Tuesday, March 23, 2010

TWD: Dulce de Leche Duos



TWD:  Jodie of  Beansy Loves Cake decided on Dulce de Leche Duos. A soft cakey cookies sandwiched together with a dulce de leche. I made my own dulce de leche using Alton Brown's recipe. It was the best dulce de leche that I've ever had.  So easy to make that I probably won't buy the canned variety again.

These rich and soft chewy cookies had a delicious brown sugar/caramel flavor. Although we liked the dulce de leche in the center the cookies were too big to be a sandwich cookie.  If they were smaller, a two bite cookie, that might be better. They were nice as a single cookie with a drizzle of dulce de leche, but storage became a problem since they were to sticky to stack.  Next time I would try adding toasted and chopped pecans to the batter or maybe just sprinkled on top before baking.


Thank You  Jodie for picking this cookie, I really loved the chewy texture and flavor of theses cookies, but I just feel that they are missing something, and I can't quite put my finger on it.  If you what to see what the other TWD bakers thought visit our blog roll.

Homemade Dulce de Leche
adapted from Alton Brown

1 quart whole milk
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Combine the whole milk, sugar and vanilla  in a 4 quart saucepan over medium heat. When the sugar melts and the mixture starts to boil, add the baking soda and lower the heat to low until the mixture is barely simmering. Cook for an hour, stirring occasionally (don't try to incorporate the foam that forms on the top of the milk). Remove the vanilla bean and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is a deep caramel color and has reduced to about 1 cup, about 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Whirl in the blender and than pour through a fine mesh strainer into a measuring cup or clean container, cover and refrigerate for up to one month.
Printable Recipe

Dulce de leche duos
by Dorie Greenspan from Baking From My Home to Yours

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
2 sticks (8 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cups store-bought dulce de leche, plus more for filling
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs

Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter at medium speed until soft. Add the 3/4 cup of dulce de leche and both sugars and continue to beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Don’t be concerned if the mixture looks a little curdled- it will smooth out when the flour mixture goes in. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear into the batter. Spoon the dough onto the baking sheets, using a heaping teaspoon of dough for each cookie and leaving 2 inches between them. Bake the cookies 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front the back at the midway point. The cookies should be honey brown with a light sugar crust, but they will still be soft, so remove the sheets from the oven but don’t touch the cookies for another minute or two. Then, using a wide metal spatula, transfer the cookies to a rack to cool to room temperature. Repeat with the remaining dough, making sure you cool the baking sheets before spooning the dough onto them. When the cookies are completely cool, spread the flat bottoms of half the cookies with a small amount of dulce de leche, and sandwich with the flat sides of the remaining cookies.
Makes about 30 sandwich cookies