Find out who makes the best alfajores in Argentina with our ultimate taste test and tasting notes for over 20 different varieties of Argentina's dulce de leche cookies.
Alfajores are my favorite sweet treat in Argentina. In fact, alfajores are probably my favorite indulgence in all of South America.
While alfajores can be found throughout Latin America, Argentine alfajores are the very best. Argentina's dulce de leche sandwich cookies can more accurately be described as a cookie/cake hybrid.
For those unfamiliar with dulce de leche, it is a thick caramel-like confection often made with sweetened condensed milk. Alfajores are comprised of two crumbly biscuits held together with dulce de leche (caramel) in the center and are optionally covered in chocolate.
Who makes the best alfajores in Argentina? That's what we aimed to find out in our ultimate alfajor taste test.
How Much Do Alfajores Cost?
Alfajores range in price from less than the equivalent of $1 USD at the time of writing to a few dollars. It all depends on where you buy them.
Where to Buy Alfajores
Where can you buy alfajores in Argentina? We sourced more than 20 varieties from supermarkets, convenience stores, local food halls, and specialty chocolate and candy shops in Mendoza, Bariloche, and El Calafate Argentina.
Read on for detailed tasting notes about the alfajores we tried and our verdict on who makes the best alfajores in Argentina.
Supermarket and Convenience Store Alfajores
1. Grandote 2 Alfajor con Dulce de Leche
We started our South American cookie taste test with the Grandote 2 Alfajor con Dulce de Leche. It held together well but was a little dry. An average alfajor in my opinion.
2. Guaymallen Blanco
The Guaymallen blanco alfajor was moist and creamy and coated in a light sugar coating. The lack of a chocolate coat meant that this alfajor was messy and the filling tended to leak out. Make sure you have a napkin if you tackle the Guaymallen blanco.
3. Guaymallen Dulce de Leche
The Guaymallen Dulce de Leche is a triple decker alfajor partially enrobed in chocolate. The cookie was moist and delicious but the whole thing tended to fall apart and was messy.
I proclaim this alfajor tasty but not worth the hassle to eat.
4. Entre dos Durazno
Entre dos Durazno is a non-traditional alfajor filled with a peach jam instead of dulce de leche and no coating.
This alfajor was moist and crumbly: a solid offering but it's friable so you probably don't want to carry it around in your handbag for too long before eating it.
5. Jorgito
Next up, we tasted from a tube of Jorgito alfajores. Jorgito's are neat and hold together well.
They have a nice chocolate flavor and look and taste a bit like the American packaged doughnuts sold by Hostess.
6. Alfajor Jorgito Individual
We also tried the Alfajor Jorgito Individual. Coated in meringue, this alfajor was very sweet and tasted like powdered sugar.
The cookies had a hint of citrus which was a nice touch. I would have liked to see more dulce de leche filling.
7. Tatin Alfajor Negro
Tatin Alfajor Negro seems to be marketed to children. It's thinner than many alfajores with a good cookie texture but not enough filling.
8. Sinculpa Alfajor Blanco
Sinculpa Alfajor Blanco was not too sweet and featured a very thin coating of sugar. The dulce de leche filling was nice and thick.
The spicy and moist cookie tasted a bit like gingerbread. I really liked this supermarket alfajor.
9. La Recoleta
La Recoleta is a premium supermarket alfajor. It holds together well. The cookie had a hint of citrus which I liked and was not too sweet. Definitely worth a try!
10. Alfajor Cordobes Altes Cumbres Leche
The Cordobes Altes Cumbres Leche alfajor featured a very soft cookie which was more like cake.
This Argentinian dulce de leche cookie had a texture that reminded me of a whoopie pie and was extremely buttery.
11. Alfajor Ganador Negro 3
Alfajor Ganador Negro 3 is a triple decker sweet. It was way too dry and misshapen. I would not go out of my way to seek out this particular alfajor.
Alfajores from Specialty Chocolate and Sweet Shops
12. La Cabana Blanco
La Cabana Blanco featured a white chocolate coating that was too thick. I liked the Guaymallen blanco much better but this offering held together better making it more portable.
13. Chocolezza Alfajor Chocolate
The Chocolezza Alfajor Chocolate was very creamy and featured two cookie flavors in a single alfajor! The alfajor held together well. It was very sweet with simply great flavor. Awesome!
14. El Reino Alfajor de Dulce de Leche con Baño de Chocolate
This El Reino alfajor held together ok and featured a decent portion of dulce de leche in the center. The cookies are where this alfajor fell down for me.
The cookies tasted a little like graham crackers which made it feel like a less premium offering. Not my favorite.
15. Alfajor con Frambuesas from en El Bosque Chocolate
Next up we sampled an alfajor with raspberry filling from En El Bosque Chocolate, a specialty sweet shop in Villa La Angostura Argentina.This alfajor tasted like a jelly doughnut which was a nice change from the traditional dulce de leche filled option.
The alfajor was moist, held together well and the chocolate was great quality. This alfajor is definitely worth seeking out if you find yourself in Villa La Angostura near Bariloche.
16. Alfajores Havanna Classico
Havanna alfajores are probably the most famous among tourists to Argentina. You'll definitely find Havanna products at the airport duty free shop in Buenos Aires.We stopped at their shop in Bariloche to taste a couple different varieties. The Havanna Alfajor Classico holds together well and tastes a bit like lebkuchen (gingerbread cookies popular at German Christmas markets).
This alfajor had a good dose of dulce de leche filling but the cookie was a little dry for my liking.
17. Havanna Alfajor Cacao
The Havanna Alfajor Cacao featured a chocolate cream filling instead of dulce de leche. The cookies were quite hard. I'd give this less traditional alfajor a miss.
18. Koonek Dulce de Calafate Alfajor
Koonek is an artesanal producer of alfajores based in El Calafate Argentina. Koonek's Dulce de Calafate Alfajor was filled with a healthy dose of calafate jam (made from calafate berries which taste a bit like blueberries).The cookies had a simple flavor and were soft and moist. This non-traditional alfajor was covered in a thin layer of high quality chocolate. Yum!
19. Koonek Alfajor Dulce de Leche Blanco
Koonek's Alfajor Dulce de Leche Blanco features a nice moist cookie and a generous portion of dulce de leche filling. For me, the white chocolate coating was just too much.Overall, this alfajor was too sweet and buttery. Have water ready, this one will make you thirsty!
20. Koonek Dulce de Leche Negra
Koonek's Dulce de Leche Negra alfajor featured a chocolate coating that covered the cookies but not the dulce de leche center. This alfajor had a moist cookie and was a little spicy with a nice buttery flavor.
21. Alfajor Don Luis Negra
We found Alfajor Don Luis Negra in El Calafate in the heart of Argentinian Patagonia. This alfajor featured chocolatey cookies that were moist but gravelly.They were filled with lots of dulce de leche and the chocolate coating was not too sweet. This alfajor was really good!
22. Don Luis Pasteleria Calafate Alfajor
We also tried Don Luis Pasteleria's calafate alfajor. The alfajor was coated in a sugary calafate-flavored coating. The calafate jam on the inside was really tasty and the cookies were simple moist sugar cookies.The coating was just a little too sweet for my taste. I'm glad we tried this calafate alfajor but I probably wouldn't buy it again.
23. Turista Alfajor
The Turista Alfajor had a distinctly zesty flavor with lots of orange peel. This one was just ok for us.The filling tasted more like straight up caramel than like dulce de leche. This is another one that I'm glad we tried but that I probably wouldn't bring home as a souvenir.
The Verdict: Who Makes the Best Alfajores in Argentina?
We tasted a lot of alfajores on our trip to Argentina and it's hard to name a single winner of our taste test. Here is a list of the best alfajores in Argentina in my opinion broken down by various categories.
- Best Supermarket Alfajor: La Recoleta Alfajor
- Best Artesenal Alfajor: Alfajor Don Luis Negra
- Best Non-Traditional Alfajor: Koonek Dulce de Calafate Alfajor
- Best Alfajor to Bring Home: Bring home a variety of Koonek Alfajores if you find yourself in El Calafate. Koonek sells an assortment of flavors (both traditional and exotic) in a hard cylinder to ensure that your sweet treats make it home to friends and family safely. If you can't find Koonek, you can always go with a box of Havanna alfajores for convenience.
- Best in Show: Chocolezza Alfajor Chocolate
SIDEWALK SAFARI SPOTLIGHT: Argentina isn't the only country that makes alfajores. We had the chance to sample a Cafe Britt alfajor on a recent trip to Costa Rica. Cafe Britt is a Costa Rican company specializing in coffee, chocolate and other treats. How do Cafe Britt alfajores rate compared to their Argentinian counterparts? The alfajor that we tried had a relatively thin chocolate layer yet reasonable structural integrity. Inside, I found a nice thick layer of dulce de leche which helped hold together a crumbly cookie. Our Cafe Britt alfajor had a good flavor and wasn't too sweet. Would buy again! The nice thing about Cafe Britt is that you'll find the brand in airports across South America so they are relatively easy to get.   |
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