Peanut Butter Blossoms

I went looking for this recipe today, I made these cookies at Christmas time and couldn't find where I put the recipe. I am blogging about it so I never lose it again!!

~48 Chocolate Dollops (we use 65% dark chocolate dollops from Tierra Farms)

1/2 cup organic vegetable shortening

3/4 cup peanut butter

1/3 cup sugar (plus a little extra for rolling them in at end)

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

2 T milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cup flour (1/2 c millet, 1/2 c sorghum, 1/2 c garbanzo bean flour)

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt.

Beat shortening and peanut butter. Add sugars and beat til fluffy. Add egg, milk, and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add to peanut butter mixture.

Shape into 1 inch balls, roll into sugar, place on parchment paper or ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 8-10 min until light brown. Immediately push chocolate disc into center of each cookie; cookie will crack around edges. Cool completely if you can wait that long.

These didn't last long around our house so you might need more or less of the chocolate discs I am unsure how many cookies this recipe made. I will try to remember for next time.

Orange Tooth Soap

Today I made Orange Tooth Soap from a recipe I found somewhere (probably on Pinterest again)...

Recipe is:

4tsp Dr Bronner's Liquid Castile Soap (We did Citrus)

1/2 Cup Unrefined Coconut Oil

2 tsp of Stevia or Xylitol (we used Xlylitol this time)

20-30 drops of Essential Oil of choice (We used Sweet Orange EO)

I made an orange one but you can sub peppermint soap and peppermint EO but my children can't have mint since they take homeopathic remedies that will negate with mint.

I also made half of this today to make sure we liked it. Both kids and I tried it. D likes the tooth powder we make better, M likes this orange tooth soap, and I like both. I will prob take turns and use orange tooth soap in the am and cinnamon tooth powder at night. My teeth felt great after using this just once!

Crafts

My children LOVE crafts (and so do I to an extent) so over the course of a week we bake, paint, draw, cut out flowers and make cards, and well make a mess....

Painting rocks for V Day. Object paint something that will make someone smile and then leave them around town. We painted them but the kids want to keep them. So maybe we will try again at some point.

We also made Gluten Free Heart shaped cutouts!! YUM... Recipes are http://www.andreaskitchen.net/2011/02/chocolate-cutout-cookies-recipes/

and GF Gingerbread cutouts:

Cleaning is something I have trouble staying on top of so... I live with the mantra as long as everyone is happy its okay to have little pieces of paper on the floor and art stuff strewn, flour on the lovely carpeted kitchen about ITS OKAY!! If you don't want to see OUR messiness than don't come over and have some delicious cookies.

~Melanie