There is a South American cookie that contains caramelized milk and is rolled in coconut. I had it on a trip to Honduras and absolutely loved it.
Do you know what it is and do you have a recipe for it?
Thank you so much.
-Jackson Getnoe.

You fell in love with alfajores. They are a special cookie made mostly for special occasions and especially Christmas in South America. The recipe calls for cajates which is very time-consuming to prepare. It is a thick caramel made from sweetened condensed milk. Lucky for us, it can be purchased as dulce de leche at most larger grocery stores. In South America unsweetened, dried coconut is used in the recipe. It may be found in the natural or organic section of the grocery. When I tested this recipe I used unsweetened coconut from a bag I had in the cupboard and it worked well. Yes, you will need 1 1/4 cup of cornstarch for the recipe.
Alfajores would be a lovely addition to your spring holiday table.

Alfajores from Graciela Cuadrado-Vielguth

1/2 cup flour, plus extra for rolling dough
1 1/4 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
freshly grated zest of 1/2 lemon
1 13.4-ounce can dulce de leche (cajata)
1 1/2 cup coconut flakes, preferably unsweetened and desiccated

1. To prepare dough, sift together flour, cornstarch and baking powder. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter until creamy, about 1 minute. Gradually add sugar adn beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg and egg yolk and beat until thoroughly combined. Add lemon zest and beat until thoroughly combined. Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. On a lightly floured surface using a floured rolling pin, roll out dough to 3/16-inch thickness.
Using a cookie cutter, cut out rounds between 1 and 2 inches and place cookies 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough, gathering up scraps, re-rolling and cutting until all dough is used.
4. Bake 10-12 minutes, making sure the cookies do not brown. Remove from oven and cool 2 minutes before transferring cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies may be stored up to a week in an airtight container until ready to assemble.
5. To assemble the cookies, spread 1/2 teaspoon dulce de leche (or more for larger cookies) into center of bottom of a cookie. Top with another cookie, bottom side up, as if making a sandwich. Spread a very thin layer of dulce de leche onto sandwich edge and roll edge in coconut flakes. (I found that my dulce de leche was difficult to spread if it got cold so I place it on top of my warm stove).
Makes about 4-5 dozen cookies.