, which means I had to take into consideration what my friends wanted to do. (Why I was the only one with a raging alfajore-obsession still confuses me hahah!)One day, we all decided to go visit the Japanese Gardens.  I was sad to think of all the delicious gourmet cappuccinos I was missing out on, but I knew it would be an opportunity to see something truly beautiful.The funny thing is, on the way to the Japanese Gardens, we stumbled upon the Botanical Gardens, which is known to locals as "The Cat Garden" due to all of the cats roaming around. Let's just say my friend Lara was IN HEAVEN. 

As we walked from the Cat Garden to the Japanese Gardens, we passed by the zoo! We didn't go in, but I snapped some good shots through the gate >:)
 
And we also saw this :( Eveyone hates Americans :(
 
Finally, we arrived at the Japanese Gardens!
 
There were a lot of pretty flowers there. It made me think of my friend Jade :) The cherry blossoms were not in bloom though, since it was Winter. I bet it's incredible in Spring.
 
On the way home we stopped by La Casa Rosada (the Argentinean White House) and it was so beautiful with all of the lights on!
 
The end :) More photos from Argentina to come :)