Friday, December 13, 2013

A Little Perspective If You Please

I relish this time of year. Although the nights are growing longer, the days will soon begin to lengthen again. There is an exhilarating rush as we gather with family and friends, warming ourselves in love, and good cheer.

There's also a lot of cranky buzz kills out there.


I cannot for the life of me understand why people get so offended when someone wishes them a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Happy Festivus or Joyous Yule. So what if that is not their religious belief. Isn't the statement just a wish from one person to another to have happiness and hope. Isn't that a good thing?

I think this flowchart on Imgur says it best.







Wednesday, December 11, 2013

The Bestest Perfect Peanut Butter Cookie

For me, it's not the Holiday Season without lots and lots of Christmas cookies. I don't really eat that many ... well, maybe this time of year.... but I do love sharing them and finding new and interesting recipes. In fact, Cindy and I have a bakeathon the weekend after Thanksgiving when we get the first round of baking done.

Recipes come from all over. A real family favorite is your basic peanut butter cookie. And the best recipe I have is in an ancient tome - the 1957 Betty Crocker NEW Boys and Girls Cookbook. 




It's a well worn cookbook. I don't remember if it was mine or my husbands or where we got it, but it has lots of easy kid friendly recipes. It's also a bit of a time machine, showing how certain things have changed through the years. The kids comments crack me up.



 















I found this Peanut Butter Cookie recipe ages ago. It was always something the kids and I made together when they were young. It is so easy.

QUICK PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES
1 package yellow cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup water
1 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter

Mix together 1/2 package of the cake mix, eggs, water and peanut butter. Beat until smooth.
Add the other 1/2 of the cake mix and beat until blended.

Heat over to 375°. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls unto an ungreased cookie sheet. Press a fork dipped into flour, flatten rounds by pressing in a crisscross pattern on top of each cookie.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Let cool on the cookie sheet for about 2 minutes, then continue to cool on cookie rack.

Perfectly yummy peanut butter cookies.

When I made these last night, I started thinking. What if I used chocolate cake mix instead of yellow? Or maybe Spice Cake Mix? Hmmmm. I think I see an experiment in my future.
 



Thursday, December 5, 2013

Last Fairs of the Season this Weekend

It's hard to believe the Season of Merriment is upon us. It's even harder to believe we're at the last weekend of our fair and festival season.

We've got two great events this weekend. Stop by and find out all about the wonderful ways to take care of your skin - sugar scrubs, lotion bars, body butters, toners, face masks and so much more.

Make sure to sign up for our newsletter or like us on Facebook. Because if you can't get to these shows, you'll still be able to order through our website. We'll even have some specials and new items coming next week!