I just love artful days. Days full of art, creative play, and... homemade peanut butter cups!
They, of course, don't always happen (even when I try). And with a toddler I sometimes feel that I'm pushing or pulling too much or attempting to head off a meltdown or feeling guilty because I'm trying to clean when I probably should be on the floor stacking blocks.
So I especially love and appreciate the artful days when everything just seems to flow perfectly and interesting projects present themselves.
Ours started with a teddy bear picnic on the living room floor. Maia fed them various fruits and vegetables as well as Sculpey "cookies" (which is how the Sculpey nature prints usually get used in our house). Then our friend Tiffany came over for coffee and a chat (artful days often involve interesting people bearing baked goods!).
Maia was very impressed by a couple of books that Tif's daughter Lily had made and wanted to make her own book.
She started drawing immediately after Tif left, named everything and waited not-so-patiently while I wrote down the labels she dictated to me. She filled three pieces of paper, front and back, and then we folded them in half and sewed a figure eight binding with embroidery thread and needle. I said she could title the book and she named several letters for the title (A-M-I-D-A-K-D).
I realized afterwards that we should have assembled a blank book first, because many of the drawings were essentially cut in half by the way we assembled the book. Next time! Maia was very proud of her book and carried it around with her for the rest of the day.
After lunch we decided to try our hand at chocolate peanut butter cups, after seeing some on Angry Chicken. I'm sure hers are delectable, but I decided to find a freebie recipe, and found a simple one on All Recipes. Here's the abbreviated version:
Homemade Peanut Butter Cups
(Abbreviated from this recipe on All Recipes)
INGREDIENTS
- 1 package milk chocolate chips
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Cut paper or foil muffin tin liners to half height and set in muffin tin.
2. Melt 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips in a double boiler (or in the microwave).
3. Add a spoonfull of melted chocolate to each muffin liner and use spoon to draw the chocolate up the side of the liner.
4. Put muffin tin in fridge until the chocolate has hardened.
5. Mix peanut butter, salt, and powdered sugar together.
6. Add dollops of the peanut butter mixture to each chocolate-lined muffin tin section.
7. Melt the remaining chocolate and spread evenly over the tops of each peanut butter cup.
8. Refrigerate until the chocolate has hardened.
Homemade peanut butter cups are the best! I wouldn't say they are exactly healthy, but they are definitely healthier than the commercial kind. And so, so delicious!
Yum!
Yum, yum, yum, yum.
