I was gonna write a post today, but Brenda just HAD to have lemon bars, and while I was busy baking them she went and stole my words.* So here’s a guest post, written by Brenda Ponnay and published concurrently at her blog Secret Agent Josephine.

The unpacking is going pretty well. I’ve been in the zone for three days now and I’m just starting to feel a tiny bit tired. Overwhelmed no, just a little creaky from working hard. I’m loving the challenge of finding a place for everything. I know I can do it and when I’m done this house is going to look sooo good!

Even though everything is messy right now, I have a feeling that this house is going to be very photogenic when it’s done. I love the layout and the charming wood floors. The windows are nice with lots of light and offer great views of their giant back yard. I love how the back deck leans out into the branches of the nearby trees. I don’t have a great photo of that but that’s only because I have been unpacking non-stop. I don’t even like to stop to eat.

Of course we have to stop to eat every once in a while because we have little girls in our company with strong growing bodies who demand that we do so. “Feed the kid!” Bug yells at me from time to time. Don’t worry. Nobody is starving. Bethany is taking good care of us when it comes to eating. She’s making lemon bars right now as I type this! I can’t wait.

We’ve made a couple of trips to IKEA to scout out a new couch and some rugs for Bethany’s house and then back again to pick everything up. Shopping at IKEA is pretty fun (especially when you are helping spend someone else’s money) but it does get a bit tiring when you’ve been there for an hour or three. All the choices seem to run together and you feel a bit like a mouse in a maze going crazy. But I can’t complain because I don’t have to put everything together.

Troy does.

We’re all happy in our zones. Me unpacking…

Bethany cooking and baking…

Me eating…

And the girls doing whatever it is that they do.

*Brenda didn’t steal my words. She wrote her post and I said, “I think I’ll just steal your code and put it up on my site as a guest post, okay?” She said, “You should!”

Also, I didn’t mind making her lemon bars. I felt guilty about not helping much with the unpacking, even though she keeps assuring me that she’s having fun, so I practically begged her to give me a baking challenge.

I’ve been talking about my all-time favorite apricot cookies for two Christmases now, and promising to post the recipe. It took me a little longer than I planned, but I’m finally getting around to it.

Honestly, these are more like little pastries than cookies. But years and years ago when we were first married, my next-door neighbor Julie gave me a plate full of assorted cookies on Christmas with the recipes attached, and the title of her recipe was Best Apricot Cookies so that’s what I’ve always called them.

Reasons 1 and 2 that these cookies are so good: butter and cream cheese, lots of both.

Reasons 3 and 4: dried apricots and Grand Marnier. Yum.

They’re not terribly photogenic, or pretty. They require some thinking ahead, what with the dough and filling both requiring time to chill in the fridge, and rather fiddly with all the rolling-out of small circles of dough. But oh man, are they ever delicious and highly addictive. Consider yourself warned.

Best Apricot Cookies
Adapted from Julie Thomas’s recipe
Makes about 6 dozen cookies

The chilled dough will be very hard to manipulate at first, but as it warms up it gets very sticky, so if you want you can work with half at a time and leave the remainder in the fridge. I find these cookies are much easier if you have someone helping when you assemble the cookies. Your helper might complain about how annoying they are to make, but let them taste a warm cookie from the first batch and they’ll see the work is worth it. (And really, although the day-old cookies are tasty, the hot-from-the-oven ones are divine.)

DOUGH:

• 16 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 2 c. (4 sticks) butter, softened
• 4 c. flour

FILLING:

• 16 oz. dried apricots
• 2/3 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur
• powdered sugar and flour for rolling out dough

DIRECTIONS:

1. A day ahead, mix the cream cheese and butter together, then add the flour a cup at a time and combine thoroughly. Cover and store in the refrigerator overnight.
2. Also a day ahead, place the apricots in a saucepan and add water just to cover. Simmer over low heat till the apricots are soft enough to mash with a fork and the water is mostly absorbed. After you mash them all up, add the sugar and liqueur, then cook over low heat till the mixture is thickened and bubbly, usually just a few more minutes. If you like you can run the filling through a food processor once it’s cooled but it’s not usually necessary. Place in a glass or ceramic bowl, cover, and store in fridge till ready to make the cookies.
3. Preheat oven to 375F.
4. In a small bowl, mix equal parts all-purpose flour and powdered sugar together, about a half-cup of each.
5. Roll the chilled dough into 1-inch balls, coating hands with the flour-sugar mixture as necessary to prevent sticking, and rolling each formed ball in the flour-sugar mixture to coat it.
6. On a clean surface dusted with the flour-sugar mixture, roll each ball into a circle about 3 inches in diameter.
7. Into the center of each circle, place about a teaspoon of filling. Fold one side over the filling, then fold the opposite side over so it sort of looks like a burrito with open ends. Or you can experiment and find the best method for yourself. I’ve also done mini-turnovers (fold the circle in half and pinch the edges shut). Lightly press the open ends with your fingers to seal.
8. Place the cookies one inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 375F for 15-20 minutes, till puffy and golden. Move to cooling racks immediately. Try not to eat them all at once.

For the cake:

• 1 c. flavorful dark beer (I used Stockyard Oatmeal Stout, purchased at Trader Joe’s)
• 1/2 c. unsalted butter
• 3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa
• 2 c. packed dark brown sugar
• 2 tsp. instant espresso powder (also found at Trader Joe’s)
• 3/4 c. sour cream (or plain yogurt, buttermilk, or sour milk)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 2 c. flour
• 2 1/2 tsp. baking soda

Preheat oven to 350F and line cupcake pans with 24 liners.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the beer and butter. While you’re stirring till the butter is melted, feel free to finish off that beer. Once butter is melted, remove pan from heat. Whisk in the cocoa, sugar, and espresso.

In another small bowl, mix the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla, then stir into the beer mixture. Add the flour mixture and fold till combined.

Pour batter into into lined cupcake pans, filling about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 minutes, remove from oven and cool on a rack in pans for 10 minutes before removing cupcakes. While the cupcakes are cooling, make the Salted Caramel Sauce and then the icing, recipes below.

For the Salted Caramel Sauce:

• 1/4 c. water
• 1 c. sugar
• 2 tbsp. light corn syrup (I used this, but I suspect it could be omitted without any adverse effects)
• 1/2 c. heavy cream
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt (or 1 tsp. kosher salt)

Combine water, sugar, and corn syrup in a deep saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon or heat-resistant spatula to combine, till mixture bubbles. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and let simmer for 3 minutes.

Remove the lid, increase the heat to medium-high, and bring to a gentle boil. Do not stir, but once the mixture starts to turn brown at the edges, carefully swirl the pan so that the caramel doesn’t burn.

Once the caramel turns an even amber color, remove from heat and let stand for about 30 seconds. Verrry carefully, pour the cream into the caramel. It will bubble up, so if you have a mesh strainer on hand you might want to set that in the pan and pour the cream through it, so the hot caramel doesn’t splash up onto your hand.

Add the butter, lemon juice, and salt and stir until combined.

Pour into a Pyrex measuring cup that’s sitting on a heat-resistant surface. If you “accidentally” dribble some onto your finger then I guess you’ll just have to lick it off. Allow to cool until thick and warm, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes.

For the Salted Caramel Icing:

• 3/4 c. butter, softened
• 6 oz. cream cheese
• 4-5 c. powdered sugar
• 3/4 c. Salted Caramel Sauce

Beat butter and cream cheese until combined. Add 2 cups of powdered sugar and 3/4 cup of the salted caramel and beat to combine. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time, beating after each addition, until your frosting reaches the desired consistency and flavor.

To assemble cupcakes: frost each one with a generous layer of Salted Caramel Icing. If desired, drizzle a bit of the remaining caramel sauce onto each cupcake and top with a few grains of sea salt. If you’re feeling fancy, top each cupcake with a chocolate-covered espresso bean or chocolate curls.

Note: I have a hunch that this salted caramel icing would go perfectly on spice cake or apple cake or even carrot cake. I had leftover icing and I plan to test my hunch soon. I’ll keep you posted.

Brenda sent me a link to this recipe at Sweet Designs {originally posted at the Kitchn}.