Alfred0

I can't flippantly change the default core behaviour as single Esc to close Alfred in this context has been the same for many years and will throw people's workflow out. Having said that, I've added this option to the Browse in Alfred workflow object allowing you to shape the Esc behaviour for the next build:
 

 
This would allow for a simple folder file filter where you can peek into folders using the Browse in Alfred object.
 

This workflow combines a web search with a history.
 
Edit the Open URL to change the site that's searched (by default, it's DuckDuckGo).
 
You'll need to have Python 3 installed, either via Homebrew or Apple's Developer Tools.

After trying a few alternatives and not getting exactly what I wanted, I built my own workflow for searching JIRA tickets if you host your own JIRA Server (so not really intended for JIRA Cloud). 
 
I attempted to sign up for packal, but it isn't working very well so I used the contact form to submit my information but wanted to share my workflow here since I was excited that I finally finished it! Here is my promo snippet:
 
https://github.com/scarstens/alfred-workflow-jira-search-utilities

This workflow can list documents and apps opened recently.
Especially, it can list files opened recently by the foremost app.
System: macOS 10.11+
 
Github: https://github.com/mpco/Alfred3-workflow-recent-documents
 
Usage
You can press Enter to open the file in result, or press ⌘CMD-Enter to reveal it in Finder.
Tap rr to list files opened recently by the foremost app.
For example:
Recent folders will be listed when Finder is foremost. Recent rtf, text files will be listed when TextEdit app is foremost. Recent *.sketch files will be listed when Sketch app is foremost. Recent *.xcodeproj project files will be listed when Xcode app is foremost. The subtitle of each result consists of ⏱modified time and ?path of the file.

Tap rf to list recent folders.
Opening recent folders is very common in use. Tapping rf is a more efficient way, even though you can activate Finder and then tap rr.

Tap rd to list recent files.
These files were recently opened by user, not like rr which is just for the foremost app.

Tap ra to list apps opened recently.

Exclude folders from the results.
You can add private folder pathes separated by colon : to the Workflow Environment Variable ExcludedFolders. The results will not show private folders and any files inside them.
For example: ~/privateFolder1/:/Users/G/privateFolder2/