Dulce de Leche Duos
I first made this recipe when participating in the Tuesday’s with Dorie baking group way back in 2008 – 2010. Some of you may recall, from earlier posts, that the Tuesday’s with Dorie baking group was actually the impetus for the original incarnation of this website. At that time, the group was working its way through the Baking: From My Home to Yours cookbook by Dorie Greenspan. This particular recipe was chosen by the group in March of 2010. I enjoyed them so much, I bookmarked them (by which I mean with an actual physical bookmark in an actual physical book🙂), and started making them for my holiday goodie trays that very year. They have appeared on the trays every year since.
One of the things I most enjoy in Dorie’s Baking: From My Home to Yours is the “Playing Around” section she includes on many of her recipes. This is where she describes one or more variations on a recipe. The idea of including documented variations on a recipe isn’t unique, but I love the “Playing Around” heading which inspires creative thinking and experimentation in the kitchen. It also promotes the idea that cooking and baking are fun – a form of play – something of which I heartily approve.
On this particular recipe, we were encouraged to add a touch of chocolate the cookies. Bittersweet chocolate balances the sweetness of the dulce de leche wonderfully. Dorie’s note was to spread melted bittersweet chocolate on all of the cookie bottoms and then sandwich them with dulce de leche, alternatively she suggests using a bittersweet ganache in place of a dulce de leche filling. I decided to combine the two and create a dulce de leche ganache for the filling. This had the added benefit of using exactly one can of dulce de leche to complete the recipe.
I also wanted a bit more of a substantial cookie than the original recipe, so I increased the flour. If you look at Dorie’s original recipe, it calls for 2 1/2 cups of flour, which makes it seem as though I had nearly doubled the flour. However, Dorie has shared that she measures a “heavy” cup of flour. Based on the label on a package of all purpose flour, 1 cup should equal 120 grams, but Dorie has said that her measurement of 1 cup of all purpose flour weighs 136 grams. Based on that measurement, I have increased the flour by about 50%. The resulting cookies are still soft and chewy, but a bit more cakey than the original and a little thicker.
I finished up my play on the recipe by swapping the granulated sugar for a caramel or toasted sugar. This just amplifies the already present caramel notes from the dulce de leche and the dark brown sugar. If you don’t have any caramel sugar on hand, or the time to make a batch, feel free to switch back to the regular granulated sugar – you’ll still get plenty of caramel flavor.
Dulce de Leche Duos
Equipment
- baking sheets
- Mixing bowls
- Electric mixer
- cookie scoop
- microwave safe bowl
- measuring cups (or kitchen scale)
- measuring spoons
Ingredients
Dulce de Leche Cookies:
- 4 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 sticks unsalted butter room temp
- 7 oz dulce de leche
- 1 cup dark brown sugar firmly packed
- ½ cup caramel sugar
- 2 large eggs room temp
Dulce de Leche Ganache Filling:
- 6 ½ oz dulce de leche
- 1 cup bittersweet chocolate
- ¼ cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F and line 2 pans with silicone mats or parchment paper.
To make the cookies:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.4 cups flour, 1 tsp baking soda, ¼ tsp salt
- In a stand mixer, beat butter until soft; add dulce de leche and both sugars and beat until fluffy.2 sticks unsalted butter, 7 oz dulce de leche, 1 cup dark brown sugar, ½ cup caramel sugar
- Add eggs one at a time beating for 1 minute after each addition.2 large eggs
- Reduce mixer to low and add the dry ingredients mixing only until they disappear in the batter.
- Scoop the batter onto the baking sheets leaving 2 inches between cookies.
- Bake for 10 – 12 minutes until honey brown with light sugar crust. Let cool on pan for a couple minutes before moving to a rack to cool completely.
To make the filling:
- Place the dulce de leche, semisweet chocolate and heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl. Heat in 30 second bursts, stirring well in between until all of the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth and glossy.6 ½ oz dulce de leche, 1 cup bittersweet chocolate, ¼ cup heavy cream
Assembling the sandwich cookies:
- Spread the flat bottoms of half the cookies with the dulce de leche ganache filling and sandwich with the flat sides of the remaining cookies.
Nutrition
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