A sweet treat is a taste of Argentina

In Argentina, the alfajor is a sort of national cookie. The cookies are found piled high in the gilt cases of Buenos Aires cafés, wrapped to go in plastic at the checkout counters of diners, tucked into lunchboxes. For Argentines, the alfajor has the essential, homemade comfort that the chocolate-chip cookie does for Americans.

Alfajores (pronounced al-fah-HOR-es) are sandwich cookies of dulce de leche between thin rounds of shortbread. They might be rolled in coconut shavings, sprinkled with confectioners' sugar, or coated with chocolate. Some varieties use flour and cornmeal, but these crumble upon the touch. The best version is an even balance between cookie and filling, with a light crunch and minimal sugar.

Dulce de leche, caramelized sweet milk, is spread on rolls and cakes (or eaten with a spoon) across South America. Unlike caramel, which is pure sugar, dulce de leche is creamy rather than forbiddingly sweet. It coheres well enough to glue the cookie layers together without a mess and is a smooth counterpoint between them. Though it can be made from scratch by combining milk, sugar, and vanilla, it is simpler just to bake sweetened condensed milk in a covered pie pan.

For all their simplicity and Latin popularity, alfajores are difficult to find in the United States. Ask Argentines where to get them and they'll likely direct you to their mother. Unless you visit Miami or Queens, New York, your best bet is to make them yourself, though English-language recipes are hard to find. The excellent Argentine version below comes from Maria Baez Kijac's "The South American Table: The Flavor and Soul of Authentic Home Cooking from Patagonia to Rio de Janeiro."

All the ingredients can be found at a grocery store, and the cookies are easy to make, yet their unfamiliarity and pretty presentation make them a charming finish to a meal. - REBECCA DALZELL