21 February 2015

GF Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies



Hey all!
So it being a rainy, blah type day here, we figured some homemade cookies were in order! They go great with a cup of tea, curled up under a blanket with a good book :) This recipe is GF as long as you use ingredients that assure no contamination (ie. GF oat flour, etc.), but all ingredients should be naturally gluten free!


Ingredients
1.5 tsp xantham gum
1 cup shredded coconut
10oz butter, room temperature
1.25 cup sucanat (or brown sugar)
1/2 cup sugar
4 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1.75 cup + 2 TB oat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2) Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or silpats.
3) Mix together sugar, butter, vanilla, and salt. Add in eggs and mix until well blended.
4) Whisk together flour and baking soda in a separate bowl. Add mixture to above wet ingredients and mix until blended.
5) Stir in, by hand, coconut and chocolate chips.
6) Scoop ~2 TB of dough onto cookie sheet, 6 cookies per sheet fit nicely!
7) Bake 18-20 mins.
8) Let cool ~5 mins then transfer to cooling rack.
9) Enjoy!!!

05 February 2015

Valentine's Day Toddler Gift Bag




Hi all!
Today I'm super excited to share with ya'll that I'm being featured over on The Twinery Blog! A sneak peek is shown above :) If you'd like, head on over there to check out the super cute Valentine's Day gift bag that I created for our toddler using The Twinery's fabulous twine! 


While you're there, be sure to check out all of the fabulous other guest bloggers that have been featured there lately with other Valentine's Day inspiration! And definitely head over to The Twinery's Shop to grab some fantastic twine, and made in the USA!!

Need some ideas as to what to gift your little sweetie this Valentine's Day? Here's what I included in my bag for our toddler- a mix of fun Frozen gear and sweet heart items :)
(NOTE: please exercise caution/supervision when giving small children small items) 

notebook
stickers
playing cards
coloring book
puzzle
mini tin lunchbox
DIY hairband (instructions below!)
socks
more stickers
chocolates
"magic" expanding bath foam animal capsules
DIY magic wand 
(instructions how to make the wand over on The Twinery blog above!)

 DIY Hairband 
I made my girlie a quick hairband using items I picked up at Target. The hairband and clips can be found in the, well, hair product section, and I picked up the felt flower from the Dollar Spot you can find in most Targets, usually near the entrance. 

The felt flower had a clothespin attached to the back, so I carefully peeled that off. I whipped out my hot glue gun, chose a clip, and glued the flower to the two tips of the clip. I then clipped it on the hairband. Easy peasy! I love that by using the clip, the hairband decoration is interchangeable :)