Current situation is quite far from home. My husband and I spent about 15 hours in total driving to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. It took longer than expected not because I/we drive slow and that the traffic was terrible. We stopped at his sisters place in VA for a quick visit with family and a nights rest and then off to the races again. After we had to make another quick stop for some of my favorite deviled eggs from Coastal Flats in Fairfax, VA. If I am being honest I am not a deviled egg person so I would take that however you want.

It has been a long time since we have been on this long of a road trip and I can say with some certainty after this trip I bet it will be the last long road trip; but who really knows. Our friends rented a house someplace we have never explored before asked if we wanted to partake and here we are. The sunrise this morning was beautiful – which I only saw because my girlfriend was up early enough walking her dog to take a picture of it. Tomorrow I’ll get up early…

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This will be a little different blog post as I wanted to share a cute idea for a long road trip; or any trip really. When I showed my daughter the first thing she said was ohhh an adult lunchable. She’s not wrong. Even my husband loved it. So if you are interested this cute little box was perfect. To make sure it was perfect I actually made sure to measure the crackers. Some boxes I looked at were not going to be tall enough.

Last Wednesday for our world wide Wednesday we “traveled” to Argentina. Who doesn’t like something a little sweet after dinner to nibble on. I made these Alfajores cookies that were amazing and crazy simple. The dulce de leche sauce was the easiest, craziest caramel I have ever made. You literally take a can of sweetened condensed milk, remove the paper wrapper and place it in a large pot filled with water and let it boil for 2.5 to 3 hours. Remove the can and let it cool; then pop the top and you have a lovely dulce de leche.

Alfajores

dclarkabal

a lovely crunchy shortbread cookie with a fabulous dulce de leche

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Ingredients

  

• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 1½ cup all-purpose flour
• 2⅛ cup cornstarch
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1¾ sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
• ¾ cup sugar
• 3 large egg yolks
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup unsweetened coconut optional

Instructions

 

• In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.
• In a mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla extract just until combined. Reduce speed to low. Add the flour mixture and beat just until combined. Do not overmix or the cookies will turn out tough.
• Form the dough into a ball, then flatten slightly to form a disc. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours, until firm enough to roll.
• If you don’t want to use the dough right away, you can refrigerate it for up to 3 days or freeze it for up to a month, then thaw it overnight in the fridge.
• Take the dough out of the fridge and let it sit on the counter for a few minutes to soften slightly for easy rolling. On a lightly floured surface (or between 2 pieces of parchment paper), roll the dough to a 1/8 or 1/4-inch (3-5mm) thickness. Cut out into rounds using a 2-inch (5cm) fluted or round cookie cutter, and place the cookies on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
• If at any point the dough becomes too warm, place it back into the fridge for a few minutes. Re-roll the remaining scraps and repeat. Place sheets with cookies in the freezer or fridge for at least 15 minutes, until firm, so that they will be less prone to spreading.
• If at any point the dough becomes too warm, place it back into the fridge for a few minutes. Re-roll the remaining scraps and repeat. Place sheets with cookies in the freezer or fridge for at least 15 minutes, until firm, so that they will be less prone to spreading.
• Spread the bottom half of the cookies with dulce de leche (about a teaspoon). Sandwich together with remaining cookies, pressing slightly so that the caramel oozes out the sides. Roll the sides in shredded coconut.
• Store cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to a week or freeze for up to 2 months. To thaw, leave on the counter, still covered, or overnight in the fridge.