I baked some cookies today. SciFi Man is crazy about peanut butter, so I made a batch of peanut butter kisses for him. They are so simple and tasty, that if you haven’t made them, you should. Right now. Seriously, how can you go wrong with peanut butter and chocolate?

An army of peanut butter kisses.

Peanut Butter Kisses

1 (8oz) package of Hershey’s Kisses
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup white sugar for decoration

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375F. Remove wrappers from kisses.

2. Beat shortening and peanut butter in a large bowl until well blended. Add 1/3 cup white sugar and brown sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add egg, milk, and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.

3. Shape dough into 1″ balls. Roll in sugar and place on ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately place a chocolate piece into the center of each cookie. Cookie will crack around the edges. Cool on wire rack.

When I make them, I get about 45 cookies. But maybe you want to tell people that it makes a few less than that, so you can keep some just for you.

Anodyne Design at the Fancy Schmancy Market

This Saturday I spent the day at the Fancy Schmancy Market. The market was held indoors, which was a nice change from last weekend’s cold outdoors event. Especially since it ended up raining this weekend! The market went well, although it was not as highly attended as anyone had hoped. Those who did come by were a pleasure to see, and as usual, I enjoyed talking with everyone who stopped for a moment in my little booth.

When there was a lull in shoppers, I used the time to get to know some of the other vendors there. There were a lot of great people and things at the market: Sea of Glass Designs was there with some really lovely jewelry, Carrie’s Crafty Cottage was there with the cutest hand-knit cupcakes, and Razorberries was there (and I finally got some fabulous notecards).

Big Hoots

There were also some new Big Hoots in my booth this weekend. They are twice the size of the Little Hootie Owls, and perfect for watching over the little ones.  Most of them were gone before noon, so I think I’m on to something here. I’ll definitely be making more. And thanks to a special request, I’ve started branching out into owls made with cotton prints, in addition to the felt ones.

Next weekend, I’ll be participating in the Craft & Vendor Sale at the Franciscan Recreation Complex in West Peoria. This is in the same outdoor location that Fancy Schmancy used last May, so I know it’s a lovely place to go for a little shopping. Let’s all keep our fingers crossed for nice weather. We’ve had enough cold, windy, and rainy Saturdays. There will be more Big Hoots there, and some new wristlets, Little Hootie Owl mobiles, and journals. I should probably get to work on those now…

First it was an event with a billboard, and now a radio ad! So fancy!

Fancy Schmancy Market Radio Ad (click to play!)

The Fancy Schmancy Market is this Saturday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. and the Hult Center for Health Education. I’ll be there, the hootie owls will be there. Will you?

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a lovely Mother’s Day weekend. My weekend was a bit spotty. Saturday I set up shop at the Peoria Heights Art Fair. On the upside, I got to meet all sorts of wonderful people. On the downside, it was ridiculously cold and windy! It took me hours to thaw out. The weather was much nicer on Sunday, and SciFi Man and I went out to celebrate a little holiday my family created to celebrate one particularly lucky day back in 1997. We had some delicious Japanese hibachi food. You know, the sort that is cooked right at your table and involves flames and the squirting of sake into the diner’s mouths. Yum!

This week started out with the lovely surprise that Liesl (of Liesl Made, and whose work I adore!) really likes the Little Birds Journal she bought from me awhile ago. I discovered this via her interview on Whimsy House. It’s a good interview– you should take a moment to check it out. As if that weren’t cool enough, the interview is paired with a giveaway. Leave a comment over there and be entered to win one of Liesl’s marvelous Butcher’s Aprons. I’d like to win one myself. I love the combination of gorgeous fabric and simple, clean styling.

The Fancy Schmancy Market is coming up this Saturday, so I’ve got a lot of work to do to prepare for that!  Also, the Bloomington Farmer’s Market is starting up this Saturday. And since I can’t be in two places at once, my good friend from yellow dragonfly designs will be there with her jewelry and some lovelies from Anodyne Design. (And in reverse, I’ll have some of her awesome earrings on display at Fancy Schmancy!) The Farmer’s Market runs from 7:30 a.m. until noon, and the Fancy Schmancy Market runs from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. You should stop by and see at least one of us!