Homemade Laundry Soap

Now...Do NOT make this for dinner...but because I love you all so much I thought I would share a super fun recipe with you all. Some ladies in my ward make their own laundry detergent and I thought I'd give it a try. It was so easy, works great and is sooo inexpensive. Laundry detergent can be super expensive, so if you want to save some money, try this out...you can thank me later :)

Ingredients: (all found in the laundry section at walmart or WinCo, ect.)
1 Fels Naptha Bar
1 Cup Borax
1 Cup Arm&Hammer Washing Soda

Grate the Fels Naptha bar on the small side of the grater (do it on the small side because it saves time later). Put 3 Cups of COLD water in a saucepan. Add grated bar soap to this water and let soak a few minutes to soften. Then, bring the water to a boil, turn to medium heat and cook until it dissolves, stiring the whole time. Make sure you get out any lumps, takes about 10 minutes.

Fill a 5 gallon bucket with HOT water (fill it within a few inches of the top) Put the liquid you just made from the saucepan in and the borax and soda. Mix, mix, mix, make sure you get out all lumps. (The recipe says to mix this for 15-20 minutes...when I made mine there weren't really many lumps, just make sure you mix it really good).

Let sit for 24 hours or more. It will gel like chicken fat. Mix it one more time and it will never gel again. (My kids loved this part, we just put our arms inside the bucket and mixed away. Radley was mixing some clumps and said, "I just want to hold this forever!") Store in old laundry detergent containers or clean milk gallons.

Shake bottle each time before using. Use 1/2 Cup per load. This soap doesn't make suds and can be used in front loaders. There's no smell or additives, so its great for sensitive skin. (You can use smelly fabric softners like downy,ect or just good smelling fabric softeners if you want). This is totally inexpensive, seriously ladies...I think it cost about 3-4 dollars to make FIVE gallons of laundry soap, that would cost like $100 if you bought it at the store! I've been using this for a few weeks now and it really works great.

Lemon cupcakes with lemon buttercream

Lemon cupcakes with lemon buttercream

Cake:
1 package lemon cake mix
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup oil
4 eggs
1 small package lemon instant pudding

Mix dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients. Mix with electric mixer on medium speed for about two minutes. Use a strong mixer, this batter is thick. For cupcakes, bake them at 350 degrees for 20 minutes (I was able to get 24 very full cupcakes from the recipe). For regular cake, pour into a greased 9×11 pan or two round pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Don’t over bake or the cake will be too dry! The toothpick test works to check to see if they’re done.


Lemon Buttercream Frosting:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, very soft
6-8 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of sugar, then the juice and the zest. Beat until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, until icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency (I added 6 cups total). Use and store at room temperature. (Don’t refrigerate and it will last in a covered container for about three days.)

Garnish with berries, if desired right before serving.

Smore's cupcakes

Smore's cupcakes

Yield: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the graham cracker crust:

1½ cups graham cracker crumbs

¼ cup sugar

5 1/3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

For the cake:

2 cups plus 2 tbsp. sugar

1¾ cups all-purpose flour

¾ cup plus 1 tbsp. cocoa powder

1½ tsp. baking powder

1½ tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 large eggs

1 cup whole milk

½ cup vegetable oil

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water

For the frosting:

8 large egg whites, at room temperature

2 cups sugar

½ tsp. cream of tartar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners. In a small mixing bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter; mix well with a fork. Drop about 1 tablespoon of the graham cracker mixture in the bottom of each cupcake liner and press down to line the bottom. (Note: I found the bottom of my squeeze bottle to be the perfect size to do this job neatly and quickly.) Divide chopped chocolate on top of the graham cracker crusts evenly. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, and maintain the oven temperature.

To make the cake batter, sift together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on low speed just to combine. In a mixing bowl, combine the eggs, milk, vegetable oil and vanilla extract; whisk together. Add to the dry ingredients and mix on low speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the boiling water and stir just to combine (batter will be thin).

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake liners, filling each about ¾ of the way full. Return the pans to the oven and bake about 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, rotating the pans halfway through baking. Allow to cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then remove and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, combine the egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar in the top of a double boiler. (Note: I just set my clean, dry mixer bowl over simmering water, to avoid dirtying two bowls.) Heat the mixture, whisking frequently, until it reaches 160° F with an instant-read thermometer. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk starting at low speed and gradually increasing to medium-high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form. Mix in the vanilla until combined. Frost cooled cupcakes as desired. Brown with a kitchen torch and garnish with chocolate and graham cracker segments.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies!

I'm warning you right now if you love PB and choc, you will NOT be able to stop eating these!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies! 1½ cups all-purpose flour ½ cup unsweetened cocoa ½ teaspoon baking soda ¼ teaspoon salt ½ cup granulated sugar (plus more for rolling) ½ cup packed brown sugar ½ cup unsalted butter, softened 1 cup creamy peanut butter, divided 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 egg ¾ cup powdered sugar Preheat oven to 375º F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. Make the peanut butter inside FIRST. In a medium bowl, mix together powdered sugar and ¾ cup of peanut butter until smooth. Shape little balls and place them on a wax or parchment paper lined sheet, and freeze. While they’re freezing, make the cookie dough. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together sugars, butter and ¼ cup of peanut butter until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and egg, beating to combine. Stir in the flour mixture and stir to combine, blending well. Set aside. Pull off a heaping tablespoon of cookie dough and flatten with your hands. Remove the frozen insides (just a few at a time, They thaw quickly for shaping, rolling and squishing) and wrap the soft cookie dough around the hard middles, pressing to seal. Roll the cookie into a ball and roll the cookie in the sugar. Place cookies on the prepared baking sheet 2 inches apart. Using the bottom of a glass, flatten each cookie to about a ½ inch thickness. Bake in preheated oven for 7 to 9 minutes. Let stand on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then remove to a wire rack.

Smores Cookie Bars

Hello! That's what I said when I ate one of these little goodies. If you like smores then you are in for a treat!..and you better like smores or I don't know if we can be friends :)

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/3 cups flour

3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 king-sized Hershey chocolate bars

1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff (not melted marshmallows)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease an 8x8 square baking pan.

In large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. In small bowl whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined.

Divided dough in half and press half of the dough into an even layer on the bottom or the pan. Place chocolate bars over dough. Spread chocolate with marshmallow creme. Place remaining dough on top of the marshmallow (most easily acheived my flattening dough into small shingles and layering them together with hands)

Bake for 30 minutes, cool before cutting.

Lemon Drop Cookies

These are so good! They're the cookies Noelle and I made for Cassie's SLC shower and they were a big hit. One important tip is to take them out of the oven before you think they're done to ensure that they stay SOFT and deliciously chewy. Oh so good... Our cookies ended up a little flatter than we expected but they were still tasty as could be. I'm sure you could add a little flour to the dough and they'd probably plump up a little more. This recipe makes a lot of cookies - ain't nobody gonna complain about that!



Lemon Drop Cookies
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups butter flavored shortening
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon lemon extract
4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Grated or finely chopped zest of one lemon
1 (6-oz) package lemon drops

Glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
juice of two lemons (about 4-5 Tablespoons) - (You can use less if you want your glaze a little thicker)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In mixing bowl cream sugar, shortening, and eggs; then add vanilla and lemon extract. Stir in flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Crush lemon drops in blender or food processor. Add lemon zest and crushed lemon drops; mix well. Roll into balls, flatten slightly with your hand, and bake on a parchment lined cookie sheet (You must use parchment here to avoid sticking).

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool slightly on pan for a couple of minutes. Make the glaze by mixing powdered sugar with lemon juice to desired consistency. Brush glaze over cookie tops after cookies have cooled slightly. If the cookies are too hot the glaze will just melt off. Let cookies cool completely. ENJOY!

Makes 4 to 5 dozen cookies.

Apple Streusel Squares

(From Eagle Brand recipes)



These were kind of a lot of work, but pretty worth it when all was said and done - DELICIOUS! Just make sure to cook them long enough because the bars in the middle of my pan ended up a little runny even after they cooled. Obviously you don't want to burn them either, so find the perfect middle ground (that's easy right?). I left out the cranberries because I didn't have any and wasn't sure I wanted them in my bars anyway. Also, I didn't have as many pecans as the recipe called for, but it was still delicious with less.

Apple Streusel Squares
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
3/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1 (14 oz.) can Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 large eggs
1 (21 oz.) can apple pie filling
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup Pillsbury BEST® All Purpose Flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup cold butter
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup chopped pecans

* HEAT oven to 350°F. Line 13 x 9-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
* COMBINE graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans in small bowl. Press evenly onto bottom of prepared pan.
* BEAT cream cheese in medium bowl until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk and eggs until smooth. Pour over prepared crust. Spoon apple pie filling evenly over cream cheese layer.
* COMBINE brown sugar, flour and cinnamon in medium bowl. Cut in cold butter with pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in cranberries and 1/3 cup pecans. Sprinkle over apple layer.
* BAKE 35 to 40 minutes or until golden. Cool completely before serving - best served chilled.