Christmas Recipe - Hand Cream

Okay, so I know the idea here was most likely food recipes, and actually I do have a recipe I make every Christmas, so I'll put that here, too.  But first, the hand cream!  I was amazed at just how easy it is to make your own creamy, soft, yummy-smelling hand cream!  I found the recipe here. Just like the person in that post, I ordered the supplies I needed from Mountain Rose Herbs. Once you have the ingredients you need, it is quite economical to make, too.  I used half-pint Ball canning jars to package it.  I found some wide-mouth ones, which are perfect for the lotion! The recipe makes enough to fill 2 of these jars.

Here's the recipe:

• 1 1/4 cup hot water
• 1/4 cup emulsifying wax (I got mine from Mountain Rose Herbs)
• 1/4 cup olive or coconut oil (refined will keep the cream from smelling of coconut!)
• 24-36 drops essential oil (I got these from Mountain Rose Herbs, but had one I bought at my local health food store a couple years ago, too.)

Directions: Combine oil and wax in glass measuring cup and microwave on high for 1 minute, or until all the wax is melted.  Add the essential oil drops to this mixture and stir.  While you are doing that, microwave the water for 1 minute.  Add the wax mixture to the water (it turns the creamy white color at this point), and then pour the hot lotion into jars.  Let cool overnight and then enjoy!

The link to the original recipe also has a printout for jar labels, but I wasn't terribly fond of them, so I made my own in Microsoft Publisher.

Now for the food recipe!  Every Christmas morning, I make my grandmother's cinnamon rolls!  They are the most yummy rolls in the world! They are a bit time consuming, but worth every minute!  I actaully make mine the night before, roll them out and put them in the baking pan the night before.  I leave them in the refrigerator overnight (covered) and just let them come to room temperature in the morning before baking them. Top these with your favorite cream cheese frosting, and they are amazing!

A quick funny story about these though, especially since one of my college buddies Tina wanted to get the link to the lotion, and she would remember this!  The year after I graduated from college, Jerry was gone for a weekend on a business trip, so I invited some of my dorm mates to come stay at my place for the weekend.  I was so excited to be the keeper of my very own home and wanted to make amazing home cooked meals for my still-eating-dorm-food friends.  I decided to make this recipe for breakfast Saturday morning, but I had never made it before.  I had never made any yeasted bread recipe before for that matter! (Joanna, we should have experimented with yeasted bread instead of making so many variations on the green and purple swirly cake when we were in high school!) Anyway, it went very badly.  I didn't know how to knead dough very well.  I used my kitchen aid (which was brand-spanking-new at that time!), but the dough seemed so wet!  I kept adding flour, and by the time they rolls were completely done, they were like cinnamon rocks.  I think we ate cereal instead! :)

Grandma's Cinnamon Roll Recipe

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 stick butter
• 1 pkg. yeast (2 1/2 tsp)
• 1 cup warm water
• 7 cups flour
• pinch salt

Mix together eggs, milk, oil, and sugar in bowl.  In another bowl, combine flour and salt.  Make a well in the middle of the dry mixture.  Stir yeast and warm water and mix with the flour in the well.  Sprinkle with a little sugar.  Once yeast is active, beat in the wet mixture and soft butter.  Knead until the sides of the bowl are clean.  Let rise until double.

At this point, this dough can be used to make doughnuts, or continue to make rolls.  Roll out dough into large rectangle and spread melted butter over the top.  Top this with a cinnamon sugar mixture, and add nuts and/or raisins if desired.  Roll up lengthwise and press the edge to seal.  Cut into 12 rolls and arrange in a 9X13 baking dish.  Allow to double in size again.  Bake at 350 for 20-35 minutes (depending on the degree of doneness you like.  I like mine soft.)  Top with cream cheese frosting while still warm, and enjoy!