These espresso-spiked alfajores are a new cookie classic

Yesterday King Arthur did something that at one point would have been unthinkable: We released 14 holiday cookies, most of which you may have never made before. In a season that’s all about tradition, we went the other way.

But not completely. We didn’t throw out the spirit of holiday cookies and replace them with, say, broccoli thumbprints. We’ve got ginger cookies and sugar cookies and thumbprints in this collection; they’re all just a little different (think interesting, bold flavors) than the traditional versions. The ginger cookies are packed with rye. The polvorones are spiked with horchata. The biscotti is actually a brownie (or maybe it’s the other way around?).

Photography by Rick Holbrook; Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne

And then there are the alfajores. The classic version takes two tender shortbread-like cookies and sandwiches them together with a schmear of manjar (a.k.a dulce de leche). The new classic — developed by King Arthur Bakery’s head of pastry, Andrea Quillen — adds the flavors of the Chilean Christmas cocktail cola de mono: espresso, cinnamon, cloves, and, crucially, a shot of pisco.  

Rick Holbrook

The result: the Cola de Mono Alfajor, a cookie that has everything you could possibly want this time of year. Warming spices. A snappy, buttery texture. That decadent layer of thick manjar. No, it’s not a holiday cookie you’ve had before, but like all the cookies in our New Classics lineup, it’ll fall right into place. In fact, once you make it, you’ll wonder why you didn’t make it sooner. Which is why we’re urging you to make it now — the Cola de Mono Alfajor isn’t just one of our New Classic holiday cookies. It’s also our Bake of the Week. 

Bake these Cola de Mono Alfajores, or get all the recipes in our New Classics Cookie Collection. 

Cover photo by Rick Holbrook.