The Peace Offering

It all began at 6:00 a.m. yesterday morning. She awoke screaming and crying as she has almost everyday of her 19 month old life. This time the morning cuddle did not help. She cried, she screamed, she squawked, she threw herself the floor in fits. IT.WAS.BAD. I knew it was bad because I heard the neighbors slamming doors and Daddy awoke from his deep sleeping state. Finally we were able to calm her down and she fell asleep in my arms for another 45 minutes.

Later while getting ready for church Daddy said, "Maybe we owe the neighbors an apology." IT.WAS.THAT.BAD. I decided my oldest daughter and I would make pumpkin cookies to give to the neighbors as a peace offering.

That is exactly what we did. We made these Pumpkin Oatmeal Raisin Cookies and they were so good. I love making cookies for others because after you've given some away there aren't many left to tempt you.

The cookies were so good too! I love oatmeal raisin so the addition of pumpkin, well that just puts it over the top!

Blessing Others

I am so guilty of getting stuck in my own little world and not reaching out to others. This is an even bigger problem now that we are in a newer community. I don't know a lot of people here so I don't have anyone to reach out to, right? WRONG!

I have really been feeling the need to bless others around me. I want my girls to look back and remember the times we reached out to those around us. I want them to know it is important to show kindness to others.

A couple of weeks ago at our church's mom's group a woman from within the church came to speak to us about our true value. This was a quote that she shared with us that I have been trying to cling to:
"Comparison is the thief of joy."

It is!!!!! Comparing myself to anyone robs me of joy and the blessings that God has given me and the desire to bless others. It makes me feel dissatisfied with how things are. A direct result of that is that I don't reach out to others. We are called to pursue people but when I am selfishly consumed with me and comparing myself, I don't.

I am so bad about comparing myself. It's not what God wants from me. I am enough. I am perfectly and wonderfully made.

So....last week my daughter and I made 10 dozen cookies that we bagged up and took to some of our new friends. We blessed them with something so small as cookies but it was a delight to see smiles on their faces when we knocked on doors and handed over a bag with a yummy fall snack in it. My daughter and I talked about how it made our friends feel that we did this for them and how it made us feel. She was so excited about this little thing.

I am brainstorming other things we can do together that will bless others and hope to make this a part of our routine for years to come!

We made Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies from THIS recipe. They were yummy and it made 10 dozen which is perfect for giving away.

Cowboy Up

My oldest daughter and I made cookies two days ago. I LOVE to add oats in cookies. Sometimes I just throw a cup in my chocolate chip cookie dough. It just adds yummy texture. These cookies call for oats and are really yummy.

Cowboy Cookies (Not sure why they are called that...I'm assuming cowboys love them????)
1 c. shortening
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 t. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. baking powder
2 c. rolled oats
chocolate chips
nuts
Cream sugar, shortening and vanilla together, add eggs. Add remaining ingredients. Bake 10 minutes at 375 degrees.

I used dried cranberries instead of nuts since it is what I had on hand. YUM!

Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

My daughter and I made these before Thanksgiving and I forgot to share the recipe with you. They were divine and would be a great thing to share with loved one this holiday season.

Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
Cookie:
2 c. flour
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. ginger
1/2 t. salt
Mix above ingredients in a bowl.

1/2 c. butter, softened
1 1/4 c. sugar
2 large eggs. slightly beaten
1 c. pumpkin
1 t. vanilla
Cream butter and sugar together. Add 1 egg at a time and beat until thoroughly mixed. Add pumpkin and vanilla. Mix. Stir in flour mixture.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-13 minutes. Cool completely on rack.

Filling:
4 oz. cream cheese, room temp
6 T. butter, softened
1/2 t. vanilla
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
Mix above ingredients together to make filling. Spread on underside of one pumpkin cookie and sandwich together with second cookie to make whoopie pie! Store in fridge.

The Christmas Cookie

I am joining Mom's Creative's Christmas cookie exchange.



When I think about Christmas and all the yummy goodness that goes with it, I always think of one certain cookie, the Mexican Wedding Cake. This cookie has all sorts of different names, but this is the name that my mom called it and so I will always call it this too. They are melt in your mouth yummy! My mom made these at Christmas time. Another fave of hers was the Date Rum Ball but I am not a huge fan of this round, chewy cookie so I will help her memory live on with Mexican Wedding Cakes.

Mexican Wedding Cakes
1c. pecan pieces, ground
1 c. unsalted butter, soft
2 c. powdered sugar
2 c. flour
2 t. vanilla
1/4 t. salt
Beat butter and 1/2 c. powdered sugar in large bowl at medium speed until light and fluffy. Gradually add 1 c. flour, vanilla, and salt. Stir in the other 1 c. flour and ground nuts. Form into ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll tablespoonfuls of dough into 1 inch balls. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 12-15 min. (pale golden brown). Cool 2 minutes. Place 1 c. powdered sugar in 9x13 dish. Transfer cookie to dish and roll until coated.

Makes 4 dozen.

Peanut Butter Cookies

The other night after Hubby left for a meeting regarding his new blog Sound in Bloom, my oldest daughter asked, "Mom, can we make cookies?" We settled on my favorite Peanut Butter ones as we didn't have enough oatmeal for Oatmeal Cookies. I got this recipe out of a section of my dad's newspaper called The Amish Cook. It is a column that an actual Amish mother writes once a week. It is very interesting to read as it follows their lives and what they are up to. She always includes a recipe. Her recipes have never failed me! She recently published a cookbook which I would love to get my hands on, The Amish Cook's Baking Book.

Peanut Butter Cookies
1 c. shortening
1 c. white sugar
1 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1 c. peanut butter
2-3 c. flour (I usually add 2 1/2c.)
2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 pkg. chocolate chips or M&M's

Thoroughly cream shortening, sugars, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in peanut butter, then all dry ingredients. Drop by large tablespoonful onto ungreased cookie sheet. Press with back of fork dipped in sugar for criss-cross pattern. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until edges are brown but cookie is undone in center. Remove from oven and leave on cookie sheet a few minutes before removing. Makes 5 dozen.

I have never added the chocolate chips or M&M's but this time we added chocolate chips and they were super yummy!

Pumkin Whoopie Pies

Today at preschool we used paints, so of course, that means spreading newspapers down...EVERYWHERE! Ha! In the process I just happened to see this yummy recipe on one of the newspapers and had to cut it out and make it tonight! It is fall, it is pumpkin season! My daughter helped me make them. She thought they were pretty tasty.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

2 c. brown sugar
1 c. vegetable oil
1 1/2 c. fresh pumpkin
1 t. vanilla
2 eggs
3 c. flour
1 t. salt
1/2 t. ginger
1 t. baking soda
1 1/2 t. cloves
1 1/2 t. cinnamon
1 t. baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together brown sugar, oil, pumpkin, vanilla, and eggs. Then blend in four, salt, ginger, baking soda, cloves, cinnamon and baking powder. Stir all ingredients until batter is smooth. Drop by heaping teaspoons onto lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Spread icing between two cookies and press together like a sandwich.

Icing
2 t. vanilla
4 T. flour
2 egg whites, unbeaten
2 T. milk
1 1/2 c. shortening
4 c. (1 lb.) confectioner's sugar

Stir all ingredients together until smooth.

Onward Ho!

So I have been busy sewing away on Rosie....that is what I named my cheerful sewing machine. I made the brown and pink bag from the 1 hour bag tutorial on the Vintage Ric Rac. It was pretty easy to follow except that I sewed the top closed at 3 different times. I got friendly with my seam ripper. Ha! It turned out pretty cute, I think.

























































I found this great site online that has quite a few tote and handbag patterns online for free. I linked it over on the right. I picked the Pink October Basic Tote. I used the pattern to make my daughter a small tote to take to the library for her books. I would like to add some embellishments to it yet. From this bag I learned not to use cheap thread!!!!! Grrr....definitely use the better stuff!
















I had a friend ask what pattern I used for the last tote bag. It was Simplicity Pattern #5151. If I had not had my mother-in-law walking me through it, I would have had no clue. The directions in the pattern were way too hard for this novice to figure out. I like the online tutorials much better! The pictures help me out quite a bit.

And to end.....I found a very yummy recipe on Chrysanthemum blog. They are Whole-Wheat Cherry Chocolate Pecan Bars and they are sooooo good. I used dried cranberries instead of dried cherries.

Whole Wheat Cranberry Chocolate Pecan Bars
Butter an 9 x 13" baking dish and preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c. white sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 t. vanilla
2 eggs

1 c. oats
1 c. chopped dried cherries
1 c. chocolate chips
1 c. chopped pecans

Combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl.
Cream the butter and sugar in a larger bowl, then add the vanilla and eggs.
Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and mix.
Add the oats, cherries, chocolate and pecans and mix till it looks like everything is evenly distributed.
Spread in the prepared baking dish and bake for 25 minutes.

This is definitely a keeper in my recipe box.

Fun Weekend

My daughter and I had fun making Daddy cookies and a card for Father's Day yesterday. We made Banana Oatmeal Cookies. I'll post recipe at the bottom of this entry. We also made a card. I had her draw on a piece of white card stock. Now she is only 23 months old so it was colorful scribbling. Then I used my heart hole puncher and punched hearts out of this paper. Then I traced her hand and cut that out. I glued the hand to the inside of the card and glued the hearts on that. The inside said, " A 'hand full' of hearts for Daddy." We also made these for the grandpas.

ANDDDDDDD now presenting.....my completed tote! My mother-in-law walked me through the sewing tonight and we finished it. I really like it! I ended up using a different pattern. I do have to give credit for the pocket to my teacher. :) We were running late and had a tired baby who needed put to bed, so she put it in fast for me. I think it turned out pretty good for my first one. Sorry the pics aren't that great. I just wanted to get pics up.





































Now for the cookie recipe....
Banana Oatmeal Cookies
1 1/2 c. sifted flour
1 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 c. shortening
1 egg, well beaten
1 c. mashed ripe bananas
1 3/4 c. oatmeal
1/2 c. chopped nuts

Into mixing bowl sift flour, sugar, soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Cut in shortening. Add remaining ingredients and beat until thoroughly blended. Drop by teaspoonfuls about 1 1/2 inches apart onto lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees about 15 minutes or until edges are brown. Remove immediately and cool. Makes about 3 1/2 dozen cookies.