Alcazar Sandwich Cookies – a Romanian traditional recipe Walnut-Meringue Sandwich Cookies

Alcazar Sandwich Cookies – a Romanian traditional recipe

This is an old recipe which many people of my age remember from childhood. These cookies are special; they used to be served as dessert on special occasions and everybody loved them.

They are made from two walnut-meringue biscuits (in Romania it’s called Alcazar confection) stuck together with a chocolate-based filling. They are delicious, classy and vintage, and the recipe passed through generations. Apparently, their name comes from the resemblance to the beautiful Moorish columns of the Alcázar Palace in Seville.

So now I present you the wonderful traditional Alcazar Sandwich Cookies, from my mother’s old recipe notebook.

INGREDIENTS Alcazar Sandwich Cookies

(for about 20 Alcazar Sandwich Cookies)

►For the walnut-meringue cookies

• 2 egg whites (around 70 g)
• 100 g granulated sugar
• 200 g ground walnuts

►For the filling

• 2 egg yolks
• 100 g granulated sugar
• 15 g cocoa
• 100 ml milk
• 100 g butter
• 1 tablespoon rum (or rum extract)

►For finishing

• 100 g ground walnuts

DIRECTIONS Alcazar Sandwich Cookies

► Preparing the walnut-meringue cookies

Prepare two baking trays and line them with baking paper. Preheat the oven at 120 Celsius.

Whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until foamy. Add gradually the sugar and continue mixing with high speed until you get a hard meringue. Add the ground walnuts and mix gently using a spatula. Be careful not to over mix. Transfer the batter into a piping bag fitted with a #1 cm round tip  and pipe rounds of 2-3 diameter, leaving a distance of 2 cm from each other, because they will increase their volume during baking. Bake for about 40-45 minutes or until slightly golden. The cookies should not be burned, nor browned, they should only get dry.

►Preparing the filling

Mix egg yolks, sugar, cocoa, milk and rum into a double boiler and cook until it thickens.Then take off the heat, add butter, homogenize and let cool.

ASSEMBLING Alcazar Sandwich Cookies

Take two cookies and stick them together with chocolate filling, in such a way that their flat side should be outside. Then dip the sides of the sandwich cookies into ground walnut and roll the cookies around to coat all sides.

The Alcazar Sandwich Cookies must be stored in a cool, dry place until served.

\