If you like Brownies you are going to love these ones.
These are gluten free, double chocolate yumminess with a hint of Peppermint essential oil. This is Haven. At least in my opinion. I use Young Living Essential Oil for many reasons. If you are interested in purchasing your own oils, click Here.
Now lets get started:
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
8-10 drops Young Living Peppermint Essential Oil
2 Eggs room temperature
1 1/2 cups Almond Flour
2/3 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped almonds
Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F Degrees and lightly butter an 8 inch baking pan.
2. Melt butter and chocolate in a medium saucepan over very low heat.
3. Stir in sugars, vanilla, and peppermint oil; set aside to cool.
4. Add room temperature eggs ave beat well to incorporate. Stir in
almond flour and well. Then stir in chocolate chips and almonds.
5. Spread evenly in prepared pan; bake for 30 to 35 min or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
6. Let cool completely before cutting into squares.
Makes 1 dozen brownies
Store in container with a loose-fitting lid.
This recipe was adopted from Blue Diamond Almonds and it's super yummy.
Enjoy
P.S. Young living has a clearly marked indigestible essential oils: They are called the Vitality oils. This is the peppermint one I used.
Giant Cross-Stitch / Needle Work Rose Pattern Cookie
Hi, thanks for stopping by.
Cross Stitch Rose Pattern Cookie
What you are looking at here is an 8 inch heart cookie decorated with Cross stitch/ Needlework Rose pattern. This was my first cookie made at this magnitude. I spent hours and hours searching for an easy cross-stitch pattern that would look nice on cookie and I don't have to count too many dots or stitches.
I settled on this easy one,that's on the cookie. However, it was too simple so I had to add more color by adding the sun to the cookie. The cookie just looked to plain, too naked.
So first I baked an 8 inch cookie (recipe is here) at 1/4 inch thickness. I forgot to roll out the dough thicker then 1/4 inch...so I took my chances and baked it anyway. I made sure I let the cookie cool off on the cookie sheet, to prevent it from breaking.
Next, I used white flood consistency royal icing to flood the cookie. I left the cookie dry overnight.
After that I used piping consistency royal icing in white to make the Cross-Stitch Grid. That's a lengthy process. When you make the grid, make sure your elbow of your arm where the piping bag is resting on the table and the other hand is guiding the arm with the bag in hand.
I had to concentrate and I had to make sure no one came into the kitchen to distract me. The grid requires crucial concentration. If you are at the second level of the grid and you mess one up, it is super hard to fix it. So, kick everyone out of the kitchen, get comfortable, and proceed. On the end you will feel a great accomplishment.
Next, I used red piping consistency royal icing to create the rose. It took me some time to figure out where to put the rose, since it was an oddly shaped patter that was going on a heart. Pre-planning your design is highly recommended. What I mean, draw it out on a piece of paper, don't wing it. I did the winging and it took me a lot of time to get this cookie going, make the rose fit and fill in the gaps.
After the rose was done, I continued with the green piping consistency royal icing to create the stem and the leaves. This part was fairly easy and quick.
This is where I saw how naked, plain my cookie looked. So, I doodled, I drew a bunch of stuff around to see what would go. I didn't want to make it look too busy, since the dots already make the cookie look busy. I settled for the sun. So I winged that too. But hey, it turned out OK. Right?
Now the big decision came. Should I fill in the white spots or leave them alone. I jumped on the opportunity to see what it would look like if I totally fill the dots in. Warning, if you have little patients, leave your cookie as is. Otherwise, proceed with the white piping consistency royal icing to fill every single white square in.
It is very important to pipe every other dot first....to prevent the dots from running together and look like a mess. The key to beautiful dots on your cross stitch pattern is to have the right consistency royal icing - not too soft, not too stiff. This will take some practice. If you have lots of practice, you will definitely be able to create beautiful cookies.
Even though, I worked on this cookie for 3 days, the actual work wasa total of 3 hours.
I hope you will try making your own cookie. If not for yourself, maybe for someone who needs a smile on their face. If you do make one, please post it either on this blog or on my Facebook page.
I appreciate you reading my blog and wish you an awesome day!
