Alfajores Peruanos: Eating Peruvian Alfajores in Lima, Peru

Alfajores hold a special place in my heart. During our wedding, we made Alfajores with Audrey's family to serve our guests during the after-ceremony. However, prior to visiting Lima, I had only tried Argentinan style Alfajores. How would they compare with the Argentinean ones that are considered some of the best in the world? You'll have to find out by watching the video ;)
Alfajor Peruano: Taste Testing Peruvian Alfajores in Lima, Peru Travel Video Transcript:
So today we're going to be trying something called Alfajores. And this is something you can find throughout South America but it varies from country to country. So today we're having Peruvian Alfajores, so I'm going to open the box for a big reveal. And we've ordered a few different varieties. Wow, that looks awesome. We're very used to the Argentinian ones. Yeah.
So what I've found particularly fascinating upon researching Alfajores is that it has Arabic origins. Then it made its way to Spain and now it has become immensely popular all over South America.
Right, so this is the original which I'm going to be trying first. So it is basically two layers of a crumbly cookie. Let's zoom in on that. It has. You can zoom in. It has Manjar Blanco in the middle which is kind of like Dulce De Leche. It is a milk caramel. It is very sweet. And then it has like a white powdery sugar like icing sugar on top. It looks like a very generous amount of the dulce de leche. So this is a miniature version of the original Alfajor And it is what I'm trying first. Bite sized.
Mmmm.
Those are really nice. Up to standard? Mmmm. Nice and sugary. I think it would be nice for breakfast or for a little snack. Heck, maybe even dinner. I could see you eating that for dinner. You like your sweets. It is really nice.
Alright, I'm also going to have the original one. And Alfajores kind of have a special place in my heart because during our wedding one of the things we made together as a family with Audrey's family is a huge batch of Alfajores which we ate of course and shared to our guests. So high expectations here and it does have some positive memories for me as well.
Mmmm. One big bite. That's pretty good.
Okay, so I'm interested in having this one next because it looks like chocolate. Let's hold that up. I'll zoom in. Oh yeah, it's got a chocolate layer.
Okay, first 'unofficial bite' over here. Yeah, that is really nice. It kinds of reminds me of the original Alfajor but the big difference here is that it has a crunchier exterior and if you see over on this side it is covered in what appears to be walnuts.
How about the cookie dough? Does it also have nuts? Is it crunchy? Yeah, it is definitely crunchier than the original one which is more like a thin cookie.
Alright, and then we are down to one. The one and only lonely one. So it is my turn.
I believe this one has honey. That is what I was told. It looks sticky. It looks big. Oh, my gosh. Look at that. Okay, it is like a triple one. So triple layered Alfajor. Dude, it is spilling all over the place.
Let's get a really good zoom in on that. Like that is just...woah. That is some serious, serious topping overflow there. And the taste? Well, that is not your average honey that is for sure. It's really thick and sticky. I've had it in a few other Peruvian desserts but I still don't know what it is made out of. Yeah, it has a stronger flavor than regular honey.
So we picked up this little goodie box from La Casa Del Alfajor which translates to the house of the Alfajor. And a yeah, it was a great little goodie box but I guess what sort of surprised me was that I ended up liking the original the most. How about you? Same. Loved the original.
So I guess the take home message for today is don't mess with that awesome classic good flavor.
This is part of our Travel in Peru series. We're making a series of videos showcasing Peruvian culture, Peruvian arts, Peruvian foods, Peruvian religion, Peruvian cuisine and Peruvian people. All things Peruano.
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All photos and video taken by Samuel Jeffery (Nomadic Samuel) and Audrey Bergner (That Backpacker).
Music in this video courtesy of Audio Network