Learn to make beautiful bath and body products from scratch. Here you find free tutorials for making cold process soaps, bath bombs, body butters, face masks, serums and a lot more.
Want to start a garden, but don’t have time to read books or do all of the research on your own? Then these great gardening podcasts for beginners are perfect for you.
For the last couple of years podcasts have been my primary source for taking in new information. It’s amazing how much knowledge you can absorb by listening to other people talk about a subject they’re passionate about. I’ve learned so much about gardening and I’m sure you will too.
…A scrubby bar of soap made with strong brewed espresso, coffee grounds and bright peppermint essential oil. A soap recipe not just for coffee lovers.
You know what’s a life saver for new moms? (Hint: not a baby gadget.) It’s the Starbucks drive thru!!! Seriously though: you’re stuck in the house with your little nugget, it’s the dead of winter, flu season, you’re craving a latte and some sort of human interaction- the drive thru it is.
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It’s that time of year again… crunch time for cold process soap makers. If you want to get your Christmas soaps done in time for holiday gift giving you need to get cracking. I’m pretty late to the game this year myself, but not to worry, I’ve got us covered with this recipe. It uses a pretty steep water discount which allows this Christmas tree soap to cure in about 3 weeks. Procrastinators rejoice 🙂
…This avocado soap recipe includes fresh avocado, avocado oil and lots of pampering shea butter. It’s a real treat for your skin!
I love avocados! As food they’re delicious, satisfying and super healthy, and they’re also great to use in cold process soap giving it a decadent rich creamy lather that is delightful.
Avocado oil, shea butter and fresh avocado are the key players for this soap. Fresh avocado fruit as well as avocado oil contains vitamins A, D and E and nourishing omega 3 fatty acids. Both contribute amazing conditioning properties and creamy luxurious lather to the finished soap.
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I love to add fresh ingredients to my soaps. It’s a fun way to try something new on a whim since most fruits and veggies are easy enough to come by. I also find that they can bring interest and label appeal to your soaps. In this recipe I’m trying something a little more exotic: papaya paired with turmeric. The result is a wonderfully creamy and nourishing turmeric papaya soap.
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My favorite treats this time of year are goodies filled with warm aromatic spices and nuts. And this Linzer torte is loaded with both. Linzer torte is named after the Austrian city Linz where it was created way back in the 17th century. It’s one of the oldest recorded tort recipes in history.
The basic dough made of flour, sugar, butter and egg is enriched with nuts, cinnamon, lemon zest and clove to give the treat it’s distinct warm taste. Before baking, the tart is filled with raspberry or currant jam and topped off with strips of dough arranged in a criss-cross pattern. Sometimes an egg wash is used, and sometimes there’s a dusting of powdered sugar or slithered almonds on top.
It’s sooo good. The rich flavorful dough absorbs some of the juicy tartness of the jam making for a perfect combination. It is moist but not soggy, and the crust has a nice nutty crunchiness to it. Can you tell how much I love it? Growing up in Germany Linzer torte was a staple in every bakery and supermarket around Christmas time. Making it really transports me back to the motherland which is nice especially around the holidays.
The original recipe I had was my mom’s go to recipe, but just like in soap making, I can’t leave a recipe alone. So after a little bit of tweaking and testing I settled on this final version. I hope you like it as much as I do 🙂
I use a food processor to make parts of the dough. This allows me to use the butter when it’s cold straight out of the fridge AND I don’t have to put the dough back into the fridge before it’s workable. Amazing, right?
If you don’t have a food processor, simply cream soft butter and sugar together, then add the egg and lemon zest. In a separate bowl mix together your dry ingredients and slowly add them to your wet ingredients.
Yield: 8 – 10 servings
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In a food processor put flour, cocoa, cinnamon, baking powder, clove and salt.
3. Pulse until combined.
4. Add butter and pulse until you see small crumbs.
5. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
6. In a separate small bowl whisk together egg and lemon zest.
7. Add sugar, ground nuts and egg to the flour mixture.
8. Work dough first with a spoon, when dough starts to come together use your hands to knead dough until it forms a cohesive mass and holds it’s shape.
9. Set 1/3 of the dough aside and place the remaining dough in a non-stick 10 Inch (26 cm) pie pan with removable bottom.
10. Press the dough evenly into the pan with your hands until bottom and sides (1 1/4 inch) are covered.
11. Bake shell for 15 minutes.
12. While shell is baking roll the remaining dough between two sheets of parchment paper into a round shape (1/4 Inch thick and 11 Inches in diameter)
13. Remove shell from oven and let cool slightly.
14. Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees.
15. Sprinkle the surface of the shell with breadcrumbs until evenly covered.
16. In a small bowl give jam a quick stir until soft.
17. Spread jam evenly on top of the breadcrumbs.
18. Take remaining dough out off the freezer and cut into 1 Inch wide strips. Using a knife transfer them onto the torte. Place the longer pieces in the middle and the shorter more towards the sides. Arrange them in a criss-cross pattern. Don’t worry if a “strip” breaks or isn’t the exact right length. You can always “glue” them back together or use left over dough to fill in gaps. In the oven the dough will melt together.
19. Bake for 40 – 45 minutes.
20. Sprinkle with powdered sugar after cooling.
21. Linzer Torte stays fresh for 1 – 2 weeks when kept airtight in the fridge. It also freezes well.
