So when did alfajores arrive in the New World?
We are making New World alfajores after all, at least for now! I’ve found no documentation whatsoever pertaining to that, only claims that they “came over with the conquistadors”. I find that a little hard to believe, personally. I don’t see those rough-and-ready characters taking the time to pack delicate boxes of sweets alongside their morions and lances. Watch it, Francisco! I paid twenty reales for those! However it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that Spaniards could have been eating them in the New World sometime later in the Age of Exploration, the late 1500’s or 1600’s, say. Of course how and why they evolved from an elongated roll of sugar, spices and nuts into sandwich cookies with dulce de leche filling is anyone’s guess.
What’s really interesting is that it kept the same name. It’s such a different item, and from the history it seems that it went from being an Arab delicacy to a Spanish one. You’d think somewhere along the line someone would have renamed it and taken credit for the new creation. There’s really no resemblance between the two. Maybe keeping the same name and applying it to a different item is just another form of conquest? To a degree, they’re appropriating the language. Oh well, enough musing. Time to bake.