One Smart Little Cookie is a collection of everything that brings inspiration, comfort and beauty into my life and home.
I love to create a beautiful home and enjoy it with my family.
It is sharing
what I love to do; baking and cooking in a healthier way without sacrificing flavor
, crafts,
party planning, activities, organization, and home decor.

Being a "Smart Little Cookie" is not about being perfect, it is about knowing how to enjoy life and family to it's fullest~to your fullest.
Due to my creative process, my home gets messy, my kids play in their jammies-all day sometimes (the terribly relaxed days tend to be my favorite),
and my hubby has become much more patient and supportive over the years with all of this.
In fact, he often has his own creative ideas and we both find ourselves anticipating our upcoming projects together~love him!
Don't get me wrong, I LOVE a clean house, but I've rejected denial, and with a toddler who is a budding creative type herself,
I feel accomplished when the dishes are in the dishwasher before naptime (not mine, hers).
I've accepted the fact that "spotless" cannot mean what I have always
envisioned in my mind, at least not with kids,
and I would rather enjoy my kids and beautiful home, than a spotless, sterile home.
I have learned to take each day, one day at a time, and everyday should leave us feeling inspired and more contented.
The day should leave us, whispering in our ear, "the day has been as well as it could have been done, and it has been done well."

Go ahead and take a bite, indulge yourself and try my recipes and crafty creations in your own home.
I hope to inspire you to feel like the "Smart Little Cookie" you are!




Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Smart Little Cookie Tip-Hulling Strawberries

I love late summer; the sun is still out, the temperature is dropping a bit at a time and strawberries are everywhere! But oh, the daunting task of hulling the strawberries, what's a girl (or guy) to do?

I found this great tip on how to hull strawberries in a 
Real Simple magazine, one of my favorites! 

The Basics

All you need is a simple straw.  After washing the strawberries, insert the straw into the bottom center of the strawberry and push up to the stem.  So simple!

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Coconut "Shortbread" Cookies

These scrumptious cookies were created by making a cookie that had the flavor of a shortbread cookie, made with honey in place of sugar, used oat flour in place of all-purpose flour and real dairy butter for my husband.  He loves cookies, but only when they're wholesome little goodies.  This is how they turned out, pretty good I'd say by the picture below...

He was very happy, and so is the little hand reaching up 
to grab her cookie at the bottom left of the picture.  
A happy family is baking at it's best.
Enjoy!
Makes 2 dozen

The Recipe

2 c unbleached all-purpose flour                              1/2 c butter
2 1/2 c oat flour                                                    1 egg plus 2 egg whites
1/2 t salt                                                               2 t vanilla extract
1 t baking soda                                                      1 t almond extract
1 t baking powder                                                  1/2 c chopped walnuts
1/2 c sugar                                                            1 c raisins
3/4 c honey                                                            1 c shredded coconut


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine flours with salt, baking soda and baking powder, mix well.  In a separate medium bowl, combine sugar, honey and butter, mixing well until combined.  Mix flour mixture into butter mixture in two parts, adding walnuts and raisins with the second addition of flour mixture.  Pour shredded coconut into a small bowl.  Scoop cookie dough into balls and drop into shredded coconut.  Coat each cookie dough ball evenly with coconut and place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake around 10 minutes, or until coconut and bottom edge of each cookie are golden brown.  Cool on a wire rack and watch them disappear!


Smart Little Cookie Tip:
You can easily make your own oat flour by pouring rolled oats into a blender and grinding it.  You can use this two ways: Substitute oat flour for all-purpose flour, or, use half all-purpose flour and half oat flour in any recipe.
Also, try different mixes of your favorite raisins! We love to use Trader Joe's Jumbo Raisin Medley.  It's a combination of seedless golden light raisins, flame raisins, and jumbo raisins.  Delicious!