A Tea Time Feature & a Cookie Recipe

ETA: Funny how most blog comments seem to arrive while I am sleeping.  :)  Thanks for all your interest in the recipe.  You can substitute peanut butter for the almond butter.  I know a stick of butter is about 110 grams.  As far as other metric conversions go, I'll have to check on them and get back to you later.  Or you could try using an online recipe converter.  Enjoy the cookies, if you make them.

Hello, I'm glad you could pop by my blog for "tea time" today!  I have exciting news--my "Donuts" layout was featured on the Needle~Thread~Cloth blog.

The challenge there was to combine the embroidery stitch called "stem stitch" with a tea-themed project.  This was actually my first time doing stem stitch!  I guess I used to think of it solely as the stitch that people use on those pre-printed embroidery designs for tea towels.  I never considered using it for scrapbooking.  But I found out that it works a charm for embroidering curved lines, such as the outline of my heart tag, pictured above.  
 

Here is the entire layout.  For details on its creation, see this post.

It did take me a few tries to get the stitching right.  When I'm using a back stitch or running stitch on paper, I punch all the holes first, then draw the thread through the holes.  This did not work with the stem stitch; I kept getting the spacing wrong.  Three ruined tags later, I realized that I'd have to work it the same way I would on fabric, one stitch at a time.  Now that I know what I'm doing, LOL, I'll be using stem stitch on paper a lot more often in the future!

A few weeks ago, I got a request for my No-Bake cookie recipe (cookies pictured above).  I thought I'd close this post by sharing that recipe.

In a mixing bowl, cream together 1 STICK BUTTER, 4 TABLESPOONS COCOA POWDER, 1 TABLESPOON VANILLA, 2 CUPS SUGAR, & 1 CUP ALMOND BUTTER.  Add 3 CUPS OATS to the creamed mixture.  Chill batter in fridge for about 2 hours.  Place parchment over two cookie sheets.  Form chilled dough into balls (about the size of truffles).  Place balls of dough on cookie sheets, then chill again in refrigerator.  When cookies are firm and hold their shape (after about one more hour in the fridge), transfer cookies to a covered container.  Keep cookies chilled until ready to eat.  Makes 50 cookies.

These little balls of sugary goodness are very rich, almost more like candy than cookies.  If you use gluten free oats, then the cookies will be gluten free.  Bon appétit!