I bought a jar of the most decadent Havanna dulce de leche from The Essential Ingredient recently. Made in Spain, it's a glorious, velvety caramel - I could eat it out of the jar! It reminded me of my favourite cookie sandwich from the cafe.
Inspired by Fig & Salt, these cookie sandwiches are simply two deliciously golden ANZAC cookies glued together with vanilla buttercream and a thick coat of dulce de leche. Sometimes simple is best - these were definitely the most popular cookie sandwiches at my old cafe. They're so delicious, and great all year round - though definitely something enjoyable to make at home with the family for ANZAC Day as well. If you're in the mood to make your own dulce de leche, I've included a super easy method, which can be done in advance.
Makes 20 cookie sandwiches.
Ingredients
Oat cookies
150g rolled oats
280g caster sugar
94g shredded coconut
263g plain flour, sifted
5g bi-card soda
187g unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
38g golden syrup
80ml water
Vanilla buttercream frosting
360g unsalted butter, at room temperature
90g pure icing sugar, sifted
50ml full cream milk
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
Dulce de Leche
395g tin Nestle Condensed Milk
Method
To make cookies, preheat oven to 160 degrees C, line baking trays w greaseproof paper. In a bowl, mix rolled oats, caster sugar, coconut, flour & bi-carb soda together. In a pot, bring to boil gently the butter, vanilla bean paste, golden syrup & water. Pour liquid into dry ingredients & mix until it has just combined into a soft dough. Roll into balls of about 25g, place spaciously on trays & press slightly flat. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool completely on trays before removing.
To make vanilla buttercream frosting, combine all ingredients in a kitchen aid (or any other mixer) & beat until light and fluffy. This process can take 15-30 minutes, depending on the temperature so don't worry if it's taking while. The longer you beat it, the lighter & fluffier it gets!
To make dulce de leche, remove all paper from the tin of Nestle Condensed Milk. Place tin into a pot & fill with water until the tin is fully submerged. Bring to boil on stove top & continue to gently simmer for three hours. Ensure water level in the pot never falls below tin - if so, replace w more water (otherwise your tin will explode)! Once cooked, remove from heat & let cool.
Dulce de leche keeps for months unopened in the fridge. Use within 7 days of opening.
To assemble
Match cookies into pairs on a flat surface. Using a spatula, spread one of the cookies from each pair w a liberal layer of dulce de leche. Using a piping bag, place a 'blob' of vanilla frosting on the complimentary cookie of each pair (or you can use a spatula & spread the frosting like the dulce de leche). Sandwich cookies together & enjoy!
Cookies can last 2-3 weeks stored in an airtight container in the fridge. Bring to room temperature before eating for maximum deliciousness!
