Maitelates Alfajores Cookies
Ann Arbor, MichiganMaitelates are my twist on a unique Chilean family recipe for Alfajores: delicate, caramel-filled shortbread-like cookies.
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Ann Arbor, Michigan
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Maitelates (my-tay-lah-tes) are Maite Zubia's twist on a unique Chilean family recipe for Alfajores (al-fa-hor-es): delicate, caramel-filled shortbread-like cookies. A favorite at the Ann Arbor farmer's market, Maite sandwiches two buttery hand-made cookies with her famous homemade Dulce de Leche, made with fresh Michigan creamery milk. She then dips each alfajor in the most decadent Belgian Chocolate.
"The dulce de leche, which literally and figuratively holds the whole endeavor together, is rich, buttery, and velvety smooth. The shortbread cookies, which make up the structural element of the alfajor, are light and buttery and almost neutral relative to the richness of the filling and the dominance of the dark chocolate. That said, this is a perfectly balanced affair, and one that you will likely be compelled to eat over and over and over again."
-Eric Steinman, MSN/Delish.com
"The dulce de leche, which literally and figuratively holds the whole endeavor together, is rich, buttery, and velvety smooth. The shortbread cookies, which make up the structural element of the alfajor, are light and buttery and almost neutral relative to the richness of the filling and the dominance of the dark chocolate. That said, this is a perfectly balanced affair, and one that you will likely be compelled to eat over and over and over again."
-Eric Steinman, MSN/Delish.com
Our Story
Maitelates Chocolates was founded in 2008 by Maite Zubia, a native Chilean. An active member of the Ann Arbor, Michigan community, Maite has appeared in Wild Swan Theater productions and taught Spanish lessons to people aged 3 to 65. In 2007, Maite became a mother to little Pedro. Maite began thinking about all the family traditions she wanted to share with little Pedro and one of the first things that came to her mind was...Dulce de Leche.With a newborn baby at my side, I started to stir and turn milk and sugar into Dulce de Leche. And that's how my partner Pedro came to hear all my stories about my grandmother's house, the creamery near her house, and the big wooden spoon in that smelly sugary milk...and he supported me with my new baby, MaiteLates, that brings a little of my cultural background to Ann Arbor, and now to you, in the shape of the sweetest and most traditional treat from Chile and many other South American countries: the Alfajor.
-Maite Zubia, Owner
Maite's family made Dulce de Leche every summer at the countryside home of her Grandmother. The family would gather outside around a big copper pot over a fire. One of the family members would pour the freshest milk, which came directly from the creamery down the road. Another family member would add the sugar; and then, using a long wooden spoon, all the children would take turns stirring the big, sugary, milky treat. After the Dulce de Leche was done, all the kids got to scrape the sides of the pot--which was always the best part!
And so, with a new copper pot and fresh milk from a Michigan creamery, Maite began to bring her family's delicious Dulce de Leche to Ann Arbor. After Maite shared this treat with her friends and coworkers, it was not long before the word began to spread. Maite started making other kinds of candies, too; she rented a space, got licensed and Maitelates was born! But that's not where the story ends. After a recent trip to Chile, where Maite learned the art of working with the most delicious, and yet delicate, of all beans of chocolate, she started developing the most traditional treat of South America; the Alfajor.
An alfajor is a South American shortbread cookie, traditionally filled with Dulce de Leche. The word "alfajor" comes from Arabic and means "stuffed" or "filled." The Alfajor cookie originated in Andalucia, Spain and has many cousins in Latin America, especially Peru, Chile and Argentina.
Alfajores Maitelates are made by hand using a unique Chilean family recipe. They all are hand-filled with Maite's own, now-famous, Dulce de Leche, and, as a special touch, they all are dipped in the most decadent Belgian Chocolate.