This Pumpkin Spice Alfajores recipe produces tender pumpkin spice biscuits sandwiched together with creamy dulce de leche filling and dusted with powdered sugar.
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The first time I had alfajores was at my local Peruvian restaurant. I instantly fell in love with how tender these Latin cookies are. I have had them on my baking list for awhile, but haven’t gotten around to making them until now. Of course I had to give them a fall upgrade, with inspiration from Que Rica Vida.
These are a cut-out style cookie, but they are on the easier side because the filling is store bought. If you’re looking for an even easier cookie, try my Ranger Cookies or Peanut Butter Molasses Cookies. In the mood for a different cut-out cookie? Try my Lemon Meltaways.
Ingredients
Cornstarch is the star of the show in these simple alfajores, so you may need to restock after making these because it uses quite a bit.
- cornstarch
- all-purpose flour
- baking powder
- cinnamon
- nutmeg
- ginger
- butter
- granulated sugar
- egg
- pumpkin puree
- vanilla extract
- powdered sugar
- dulce de leche
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Here’s how to make these cookies:
Punch out 2-inch circles and bake.
Pipe dulce de leche on the bottom of a baked cookie.
Top with another cookie.
Dust tops with powdered sugar.
Good to know: Do not skip chilling before baking. Freezing the cut out cookies before baking will help them retain their shape so they do not spread in the oven.
Substitutions
Here are some easy ingredient swaps if you want to make these cookies vegan:
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- Egg — use a vegan egg replacer like The Neat Egg
- Butter — use a vegan butter
- Dulce de leche — make or buy vegan dulce de leche
Variations
Dulce de leche filling and powdered sugar garnish are traditional, but here are some alternate filling and garnish ideas:
- Chocolate drizzle — Instead of powdered sugar, try drizzling melted chocolate on top of the sandwich cookies.
- Coconut — Roll the finished sandwich cookies in coconut.
- Spices — If you do not like any of the added spices, feel free to leave them out! The pumpkin flavor is great enough to standalone.
Do you have any other variation suggestions? Let me know in the comments!
Equipment
I used sheets of plastic to roll out the dough (recycled from random packaging), but you could also use parchment or wax paper.
I used a 2-inch round cutter to punch out the cookies. I think they are the perfect size, but feel free to play around with different size cutters to find the size that you like best. I have a round cutter set similar to this one.
For the frosting, I used a plain round piping tip and a piping bag, but you could also just spoon it on.
Storage
Store at room temperature in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
Raw cookie dough can be frozen for 3-4 months.
Top tip
When I use pumpkin in a recipe I like to cook it down in a saucepan for about 5 minutes to concentrate the flavor more. This is totally optional, but it is my favorite trick to make pumpkin flavor more concentrated.
Lastly, if you make these Pumpkin Spice Alfajores be sure to leave a comment or give this recipe a rating. I love to see when people make my recipes, so please tag me @youthsweets on Instagram if you post!
📖 Recipe
Pumpkin Spice Alfajores
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups cornstarch (200g)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (125g)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg freshly-grated
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 10 tablespoon butter softened (138g)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar (165g)
- 1 egg yolk
- ½ cup pumpkin puree (4 oz)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup powdered sugar for garnish
- 13.4 fl oz dulce de leche
Instructions
Do ahead
- The dough can be made ahead of time and refrigerated overnight.
Make the dough
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a bowl with beaters, beat the softened butter and sugar together for 3-4 minutes, until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the egg yolk. Add the pumpkin and vanilla and beat to fully incorporate.
- Add the dry ingredients in three parts, mixing slowly just until combined between each addition.
- Form dough into a disk and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for one hour.
- After chilling, roll the dough between two sheets of plastic or parchment paper until it is ¼-thick.
- Punch out as many cookies as you can with a 2-inch round cutter. Place the rounds onto parchment or silicone baking mat-lined baking trays. Place in the freezer for at least 10 minutes to freeze solid before baking.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes. They should not take on a lot of color. Do not overbake.
- Let cool completely on a wire rack.
Fill the cookies
- Transfer the dulce de leche to a piping bag fitted with a plain round tip. Pipe about a half of a tablespoon of dulce de leche onto the bottom of a cookie. Place another cookie bottom down onto the dulce de leche to sandwich the two cookies together. Repeat until all cookies are sandwiched.
- Sift the powdered sugar over the tops of the alfajores, if desired.
