Heyo lovelies! How was your week? I’m writing this as we’re headed home from our trip to Vermont. Rich & I decided to leave the city for the week to unplug at a cabin in the mountains of Vermont. (More on that amazing cabin and some of the fun we got up to on the trip later.)

Two of my favorite parts about this trip:

• It was the ultimate fall trip // The trees were beautiful as fuck, in every shade of orange and red. And all of the farms had seasonal things to pick and eat.
• It gave me time to slow down and focus on cooking // Lately we’ve been so busy that we haven’t really taken time to bake or spend time making meals. It was fun to leisurely make meals without a feeling of needing to rush through it.

Because we were staying in a cabin that was a ways from a supermarket, we brought food with us, including a huge bag of apples we picked the weekend before at an apple farm in New Jersey. Endgame: We needed to use them up. An apple galette seemed to be the perfect way to do that, since it’s like an easier deconstructed apple pie. My plan was to enjoy it over coffee in the mornings.

But then we got to Vermont, and everywhere we turned there was maple syrup. EVERYWHERE. I’m not kidding—these people love their maple products. One morning we drove out to Middlebury to check out the farmers market, and there was a farm stand called Little Hogback Farm where a guy was selling all things maple, including maple cream. What is maple cream, you ask? The f*cking best thing ever, that’s what! To be exact, it’s high grade maple syrup that’s reduced down and cooled, then stirred into a rich, creamy consistency. You can grab a jar online easily here. We bought a jar, and I replaced the sugar in the recipe with it. Best. Decision. Everrrrr. (Also This: I ate a whole bag of maple candy in one sitting—that sh*t is addictive. And basically like cocaine, because I was up for hours afterward.)

The galette turned out great, and felt perfect for fall. Let me know if you try it out! It’s a great, easy treat for a breakfast pastry or dessert. (P.S. It’s delicious with vanilla ice cream.) The recipe is below.

APPLE MAPLE CREAM GALETTE

INGREDIENTS

For the crust:

1 1/2 cups  all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

1 stick cold butter, cut into small cubes

1/3 cup ice water

For the filling:

4 firm apples suitable for baking, peeled & cored

2 tablespoons maple cream

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons butter, cut into small cubes

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Using a food processor, pulse together the flour, sugar and salt. Add in butter and pulse until it forms into small pea sized pieces. Drizzle in the water, a tablespoon at a time, and pulse until a dough forms. Remove from the processor, roll into a ball and pat into a disc. Place in the refrigerator to chill for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop up half of the apples and slice the other half to about 1/4 inch thick pieces.

Remove dough from the refrigerator and roll out on a lightly floured surface into either a rectangle or circle, depending on the shape of the baking sheet you’re using. Roll to about ¼ inch thickness.

Place crust dough onto a rimmed baking sheet, and spread the chopped apples evenly on the dough, leaving about 1 inch on the edges. Drizzle the maple cream onto the chopped apples, and then decoratively arrange the sliced apples over top. Sprinkle on the sugar and cinnamon and place remaining butter cubes evenly over the top. Fold the edges of the crust over.

Place in the oven for about 50-60 minutes, until crust is lightly golden and apples are soft.