These chocolate covered sandwich cookies with dulce de leche have roots in Argentina, where soft sandwich cookies filled with dulce de leche are a popular sweet treat.
These cookies are similar to my orange-scented alfajores, but with a chocolate ganache coating. In addition, these cookies include a lot of whole wheat flour and are only lightly sweet to counteract the dulce de leche and the ganache.
While these might be traditionally Christmas cookies, I did decorate a few with some mardi gras sprinkles. I imagine Valentine's, St. Patrick's Day, or Easter themed sprinkles would be fun too. Plus, the sprinkles hide a lot of sins.
These are wonderful and perfect for a chocolate lover. They're messy and rich. You might need napkins for eating them! They're not "fancy," but they are definitely fun.
Ingredients in These Cookies:
Flours: Unbleached all purpose flour and whole-wheat flour.
Pantry Ingredients: Baking powder, salt, and granulated sugar.
From the Fridge: Unsalted butter and heavy cream.
Orange Zest.
Bittersweet Chocolate: Chopped.
Dulce de Leche: Dulce de leche (sweet milk) is a favorite in Latin American countries. It's made by caramelizing sweetened condensed milk. It's now pretty easy to find ready made in a can in the same section as canned milk. To make your own, you can simmer sweetened condensed milk in a double boiler.
I did end up with about 1/4 cup of leftover dulce de leche and 3/4 cup of ganache. You can save both in the fridge for other projects. The ganache can be reheated in the microwave and used for dipping sugar or shortbread cookies.
To Make These Chocolate Covered Sandwich Cookies:
Making these cookies takes a bit of time. It's not that they are hard to make.... they just take time... a night to chill the dough... a day to form and dip the cookies... and an overnight chill again.
The most tedious part is dipping... tapping off excess ganache but not scraping off too much. Mine yielded 37 sandwiches so, at about 3 minutes per cookie (including resting time), it took me a long time. Definitely do this sitting down, lol! If you made cake pops back in the day, the process is similar.
First, make the cookies. Whisk the flours together with the baking soda and salt and then cream the butter and sugar in a stand mixer. Add the orange zest and the flours and mix with a little cold water to form a dough. Wrap the dough and chill it overnight.
The next day, roll the dough out into two rectangles and cut the dough into 2 inch circles and bake them for 8 to 10 minutes.
After that, fill the cookies with the dulce de leche sandwiching them together.
Next, prepare the chocolate ganache, combining hot cream with the chopped chocolate. Dip the sandwich cookies into the ganache with a spatula and then tap off any excess. Place the cookies on parchment lined baking sheets (you can add any sprinkles at this point) let them sit for several hours at room temperature to let the ganache set. Keep them in the refrigerator.
Equipment You May Need:
You will need thick parchment paper for layering the coated cookies. It works like a charm to keep the cookies looking pretty while chilling.
A small spatula that you might use for cutting and serving brownies is really helpful for dipping the cookies in the chocolate coating. A small offset spatula is also handy for scraping off extra ganache from the bottom of the cookie.
A half tablespoon cookie scoop is really handy for portioning the dulce de leche.
I have a set of round cookie cutters, with lots of sizes, including 2 inches.
Recipe Variations:
As mentioned, you can add your favorite sprinkles to the tops of the cookies before the chocolate sets.
Make-Ahead Option:
The cookies to make the sandwiches can be stored up to three days at room temperature in an airtight container or frozen for up to a month before filling and coating.
"D" is for Dates, Deviled Egg, Dairy, Dal, Dulce de Leche, and More!
As part of the 2026 Alphabet Challenge, we are sharing recipes that begin with "D" or include ingredients or methods that that begin with "D."
- A Messy Kitchen: Sticky Toffee Swirled Cookies
- A Day in the Life on the Farm: Ricotta Gnocchi with Creamy Mushroom Sauce
- Food Lust People Love: Coconut Cream Date Caramel
- Blogghetti: Deviled Egg Charcuterie Board
- Sneha’s Recipe: Keto Dairy Savory Crepes With Almond Flour
- Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Chocolate Covered Sandwich Cookies with Dulce de Leche
- Mayuri’s Jikoni: Dalithoy,Konkani Style Dal
- Sizzling Tastebuds: Dhaba style Dahiwali Chutney
- Magical Ingredients: Dragon Paneer Roll
- Jolene’s Recipe Journal: Dirty Shirley Cocktails
- Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Parmesan & Cheddar Pimento Corn Chip Dip
- Culinary Cam Sesame Dandelion Greens, Siguemchi Namul-Style
Last year (2025) for the letter "D," I made Dutch Macaroni, and for 2024, I made Durum Wheat Sesame Bread. Be sure to give both recipes a try!
Chocolate Covered Sandwich Cookies with Dulce de Leche
These chocolate covered sandwich cookies with dulce de leche have roots in Argentina, where soft sandwich cookies filled with dulce de leche are a popular sweet treat.
Ingredients
- 9 ounces (2 cups) unbleached all purpose flour
- 9 ounces (2 cups) whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 8 ounces (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup cold water
- 2 13.4 ounce cans dulce de leche (such as Nestlé La Lechera)
- 1 pound bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- 1 pint heavy cream
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the orange zest.
- Turn the mixer speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture. Before it is fully incorporated, add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water and mix until you have a smooth dough, 2 to 3 minutes. Divide the dough in half, form each half into a disk, and wrap each with plastic. Refrigerate the dough overnight.
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Roll each disk out until it is 1/8 to 3/18 inches thick and cut it into 2 inch rounds with a plain or fluted cookie cutter. Reroll the scraps and cut them into rounds. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, for 8 to 10 minutes. Cool the cookies on a rack.
- Fill the cookies with a heaping 1/2 tablespoon of dulce de leche and form them into sandwiches.
- Put the chopped chocolate into a smallish deep heat proof bowl. Bring the cream just to a boil in a small saucepan and then pour it over the chopped chocolate. Let sit for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, stir the mixture until fully combined and smooth.
- Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Using a small brownie spatula, dip a sandwich cookie into the chocolate and then tap the spatula on the edge of the bowl to tap off any excess. Use a small offset spatula to lightly scrape off any excess and smooth the bottom. Place the cookie on the parchment to set for several hours at room temperature.
- Store the cookies between layers of parchment paper in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
229Fat (grams)
15 gSat. Fat (grams)
9 gCarbs (grams)
22 gFiber (grams)
2 gNet carbs
20 gSugar (grams)
9 gProtein (grams)
3 gCholesterol (grams)
29 mgRecipe adapted from Fine Cooking Dec/Jan 2009/2010.
