An Argentine staple meets an American classic for a new spin on dessert.

A few years ago, I was lucky enough to be selected for a legal scholar’s exchange program in Argentina.  I studied domestic war crimes prosecution and was hosted by a selection of the most talented attorneys in the  country.  They were as good at their jobs as they were at showing me a good time.

I hadn’t expected the Dirty War to be such an open issue in judicial forums, but I found it was everywhere. Trying to fix the problems resulting from this period seemed to infuse the jurists with a palpable sense of purpose. It made meetings that I had expected to be somewhat dry and perfunctory into fascinating conversations.

Can you find the one sign in English?

The food was equally fascinating, being much more closely aligned with Italian food and spicing than Latin American cuisine. Everything (even gelato in a cone) could be delivered by a handsome brute on a motorbike. Brunch took all day and featured delightful grilled bricks of provolone. I went tango dancing next to markets where fruits and vegetables were stacked in bright jewel-toned pyramids. I ate the best steak and wine combo of my life in a colonial mansion-converted-into-nightclub. I had a barbecued calf at a polo ranch, and saw it roasting over white-hot coals, where it had been for at least five days.

My favorite thing was simple commonplace sweetened condensed milk, cooked into a creamy jam, called dulce de leche. When it was first explained to me, I was told, “It is like our version of the peanut butter.”

So upon reminiscing, my brain got to thinking…why not?

An alfajor, a traditional Argentine sandwich cookie, is filled with dulce de leche and rolled in coconut.

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PEANUT BUTTER CARAMEL SAUCE

Ingredients:

4 cups whole milk

1 3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

Fine sea salt

Instructions:

1. Place milk and sugar in a large saucepan over low-medium heat. Bring to a simmer and stir until sugar has dissolved.

2. Add the baking soda and stir. The pot will madly foam.

3. Turn the heat to low and simmer uncovered for 1 hour, stirring every 10 to 15 minutes. Do not try to integrate the foam. Eventually it will melt into the caramel.

4. Continue to cook for 1½ to 2 more hours, until the mixture has condensed into approximately one cup of caramel. The finished caramel will be a deep golden-brown color, like a copper penny.

5. Stir the caramel until smooth and pour through a fine mesh strainer to remove any remaining lumps.

6. Stir in smooth peanut butter and stir until combined. Place a large pinch or two of fine sea salt in the caramel and stir.

Store in a tightly-sealed jar in the refrigerator. Reheat and stir before serving.

There are many uses for your peanut butter dulce de leche. For example, you could top ice cream sundaes; add it to Smores; serve it as a dip with chocolate-covered pretzels, cookies, apples, or bananas; drizzle it on popcorn; fill miniature tarts — or just eat it with a spoon!