Alfajor
 |
Two alfajores ("black" and "white" flavours) |
An
alfajor (
Spanish, in
IPA ; plural
alfajores) is a traditional
cookie in some
South American countries, most notably
Uruguay,
Argentina,
Peru and
Chile. Its most basic form consists of two round sweet
biscuits generally joined together with
dulce de leche.
Another popular feature of the alfajor, although not always present, is a coating of black or white
chocolate (many alfajores are sold in "black" and "white" flavours). There's also one variation, called "Alfajor de nieve", that instead of having a white or black chocolate coating, it has a "nieve" (snow) coating. The "nieve coating" consists mostly of a mixture of eggs and sugar. Peruvian alfajores are usually coated in powdered sugar, as seen in the picture. Most alfajores come packaged in
aluminium foil, similarly to most
chocolate bars, though
alfajores artesanales (hand-made) are just as accessible and generally packaged in plastic wrap or
wax paper.
Other varieties of alfajor include different elements in the preparation of the biscuits, such as
peanuts; they also vary the filling and coating and even add a third biscuit (
alfajor triple).
Though the food has been popular in Argentina and Uruguay since the mid
19th century, it has its roots in the
Middle East. The name
alfajor is derived from
Arabic al-hasu, which means "stuffed" or "filled".
Statistics indicate that in
2004, Argentina's 36 million inhabitants consumed a daily average of 6 million alfajores.
In the province of
Cádiz,
Spain, there is a completely different confection also called
alfajor that is made of flour, honey, almonds and several spices, such as cinnamon. It is most commonly sold around Christmas.
*
Krembo*
Cuisine of Argentina*
Peruvian cuisine*
Alfajores Havanna -most famouse Argentine alfajores (Spanish)
*
Alfajores Portezuelo - a well known Uruguayan brand of alfajores (English and Spanish)
*
Alfajor Culture - an editorial discussing alfajores
*
History of the Alfajor at
Split Bean Coffee
