Peruvian vs Argentine Alfajores: What Is the Difference?
Same name, two very different cookies. One is crisp and snowy white, the other soft all the way through.
Par Daniel MellicovskyBaker and owner, Melly's Cookiebar
Both Peru and Argentina claim the alfajor, and both are delicious, but they are not the same cookie. The name travelled from Spain across Latin America, and each country made it their own.
The Peruvian alfajor
The Peruvian version leans shortbready. Two crisp, buttery biscuits are filled with manjar blanco, the local dulce de leche, and finished with a heavy dusting of icing sugar. The bite is firmer and the look is snowy white.
The Argentine alfajor
The Argentine one is softer. The classic maicena alfajor uses a tender cornstarch cookie that almost dissolves, joined with dulce de leche and rolled in coconut. The chocolate version is cakier still. Where the Peruvian alfajor is crisp, the Argentine is meant to be soft all the way through.
We make the Argentine style at Melly's: handmade alfajores de maicena and de chocolate, shipped across Europe, the UK and the US. Try our alfajores recipe or read what alfajores are to go deeper.
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