Instead of a visit from Santa, the children of several South American nations get their presents from Baby Jesus! That’s an impressive feat. But then again, Jesus was known for his miracles.
Unlike with Santa, nobody is truly clear how the kiddies get their presents from Baby Jesus. Years ago, the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo decided to get to the bottom of this mystery. There were no definite answers.
From owning a special helicopter that beams the toys into every child’s home to Nino Jesus owning a chain of toy stores and being able to purchase them on a steep discount; one thing is for sure- the Christ Child can’t do his gifting without the use of magic.
The idea of Santa is slowly being introduced to the children of Colombia, Bolivia and Costa Rica. But don’t expect Nino Jesus to go away anytime soon. Though according to polls taken in and around 2015, it looks like the days of Wise Men bringing good little boys and girls presents are over.
Don’t worry! There’s still one nation that relies on the Magi to bring their kiddies presents during the Christmas season! We’ll get back to them later in this year’s advent...
I know that I’ve got 3 countries in which to pick my cookie recipe for the day from. But this was a no brainer. I recently taught my culinary students a lesson on the cuisine of Colombia. So we’re focusing on that Northern South American coastal country and I’ve got a classic.
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Alfajores. Enjoy!
ALFAJORES
Ingredients
(makes 20 alfajores)
3 Cups all-purpose flour
1 pound butter, room temperature
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
11/4 cup powdered sugar, divided
1 cup cornstarch
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F 2. In a large bowl mix the butter and 1 cup of powdered sugar. 3. Add the our, corn starch and vanilla extract then mix with your hands into well combined. 4. Knead together to form a soft dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand for 10 to 15 minutes. 5. Turn the dough out onto a floured counter and knead for about 2 minutes. Roll out to about ¼ inch-thick and cut out the cookies with a round cookie cutter. 6. Place them on a floured cookie sheet and bake for about 10 – 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on a rack for 10 minutes. In a small plate, place the flaked coconut and set aside. 7. Spread arequipe or dulce de leche on each cookie then put together two cookies, making a sandwich with the arequipe in the middle of the two cookies. When you put the cookies together you’ll want some arequipe to come out of the sides. Take the plate with coconut and cover the edges of each alfajor cookie with it,rolling the cookie edge in the flaked coconut if using. 8. Sprinkle them with powdered sugar and enjoy.
From mycolombianrecipes.com
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