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Holiday cookie recipe: Dulce de leche cookies

Dulce de leche cookies

Dulce de leche cookies

(Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
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You could use dulce de leche as a spread or topping to add a sweet touch to almost anything, including toast, ice cream and fresh fruit. So why not try sandwiching it between two rich shortbread cookies? This recipe for dulce de leche cookies comes courtesy of reader Zaira Angelo in Pomona. She was a finalist one year in our L.A. Times Holiday Cookie Bake-Off. She writes:

“This recipe is kind of a mash-up between my mom and me. My mom makes dulce de leche every year, the real stuff, you cook it forever and reduce it down. It’s a candy that’s really popular in Mexico. And I just thought, what if I didn’t cook it quite as long and then used that as a filling? So she had the dulce de leche and I had the cookie, and this is what we came up with. It’s something we make every Christmas. I stand around and chat with my mom and my aunts, and we cook and stir and stir and stir. There’s no shortcuts and no cheating. My mom wouldn’t allow that.”

DULCE DE LECHE COOKIES

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Total time: 2 hours, 25 minutes, plus chilling and cooling times | Makes about 2 1/2 dozen (2-inch) sandwich cookies

Note: Adapted from a recipe by Zaira Angelo.

DULCE DE LECHE

3 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt

In a medium, heavy-bottom pot, combine the milk, sugar and cinnamon over medium heat, stirring very gently with a wooden spoon. Once the sugar dissolves, stir in the baking soda and salt. Continue to cook, stirring very gently, until the mixture is thickened and creamy, about 1 hour. Do not allow the milk to boil over the pan (mostly because this will create a huge mess). When the mixture is thickened and resembles a caramel sauce, remove the pan from the heat; the dulce de leche is ready. This makes about 1 1/2 cups dulce de leche; more than is needed for the remainder of the recipe. The dulce de leche will keep, covered and refrigerated, up to 10 days.

SHORTBREAD COOKIES AND ASSEMBLY

1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
About 2 3/4 cups (12 ounces) flour
Dulce de leche

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the vanilla, then the flour a little at a time until incorporated.

2. Form the dough into a disk, cover and chill for 15 minutes.

3. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to a thickness of one-fourth inch. Cut the dough into fun shapes using cookie cutters. Bake the cookies on cookie sheets until lightly browned, 12 to 14 minutes (timing will vary depending on size and shape).

4. Cool the cookies for 5 minutes, then spread the dulce de leche over the tops of half of the cookies; cover each with another half to create a sandwich. Cool the finished cookies completely, or until the dulce de leche is set.

Each of 2 1/2 dozen sandwich cookies: 149 calories; 2 grams protein; 21 grams carbohydrates; 0 fiber; 7 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 18 mg cholesterol; 12 grams sugar; 22 mg sodium.

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