This Portuguese cookie is called “Casadinhos de Doce de Leite,” which translates to, “Dulce de Leche Sandwich Cookies.” This quick and easy recipe takes 25 to 30 minutes, and makes 36 sandwich cookies.
Recipe by Rachel Pires:
Ingredients:
10 Tbsp. of salted butter (at room temperature)
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
2 cups of flour
1 (14 oz) can of dulce de leche (The brand Nestle (La Lechera) makes a great canned version that you can find in most grocery stores)
Confectioners sugar for garnish
Directions:
Pre heat your oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl combine the flour, butter, and granulated sugar. Using your hands, mix it all together. Work the dough until it is smooth and no longer sticks to your hands.
Form the dough into a large ball, and then flatten it slightly into a thick disc. Cut the disc into four equal parts.
Roll each of the four parts into four skinny logs and cut each log into 18 equal parts. You should now have 72 equal parts (18 equal parts from the four logs).
Roll the 72 equal parts into little balls.
Place the little dough balls onto parchment lined baking sheets and using your thumb, flatten them ever so slightly.
Bake the cookies for 15 minutes or until their bottoms begin to golden. The top will still be soft and this is normal.
Let the cookies cool for a minimum of 30 minutes.
Take half of the cooled cookies and fill the flat part of the cookie with your desired amount of dulce de leche (it is very helpful to use a piping bag, but a small spoon will work just fine.)
Once half of the cookies are filled with dulce de leche, sandwich them with the remaining half.
This should leave you with 36 cookies. To ensure you are on the right cookie track, I will only compare these to French Macarons in resemblance – they are much different in texture, ingredients and taste however, they should look quite similar.
Lastly, sprinkle or sift the confectioner’s sugar over the cookies for garnish.
Enjoy a little taste of Brazil and share with family and friends during the holidays.