Obleas

Traditional Colombian Dessert

1 cup butter, at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup sifted confectioners' sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup dulce de leche (recipe follows)

In a large bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer until light

and fluffy. Add the vanilla. Sift together the flour, sugar and

salt. Slowly beat into the butter mixture. The dough should be silky

soft but not sticky. If it sticks, work in a little more flour. Divide

the dough into parts and shape into flattened disks. Chill for

at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place a piece of dough between two

sheets of waxed paper and roll out as thin as you can (less than 1/8

inch preferred) while still being able to handle the dough. Turn the sheets

as needed to roll dough evenly. Chill the dough again for several minutes.

Peel off the top layer of the wax paper and turn the dough upside down onto a

lightly greased cookie sheet. With a sharp metal cutter, cut out 2 inch circles,

leaving one half inch between the cookies. Peel away the excess dough, form it

into a disk and chill. Chill the cookies on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then bake

until lightly browned around the edges, 12-14 minutes. Cool on rack. Roll and bake

the remaining dough, including all scraps. When cool, sandwich two cookies

together with a layer of dulce de leche. Drizzle with melted chocolate. Makes 48

Dulce de Leche:

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

Peel the label off the can and steam gently the can for 4 hours in a pan large enough to

hold the can in a vegetable steamer (so that it does not sit on the bottom

on the pan) Replace the water as often as needed, to keep it at least 1 inch over the

top of the can. Allow the can to cool to room temperature before you open it.

Transfer the dulce de leche to an airtight container and store in refrigerate. Makes

about 1 1/2 cups.