What is an alfajor?
Brief history of the alfajor
According to Spanish philologist and dialectologist Manuel Alvar López, alfajor is an Andalusian variant of the Castilian alajú,[5] derived from the Arabic word الفاخر, al- fakher, meaning luxurious, and, contrary to some beliefs that it originated in the New World, was introduced to Latin America as alfajor.[6][7]
Alfajor is the national snack of Argentina
They are made with two round cookies with different sweet fillings between them, usually dulce de leche, although there are a lot of variations. They can be covered with powder sugar (the traditional ones), glazed sugar (Santafesinos or "de nieve"), grated coconut or, most commonly, chocolate.
Argentina is today the world's largest consumer of alfajores, both in total numbers and in per capita calculations, being the most common snack for schoolchildren and adults.