Happy birthday, Queen Máxima ! The Netherlands royal marked her 49th in the best way possible while social-distancing at her palace. She baked her favorite cookies! And guess what? We have the royal recipe. Start your ovens!
“At this time I celebrate my birthday at home with a typical Argentinian delicacy: Alfajores from dulce de leche,” the Queen prefaced on the official account of the Royal House of the Netherlands. “I grew up with Alfajores, they are my favorite cookies! I bake them according to my mother’s recipe, which I like to share with you. So you can bake them yourself at home!”
Mother’s Ingredients
Biscuit ingredients:
- 300 gr cornstarch
- 200 gr flour
- 200 gr butter (at room temperature)
- 150 gr sugar
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon of soda (sodium bicarbonate)
- 2 level teaspoons of baking powder
- The marrow from a small vanilla pod or a pinch of vanilla powder
- The grated zest of 1 lemon 1 teaspoon of cognac
Ingredients filling:
- Dulce de leche (ready-made or homemade with condensed milk and sugar)
- Grated coconut
Preparation
“Preheat the oven to 160 degrees. Mix all dry ingredients with the softened butter in a bowl.”
What the world kneads now...
Then add the egg yolks and brandy!
Dough much love
Knead it into a firm dough! (Sidenote: Maxima’s royal wedding ring is the baking accessory we wish we had).
Quick fix
Form a ball and let it rest for about an hour. If it seems like the dough is not sticking together, then add 2 spoons of lemon juice!
Rolling in the deep
Roll out the dough into a rag from 5 mm to 7 mm and cut out circles of dough (with a glass) of about 4 cm in diameter.
Queen Maxima bakes cookies for birthday
Then place the rounds on a baking tray lined with baking paper, about 2 cm apart. Bake the cookies at 160 degrees for 10-12 minutes. The biscuits should discolour a little, not too much otherwise they will become too dry and break.
Here comes the ducle de leche
When the cookies are ready, take them out of the oven and let them cool. Always stick two cookies together with a layer of dulce de leche. Spread the dulce de leche well to the edge.
On a roll
Finally, roll those edges through the grated coconut.
Queen Maxima bakes cookies for birthday
“The Alfajores de dulce de leche are ready: enjoy!” the caption exclaims at the end. Be sure to tag us @HOLAUSA on Instagram if you make these!
,type=downsize)