Alfajores

There are lots of ways to make Alfajores. This is a quick and easy method which I make with my little brother (11 y.o.) You could buy the Manjar Blanco if you want (Smucker's makes some), but why? Make the cookies first since if the manjar blanco sits around too long, it will be like spreading chilled peanut butter. 1. Mix the flour and baking powder 2. Blend in softened butter, egg yolk, water and salt. Best to use your clean hands for this 3. Form a disk, wrap in plastic and stick in the refrigerator for an hour or so. 4. Turn the oven on to 350F. 5. Roll out your dough on to a floured board until it is about 1/4 inch thick. Cut in to small circles (~ 2 - 2.5" they will shrink) 6. Bake in oven until lightly brown (4-5 minutes on each side depending on your oven). You can tamp them down if they start to puff up. 7. Cool on a tempting rack. 8. While that's going down, split the vanilla bean, scrape the seeds and add the whole thing to the evaporated milk, condensed milk, and sugar. This should all be in a large saucepan - larger than you think you need. 9. Boil with boldness. I'm not talking about mamby-pamby-simmering - I'm talking cauldron-of-hell-boiling while stirring constantly (remember, it is milk). You want the consistency such that you can spread it on the cookies without oozing out on the counter. Don't stop stirring until you have that consistency remembering that once you take the heat off, the manjar blanco will start to stiffen. 10. Remove the vanilla bean and lovingly combine two cookies with a creamy center. Dust with powdered sugar.