Button Tree

Yesterday evening I was home with just Margot, she had been fed and finally went down for the night and I was in the mood to create something! I'm too loud in the kitchen and didn't want to wake her up so baking something was out of the question. Then I remembered our dogs recently demolished a tree in our backyard and the branches were sitting outside next to the trash can because they wouldn't fit into it. So I went out, broke a small branch off and brought it inside!

As you know, I love buttons and I love trees....so after staring at the branch for a while, I decided to make a button tree! I got a glass planter (India, if you're reading this you'll recognize it! Sorry I killed your plant!) which was still filled with soil and I stuck the tree branch down in it so it stood up straight. Then I dug though my button collection and picked out some old vintage ones. I tied the buttons to a piece of black thread, then tied each thread to the branch tips. And there you have it! A button tree! Simple, but I really like it.

Oatmeal Banana Cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 c. shortening
1 c. white sugar
1 egg
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 3/4 c. quick cooking oats
1/2 c. chopped nuts (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 and grease a couple cookie sheets and set aside. Sift together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and set aside. Cream together shortening and sugar. Add egg, banana, oats and nuts. Mix well. Add dry ingredients until well combined. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake for about 15 minutes in preheated oven. Cool on a wire rack. Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

Adapted from allrecipes.com

Notes: These cookies have a great flavor and came out really moist with sort of a cake like texture. I added a glaze made from powdered sugar and milk for something extra...but they would be great by themselves, too!

Reeses Fudge Cookies

Ingredients:
2 c. flour
2/3 c. cocoa powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. vanilla 
1 c. butter or margarine, softened
2 eggs
1 c. chocolate chips or peanut butter chips
2 c. Reeses Pieces candy 

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 and grease a couple cookie sheets and set aside. Combine the first 4 ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. Mix the next 4 ingredients on medium speed until creamy and smooth. Add the dry ingredients half a cup at a time and mix thoroughly after each addition. Once all the dry ingredients are incorporated mix in chips and 1 cup Reeses Pieces. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets. Place 5 Reeses Pieces in the center of each dough ball (they will spread out and go where they're supposed to during baking). Bake in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes and then transfer onto cooling racks. Makes about 3 dozen cookies (depending on how much dough gets eaten in the process!).

New blog url and title

So I couldn't be "Chloe's Citchen Creations" anymore....I'm now "Chloe's {Valuable, but Small} Life". I switched to this title because of one of my favorite movie quotes that has really been sticking out to me lately. It's from You've Got Mail where Kathleen Kelly is talking to Joe Fox and she says:


"Sometimes I wonder about my life. I lead a small life - well, valuable, but small - and sometimes I wonder, do I do it because I like it, or because I haven't been brave?"
Ever since I heard that line I kind of took it as my own :) So there you have it! My new blog title!


-Chloe'