by Cathy Baker | Faith |
I ♥ cookies, especially those that are perfect for sharing, so break out the heart-shaped cookie cutters! It’s time to bake.
Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies
Yield: 2 dozen heart shaped cookies
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
1 box red velvet cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Powdered sugar, for rolling the cookies
Heart shaped cookie cutter, optional
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine cake mix and flour. Whisk until clumps
disappear. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together cake mix, flour,
eggs, oil and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth. Take about 1 tablespoon
of cookie dough and form into a ball. Roll the ball in powdered sugar
until fully coated. Place cookie dough balls on prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes, or until edges are set and cookies begin to crack.
3. Let cookies sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes. If desired, cut
cookies into heart shapes, using a heart shaped cookie cutter. Transfer
cookies to a wire cooling rack and cool completely. Eat the cookie
scraps 🙂 Note-you don’t have to cut the cookies into heart shapes. They are great round too!
The above is but one of many delightful finds on the Two Peas and Their Pod site.
Do you have a favorite recipe you enjoy baking on this week o’ love? Tomorrow I’m sharing an idea that might just go hand-in-hand with today’s post.
by Cathy Baker | Faith |
by Cathy Baker
I LOVE the idea of tidying up.
I’m a sucker for book covers. Case in point: the life-changing magic of tidying up…the Japanese art of decluttering and organizing, by Marie Kondo.
I didn’t go in search of such a book. In fact, I was looking for a new Ravensburger puzzle when the cover caught my eye. Once inside, however, I was immediately drawn to the clean lines, white space, and content.
Books on organization of all types line my shelves but I knew this one offered a unique twist. After all, this New York Times Best Seller has sold two million copies worldwide. Maybe there was hope for me after all.
In all fairness to the author, I don’t want to give away all her secrets but one small, yet significant suggestion she makes is to touch everything when deciding what to do with it. If that particular thing doesn’t spark a sense of joy, out it goes!
Lucky for Marie Kondo, the idea of a tidy, uncluttered home did indeed spark a sense of joy within. It’s a keeper.
I’m not going to vacuum until Sears makes one you can ride on. -Roseanne Barr
The best time for planning a book is while you’re doing the dishes. -Agatha Christie
Your turn! What area is in most need of organizing in your home? (If you say books, you’re not alone.)
by Cathy Baker | Faith |
by Cathy Baker
Families are like fudge… mostly sweet with a few nuts. Author Unknown
I LOVE my family.
No naming names here Uncle Jim but I find this quote to be quite true, at least in my family—and I wouldn’t want it any other way.
My dad’s mom (Ma-Ma) was a master-maker of that particular type of chocolate concoction, offering up a butter-like consistency with an ever so slight crunch of sugar.
I remember Ma-Ma’s arthritic fingers carefully stirring chocolate chips, vanilla, marshmallows, and nuts in her white Pyrex bowl.
When God handcrafted our family He melded together a unique blend of personalities, strengths and weaknesses, much like He did with yours.
In God’s sovereignty, He knits us in the mother’s womb of His choosing, for His purposes and ultimate glory.
Growing up, the dreaded part of the fudge-making process was the constant stirring of sugar and milk until it came to a rolling boil. If not carefully monitored, liquids quickly scorched, leaving behind wasted ingredients.
The Waltons and other idealistic family shows left many craving that type of harmonic setting for their own families. Truth is, God has used the rolling-boil point of familial situations to teach me deeper aspects of my walk with Him, producing a peace that far surpasses that found on Walton’s mountain. In Him, nothing we experience as a family is truly wasted.
After pouring the warm sugar mixture over the dry ingredients, the fudge is blended, poured into a prepared pan, and refrigerated.
The baking process involves a variety of steps, and this final one reminds me of another family…God’s. I don’t need a village. I need a kingdom. People led by the living God who pour out truth, even if it means getting messy. We need not belong to the same denomination, worship the same way, or wear the same thing. When our desire is to put the Gospel on display, we blend beautifully.
Of course, I can’t close out a post on loving my family without sharing pictures of my favorite three-wee family members. (Soon to be four via international adoption but we can’t share pictures quite yet. Stay tuned!)
Oh yes, I LOVE my family. (Especially my Uncle Jim who has rarely failed to make us smile over the years. He’s my kind of nut!)
Your turn! Would you care to share one favorite thing you LOVE about your family?
But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who
fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children– Psalm 103:17
by Cathy Baker | Faith |
Beginning Monday, February 2nd, we’ll explore all things pertaining to love. Every weekday I’ll share a snippet of something I love in hopes of stirring a spirit of gratefulness, especially for the little things within us both.
On Wednesdays, the focus shifts to the extravagant love of our heavenly Father, the One True Love.
So, why the topic of love five days a week for an entire month?
Because love surrenders a fragrance of delight in its wake.
Sometimes the release is minute, insignificant to others, but fragrant to our souls all the same. And isn’t that the sweetest fragrance of all?
I look forward to sharing this journey o’ love with you!
As we usher in this new series would you consider sharing one attribute you most love about Jesus, Love defined?
We love because He first loved us. 1 John 4:19
by Cathy Baker | Faith |
by Cathy Baker
“If you hear a voice within you say, ‘You cannot paint,’ then by all
means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” -Vincent van Gogh
Granted, Vincent probably didn’t have paint-by-number kits in mind when he said this, but I sure did.
The last time I matched colors with a number I wore pigtails and Gilbert O’ Sullivan’s Alone Again (Naturally) was topping the Billboard chart. So when I spotted the tiny print below this vintage travel trailer saying it was available in a paint-by-number kit the ten year-old within wanted to break out a wax whistle in celebration.
And then I hesitated. My “voice within,” as van Gogh put it, wasn’t saying I couldn’t paint (it’s a paint-by-number for goodness sakes!) but rather, I shouldn’t. My adult self raised every excuse it could muster as to why I had no business buying such a thing—but the ten year-old won this battle.
So what’s the point in all of this? Play time is a good thing. It boosts creativity. It helps us be more productive. It’s not a waste of time, like I once thought.
You can’t teach creativity; all you can do is let it blossom, and it blossoms in play. -Peter Gray
If you’re not into paint-by-number kits, consider these ways to silence your own cannot’s:
- Doodle
- Sing
- Knit
- Learn how to play a musical instrument
- Write songs
- Get crafty (the glue-based kind, of course)
- Explore your city
- Break out the Play-doh!
Your turn! (Because we share on this playground): What’s your favorite form of play?
