Apple Walnut Alfajores w/ Dulce de Leche

One like and I'll move to Vermont.

This month has been truly defined by travel. I have spent approximately 5 nights in my own bed and my sweet cat children have been checking in and out of the “Ritz” aka grandma and grandpa’s house to reward status BUT I could not be happier. Am I running from myself? Maybe? Or I just need to GTFO of Santa Monica.

The latest OOO of the week was to Barnard, Vermont for a photoshoot with the Field team (one of my clients) that did not disappoint. I had the pleasure of flying the highly elusive Cape Air — a “charming” 7 seater cessna — from Boston to Lebanon, NH. This plane was basically the size of my mini Cooper and I for sure thought I had seen my last day once they asked me my weight and made me check anything larger than an iPhone. BUT WE MADE IT FAM. We (the field team) stayed in an INTERESTING Airbnb that, in true Vermont style, was completely covered in various  wallpapers (ducks, gingham, stripes, etc) so much so that finding the light switches became a real life where’s waldo.

We were there to shoot some content at Fable Farms — a farm/fermentory/event space surrounded by fall foliage and hills. Chris, who own the property, makes incredible ciders out of unsprayed foraged apples while also making wines, co-ferments, mead and growing cannabis (don’t tell him I said that — that may be a secret? Idk Vermont rules). All in all, he was just the coolest. There was something so grounding about being in a place in which you can see the changing leaves, feeling a chill and lay in the middle of the street to watch the stars at night without seeing a soul in sight (I promise we were safe). And, if you don’t know how I feel about cows… now you do. I spent all week screaming “cooooowwww” like a 3 year old and each time brought more joy than the next. 

Anyway, we spent two days picking and juicing apples, cooking over live fire with Jesse (the founder and chef of Shepherds Hearth), drinking cider and creating the perfect staged-but-not-that-staged scenarios that were just the right balance of work and play. I feel like this may just be the perils of being a single-late-20-something in a questionable midlife crisis, but everywhere I go recently I find myself thinking “I should move here”. Like, what do I do??? UGH that’s a problem for later tonight when I am trying to go to sleep. 

This week in honor of wanting to temporarily relocate to Vermont to eat apples all day, we’re making apple walnut cookies — inspired by Jesse’s cast iron apple confit with ice cream, walnuts and dulce de leche (that he cooked for dayyssss). We’re making Walnut Alfajores with dulce de leche and apple butter.

This recipe is a twist/adaptation on the banana caramel alfajores we used to make at République. To emulate the live fire dessert we made in Vermont, I browned the butter, added crushed (and toasted, obvi) walnuts, and a splash of maple syrup before filling them with dulce de leche and apple butter.

Let’s get into it.