Trying out Christmas Present Ideas and a Chocolate-covered Baby

Today Niko would not cooperate for me to work on my sermon but he would "help" me in the kitchen so we tested out some Christmas present ideas. We made an almond poppyseed exfoliating body wash, peppermint bar soap, and almond and peppermint body lotions. I'll make some changes before I put recipes on here (with pictures) and give them as gifts. I want to put together a foot soak in each scent and a body scrub, too. I might even try these in lavender as well. We'll see how it goes but I think they will be fun homemade Christmas presents for the women in my family.

Niko and I also made chocolate chip cookies for a meeting I had this afternoon. I'm always grateful for coworkers who are willing to accommodate Niko by having meetings at my house. I think hospitality is an important spiritual discipline for me so I always try to have coffee and a snack around. Holiday season means delicious coffee screamers which make coffee an even more special treat for guests. So here's a picture of my cookies.

I tried a new recipe that has cornstarch in it and what an amazing difference it makes! I'm sold! They 're the perfect combination of crispy outside and soft inside. I want to tweak the flavors a bit before I post that recipe, but testing them will be no hardship! We enjoyed these with coffee and White Chocolate Raspberry creamer. Delicious!

Niko loved the cookies and having company so much he wore himself out. It was his second nap of the day so it didn't last long, but the picture was too not to share!