Lactation Scotchy Cookies

Creative:

Lactation Cookies. Doesn't sound too appetizing, right? Wrong. These things are magnificent! And don't worry, you're not going to magically produce milk if you eat them. My whole family can attest to that. So why the name? There are a few "super foods" that are known for increasing milk supply in lactating mommies. My main go-to for that is oatmeal. These cookies also contain brewer's yeast and flax seed to help the cause. Now, all that being said, if you eat enough of these to REALLY increase milk supply, you may have other issues to deal with...

I tried out a recipe from a friend who had made lactation cookies and loved them. I had been wanting to try them, but had also been wanting to make some oatmeal scotchies to give away. Thus, an idea was born. 

With the addition of butterscotch chips, these cookies taste like rich, "nutritious", oatmeal scotchies. Their crispy exterior and chewy interior are hard to pass up. Which is why they didn't last long in our house. 

Compassionate:

I guess you could say I made these as a means to increase my milk supply for baby C... Not sure if that happened, but the thought was there. I think if I were to make a batch especially to increase my supply though, I would substitute applesauce for the butter and I would consider these cookies completely guilt-free and nutritious. 

Happy:

You may be wondering why there are M&Ms on my oatmeal schotchy cookies. Because why the heck not?! I honestly think that things always taste better if they look better. And a few colorful chocolate candies on top of any cookie can only make it more special. Completely optional, but if you have them laying around, cookies make a great place-holder for them!

Enjoy!

Infant/Toddler Easter Dress

Creative:

I have always known that if I were to ever have a baby girl, I would make her dresses. I love seeing all the adorable Easter dresses in the stores toward the end of February and beginning of March. This year, I wanted to go for the gold and make C's Easter dress.

I tried to find some free online patterns but none of them were up to my standard for my oldest girls' first Easter dress. And I'm going to tell you right now, this is not a tutorial. It's more of a "look-what-you-can-do-on-your-own-without-much-sewing-experience-at-all" type post. Anyway, I went to JoAnn and found the perfect pattern. All McCall's patterns were on sale for $1.99 each, so I picked one with multiple different dresses for different sizes. This year, I made dress C, but I will probably use the same pattern for a different dress next year!

Not only was the pattern extremely inexpensive, but I already had ribbon, flowers, AND lilac purple fabric laying around at home. Of course, the lining can be any fabric that doesn't clash with the dress color, so that was already in my fabric bins as well.

This dress pattern was very basic. I only got stumped on the sleeves and had to enlist my mom's help on understanding the pattern... With a large amount of free time, this could be done in a day. But, when counting by number of nap times, like I do with my projects, this took me about 4-5 total nap times to complete. Not bad.

If you don't have much experience sewing clothing, start with baby/toddler clothes...because babies look good in ANYTHING, even if it doesn't work out as planned! Find a simple pattern and take it slow: cut out the pieces, read through the instructions and get a mental picture of what to expect, and start with step 1! The internet has plenty of tutorials and definitions for different pattern-specific terms. Don't be afraid of Google when trying out a new skill. 

Compassionate:

My little Angel wore this to church on Sunday and was the belle of the ball. I could not take my eyes off of her! And what baby girl doesn't look good in light purple! The end goal here is to gain enough experience that I can later sew dresses WITH my little girl. But for now, nap times it is.

Happy:

I know Easter is over, but what a splendid time of year it is. I love the new life seen outside after the long, cold winter. I love all the cute dresses for little girls preparing for warm sunny weather. And I especially love celebrating the life, atonement, and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. What a wonderful time to be reminded of His infinite sacrifice for us so that we can continue to keep Him in our hearts and minds daily and strive to be more like Him. That is where all my happiness stems from. 

Rich Chocolate Cake Balls

Creative:

I sometimes make desserts and treats and think, "I can't believe I haven't put this on my blog yet!" This is one of those desserts. I LOVE cake balls. Which is shocking, beings as my first attempt turned into the epic "fish balls", referred to often in my family circles. Another story for another time. But I'm glad I tried again because these things are amazing.

I made these moist, rich chocolate cake balls for Easter this year. The fun thing about cake balls is that there are HUNDREDS of different flavors of cake, frosting, and coating to use. Wilton brand carries a plethora of white chocolate flavored candy coatings in different colors so they can be used for any occasion. I have used pink and baby blue for chocolate-covered marshmallows and Oreos, yellow and pink for these Easter balls, and the classic milk chocolate and white chocolate for these and other truffle-like treats. 

I turned to my all-time favorite chocolate cake recipe for these: Shon's Birthday Cake. I simply halved the recipe and baked it in a 9-inch round cake pan for the allotted time in the recipe. After letting it cool. I whipped up 1/3 batch of classic Buttercream Frosting and folded it into the cake...using my hands. This is a messy step, but very fulfilling. At this point, feel free to grab a huge spoon full and give it a good taste ;)

After rolling the messy cake into 1-1 1/2 inch balls, place them on a cookie sheet and place in the freezer for at least 30 minutes to make them easier to dip. When chilled, soften some candy coating (I used Wilton for these) in the microwave and let cool slightly before dipping each cake ball into the filling, coating completely. (Only take a few out of the freezer at a time if this is your first time. This keeps them from getting too warm to work with). After coating the cake balls, place them on waxed paper to harden and put sprinkles of your choice on the top before they dry, like I did with edible pearls. Or, you can let them harden completely and swirl extra candy coating over the top. 

One last step to make these extra special: put each individual ball into its own cute mini cupcake liner. That is the icing on the cake - ball - as far as presentation is concerned. For fancy events like Easter, place a big pile of balls on a cake platter and use as a centerpiece. Friends and family at the table will gush over it.

  

Compassionate:

These are a fun treat to make for any special occasion, especially since there are SO MANY different flavors and colors to experiment with! But they don't have to be just for special occasions. Sometimes I like to make these for visiting and home teaching treats, or even just a backyard barbecue. Once you get the hang of it, cake balls are a blast to make and share with others. 

Happy:

After an amazing ham Easter dinner this year, complete with a backyard Easter egg hunt and candy, I think these were a fun treat to send home with the families that joined us for our Easter celebration. I know the kids loved them...especially right before bedtime :)

Give these a whirl! And if you experiment with other cake and frosting flavors, let me know how they turn out. I'd love to increase my cake ball repertoire.