Leaving Peru with Alfajores

To finish up learning about Peru we baked cookies. Peruvian, or really just South American cookies. Alfajores, aka Alfies. These are a shortbread cookie sandwich cookie with a dulce de leche filling. They are amazing!

Alfajores

Ingredients: 1/2 Cup room temperature butter 1/3 Cup sugar 2 Egg yolks 1/2 tsp vanilla 1 Cup corn starch 3/4 Cup all purpose flour 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt 1, 13.4 oz can dulce de leche flour for dusting
Directions: 1. Add the butter and sugar to a mixing bowl and, with the paddle attachment on, cream until light in color and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
2. Add the egg yolk and vanilla, mix until incorporated. With a spatula scrape down the sides of the bowl (do not skip this step).
3. On low speed add the cornstarch, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt mix until the dough comes together (do not over mix).
4. Turn the dough out on a piece of plastic wrap. Shape into disk and wrap tightly.
5. Preheat oven to 350F
6. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
7. Remove the dough for the refrigerator, unwrap it, and place it on a lightly floured work area.  Lightly flour the top of the dough. Roll dough to 1/4" thickness (the dough will crack but can be easily patched back together).
8. Cut into rounds using the cookie cutter of your preference. I wanted small cookies so I used what I had, a shot glass. You can also use a biscuit cutter for larger cookies.
9. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets. Bake them for 8-13 minutes depending on the size you choose. The cookies will be done when they set nicely and start to turn a very, very light brown on the bottom. Do not over bake.
10. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
11. Spread about 1 T of dulce de leche on half of the cookies. Place a second cookie on top and gently press to make a sandwich.
12. Enjoy

With our passport stamped Peru we are headed to England!

Original recipe found on Roxanashomebaking.com

Passport to the world and Peru part 1

Last week at the end of our "trip" to Mexico post I had mentioned that we had our passport stamped Mexico and we were heading to Peru. Well, that got me thinking how cute would it be to actually make her a passport! I had originally planned to just Google and print one I found online but I ended up piecing a few different ones together. Here are some of my favorites that I found.

First I found a passport cover. I like how this one looked pretty legitimate. This site also has a link for inside pages.

The Second passport option is located here. There are cover options and page options as well as stamps on this site. The only thing I disliked about this one was that the didn't look as "real". But if your looking for a quick print this is a great option.

I also found more passport stamps here.

I used the first passport cover and the pages for the second option. There was a size difference but I was able to easily adjust the size down when printing. 

Once you pick what design you like, you should have what you need to put you booklet together. Either use a stapler, brads or yarn. Whatever you have on hand. Just make sure you include plenty of blank pages so you can easily keep track of your travels.

Don't forget to include a picture. If you don't have a picture handy you can always have them draw one in!

 

Passport in hand and we are ready to go!

This is week two of our world tour! One country a week until we wrap up our home school year.

My plans for these lessons will be to:

Learn to find the country on the map

Learn the countries capital

Learn to say Hello in that countries native language

Color a picture of that countries flag

Google search images of that country

Look at the language in a simple way (colors or numbers)

Listen to that countries national anthem
Prepare a traditional meal and/or dessert

Make a craft that represents that country

Here are some pictures from our journey.

Coloring the flag

Our craft this week was cardboard loom weaving. It was a lot of fun, but a lot of work probably better for 8+. But, we did manage to make a pretty great throw rug for her doll house. 

If you want to give it a try check out this link.

 

Finding Peru

 Looking at pictures of Peru.

That almost wraps up our time in Peru, we just have one last tasty project to share before we depart. 

Have a great Monday!