Molly’s Peanut Butter Nutella Cookies

This is the week that everyone returned to school, and I had the blessing of spending some time with our little Molly while her siblings were off for their first day of school.  We wanted to make them some cookies for them to celebrate and my idea was to make my Peanut Butter Honey Cookies, but Molly thought a Peanut Butter Nutella was what they would want.  She is the sweetest little sister to know just what everyone would love, so I had to get creative with my favorite Peanut Butter Cookie recipe. 

I used my basic recipe, divided the dough in half, added peanut better to one half of the dough and a big dose of the chocolate hazelnut goodness to the other half of the dough.  Then lightly swirled the two doughs together and baked.  Molly wanted to add a little extra chocolate with the colors of M & M's .  We had so much fun baking these special back to school cookies.  It only took an hour and they were gone in about that same amount of time!  

Here's the ingredients....

1/2 Cup Softened Butter

1/4 Cup Brown Sugar, Packed

1/4 Cup White Sugar

2 Eggs

2 Teas. Real Vanilla

2 Cups All-Purpose Flour

1/2 Teas Baking Soda

1/4 Teas Salt

1/3 Cup Peanut Butter

1/3 Cup Nutella

M & M's

Step 1.  In a large mixer bowl, cream together the butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy.

Step 2.  In a separate bowl, add the flour, salt, baking soda and sift together. 

Step 3.  Add to wet ingredients and mix together.  

Step 4.  Divide the dough in half and place in two separate bowls.

Step 5.  Mix the peanut butter into one of the bowls of dough and mix the Nutella into the other bowl of dough.  

Step 6.  Place the two doughs back into the mixer bowl and with a wooden spoon or dough whisk,  lightly fold the two doughs together.

Step 7.  Chill in refrigerator for a half hour and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  

Step 8.  After the dough has chilled for a half hour and the oven is heated, roll the dough into balls the size of a golf ball and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.  

Step 9.  Bake for 7 to 9 minutes.  Remove from oven when they are light golden on the bottom.  Let cool on baking sheet.  

Step 10.  Press an M & M into the center of each while cooling.  

Molly was a super smart and creative baker to come up with a special cookie with peanut butter and Nutella.  They were so good!  The kids had a great first day, and she had a big smile on her face when they all came home.  It's tough being the only little one at home.   We hope you enjoy this recipe.  These are super simple cookies to make and freeze well too.  Enjoy!

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Molly’s Peanut Butter Nutella Cookies

Millie's Cardinal Barn Quilt

Every morning we would climb onto Grandma's couch that slide up to the table in front of the window to look out for the birds that visited the feeders she and my Grandpa tended to.  On the breakfast table was a pair of binoculars and a bird identification book.  Maybe they helped us look for birds to keep us little one's busy, but we loved the time looking for one very special bird, the Cardinal.  

She loved those bright red birds, especially against the white snow that drifted on the hills around the farm.  We could see them everywhere when snow fell.  Here is the west I don't see them in the wild, just the ones that have been gifted to me from her collection, and a few my sweetheart has given me to keep the tradition alive.  During the summer her ceramic Cardinal sits in my birdbath and it feels like she loved seeing it too.  

Inspired by my Grandma, I have designed Millie's Cardinal Barn Quilt in the style of our Little Pieces Collection of barn quilts.  We had so much fun adding the half-squares as pines and all the beautiful reds in the Prairie Collection to give each triangle dimension and life. 

This barn quilt has been added to Our Shop today.  We hope you love it as much as I do.  If my family in NY sees this post...one is coming your way.  Mille's Cardinal belongs there and on the barns of all who loved this most beautiful bird.  
Our Paint It sale is going on this week!  Use code PaintIt and save 25% on all orders.  

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Millie's Cardinal Barn Quilt

Pink Patriot Barn Quilt

Happy 4th of July!  We hope you are having a wonderful summer full of sun, water and lots of flowers.  In honor of the holiday we are releasing our newest barn quilt, the Pink Patriot.  We wanted to design a quilt and barn quilt this year with the soft color of pink in it to pay tribute to the hard working, and hopeful women who who have made sacrifices on behalf of our country.  
There are numerous stories of women in active service away from their loved ones, and women at home in service working to support their loved ones and their country.  I am thankful for their service and hope in making a difference. 
This Pink Patriot Barn Quilt is available for orders today, with the pattern releasing this week.  The Prairie Paint colors in this barn quilt are set off by the subtle pink in Peach Blossom.  One of my favorite pinks.  

You can watch our IG stories for the progress on the fabric quilt as well.  We have a discount code of PinkPatriot this week.  Use it to get 25% off on all orders.  We wish you and yours a wonderful celebration.  

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Pink Patriot Barn Quilt

New Wilde Bloem Flowers

Our two new Wilde Bloem flowers are releasing today.  We are excited to add Bloeming Sunflowers and Wilde Clover to our growing collection of floral inspired barn quilts, barn quilt kits and patterns.   Both of these flowers are dear to our hearts because of the symbolism in each of them.  All of the Wilde Bloem flowers were chosen for their meanings and for design elements that make them extra beautiful in paint and cloth quilts.

Bloeming Sunflower Barn Quilt

Bloeming Sunflower Barn Quilt Kit

The Bloeming Sunflower and Wilde Clover Barn Quilt Kits include a Farmhouse Planked Barn Quilt Board, a pattern and our Prairie Paints to complete each of the barn quilt designs.  The barn quilt boards are 12" square and when painted in a set, make a beautiful piece of wall art, they are also pretty darling as individual quilts.

Bloeming Sunflower and Wilde Clover Barn Quilt Patterns

The Wilde Bloem Barn Quilt Patterns come in full color print that we can ship to you or in a PDF download that you can print yourself.  All of our 183 patterns can be found in Our Shop .  All of our pattern include a full color diagram of the barn quilt, a line pattern, Prairie Paint color selections, and our How To Paint a Barn Quilt instructions.  These patterns have been a reason to celebrate, dream and create for many DIY barn quilters and we hope these designs inspire you to paint one too!

Wilde Clover Mini Barn Quilt

Wilde Bloem Barn Quilt Kit
The Wilde Clover is the symbol of good luck, blessings and fortune and we loved painting this in our freshest Prairie Paint colors.  My favorite is the Alfalfa Bloom, which is the dark and vibrant pink.  Then again, two of my most loved greens are there beside it.  You will love painting with our own blend of gel-chalk paints which have superior coverage and vintage inspired colors you will love.
We hope you are inspired by this Wilde Bloem Collection and will find something to stitch, paint, quilt and love about these special flowers.  

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New Wilde Bloem Flowers

Wildflower Pottery

The day our snow is melted we are out looking through the grasses and rocks on the mountain for the first peeks of those colorful blooms.  This year I wanted to preserve the first of the blooms with these farmhouse pottery slabs.  So, I went for a walk in the field to find a few beautiful flowers.  

They are so easy to make and so beautiful hung in a collection on a wall, or displayed with your favorite blooms.  It is also a great way to preserve special blooms from bridal bouquets and other special occasions.  You can make them tiny for a single petal or bud and wear as a necklace or you can make a big slab and recreate your garden in pottery.  There are no limits to the ways this technique can be used to bring lasting wild flowers into your home.

The materials are few and relatively inexpensive.  You will want Polymer Clay.   I have tried using Air Dry Clay and it is so temperamental and brittle, it is sad to loose your blooms to weak clay, so I clearly recommend using the Polymer Clay.  I love to use Sculpey Polymer Clay .  It comes in lots of colors and is so smooth and easy to work with.  The directions were straight on correct and my projects always turn out perfectly using their clay.  So get some!  Price point is anywhere from $2.50 to $9.00 for a pack which will make 3 to 4 floral pottery pieces.

The Polymer Clay comes out hard like a brick.  You will want to break off a piece and knead it in your hands until it gets soft and workable.  Polymer Clay is made of plastic PVC material and softens as it is worked.  So kneads a piece and roll it out to be a 1/4 inch thick.  I like my edges to look like a slap of clay and not perfectly cut.  You can cut your shapes and edges with a knife, but again I love the natural look of rounded fingered shapes.  Use a toothpick or dowel to make a hole in the top to hang it from and place on a non-stick baking pan.

If you are wanting a relief of a flower, lay it down on the clay where you want it to mold and lightly roll over it with a rolling pin to make the indenture.  Lift the flower off of the clay and bake at 275 degrees for 15 minutes.  

If you want to preserve fresh wildflowers with all their color, pick blooms that are soft and will flatten well.  Lay your blooms onto the clay in the place you want them to be and roll over to flatten them into the clay.   Use tweezers to position any petals that are out of place and tap lightly into the clay.  Pick off any that are standing upright and will not lay down.  Heat your oven to 275 degrees and bake for 20 minuets.

The baking process will dry out the flowers and the colors will dull just a bit, but the sealer will refresh them in the next process.  Let the clay cool.

Use your finger to lightly brush off any loose petal crumbs or leaves that popped up during the baking/drying process.

To seal your wildflowers, lightly brush over the baked flowers and clay background with the Sculpey Satin Glaze.  This liquid is the same component as the Polymer Clay but without the fillers, so just as the Polymer Clay dried hard, this satin glaze dries clear and hard over your clay piece to seal in the petals and other parts that may not have laid perfectly flat.  

After you have lightly brushed this over your clay piece, return it to the over for 5 to 10 minutes to bake it clear.  Watch closely as you can over bake it and turn your piece brown...(I know).    Bring it out of the oven and let cool.  

Use the tip of a needle or other tiny sharp object to clear the hole back out and your DIY Wild Flower Pottery piece is ready to hang! 

If you are looking for suppliers of the Sculpey products, I found mine at my local Hobby Lobby.  I hope you enjoy this DIY project!  It is one of my favorite of all time.  I know I say that often, but for real, this was so easy and relatively quick to make.  

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Wildflower Pottery

A Good Place

The Thistle is a flower with special meaning to my family in New York.  I grew up hearing how the land the farm was built on was chosen by a blind, many greats grandfather named Conrad Lasher.  He traveled to Steuben County with family who were commenting on how big and tall the thistles were growing on the prospective land. 

He asked to feel them and was led to the field and said after touching the purple flowers, "Any land that can grow Thistles this tall, is good land".  They bought the farm and the woods and it all grew, just like the Wild Thistles.  

Today I had a long walk through the farm fields along the river near my home that is 2000+ miles away from the family farm in NY.  The rainy summer we have had, with it's afternoon thunderstorms has reminded me of my NY summers.  As I came around the long stretch of waving fields, there was one very tall and beautiful Thistle.  Behind it, the mountain we love on. 

I walked past the pink flower and then turned around to go back and take a picture.  As I looked through the lens I saw this one lone thistle plant and our home behind it.  I paused and took a deep breath in.  One of those that you remember always and then as I was heading home I looked to my left and saw the two tall blue Harvestor silos across the river and field.  

On our farm in New York were two Harvestor's just like the two in the field in front of me.  I walk this trail several times a week and they are a landmark for me, reminding me of home.  The rain, the thistle and the silos all combined this morning to bring a little bit of my NY home to me in Utah.  

The message I took in is just like my Greats Grandfather Lasher said, a couple hundred years ago, "Any land that can grow Thistles that tall is good land." and so this land that we have made our home is "good land" too.   It's all good when we receive it, with a heart willing to love it and share it.  

So, this was my Celebrate, Dream Create moment for the week.  Maybe, there will be a few more.  I celebrate the words of the past and the experiences I had growing up that made me fall in love with the peace only nature can bring, and the home we have grown into.  It took a weed to symbolize the dream and hope of growth.  That is a message to think about too this week.  

I hope you have a wonderful week ahead full of things to celebrate, hope for and lots of creating.  

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A Good Place

Austin Star Barn Quilt Pattern

Over the stormy grey weekend that we had here is Utah, I had the chance to write the pattern for one of our most asked for patterns, the Austin Star Barn Quilt.  We designed this quilt last summer and painted it with our favorite Prairie Paint Colors against a striking black background.  I love to think of this design as a cross between our most purchased Texas Star and the really big grand dad of all stars, the Lonestar.  

Austin Star Barn Quilt Pattern

Our patterns are designed to be scaled to any size barn quilt board or surface you want to paint a design on.  One of the key issues with scaling a design is how to get something really complicated onto a board and I am so happy to say that our How To Paint A Barn Quilt Guide will answer these questions.  

The biggest issue is just as in fabric quilting, the more complicated the design, or the smaller the block, the more tedious it is for paint of stitch.  Larger is often times so much easier to create.  Our patterns are adaptable to any size.  I have painted stars on little itty bitty barn quilts for birdhouses and angels and have also painted the same design to cover an entire floor.  It is so fun to use the same design in all kinds of places!

Austin Star Barn Quilt
We are excited to add this barn quilt pattern to the collection of amazing quilt patterns you can paint.  We also offer this barn quilt in three sizes with a beautiful frame that can go inside or outside all the year round. 
We have extended our Spring Sale for another week.   The code to save 25% on all orders and class registrations is Spring25!
We wish the happiest of weeks with lots of sunshine and smiles!  

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Austin Star Barn Quilt Pattern

Kincaid Star Barn Quilt Story

Often I am asked what was the story behind a quilt design, whether it is created on cloth or wood.  I love a good story, and creating a design with elements that bring that story to life.  We have designed many original quilt designs for people who wanted to honor their own stories.  Today, I want to share the story of one of my family branches and the way that story made it's way into one of my favorite designs.  

The Kincaid Star photographed where the Kincaid home stood in Avoca, NY.  My grandmother would stop to care for their tombstones in the field across from the house (which was standing at the time).  One day she pointed to the different parts of the house, it’s windows, porches etc and asked me what I thought happened in the kitchen, what they cooked, where they played, and worked. 

It was an imaginative moment for me and brought them out of black, white, and shades of grey to real life in my mind.  In later years she sent me old photographs of their home and the history all written in black and white to read and save.  Last summer when we went back home to NY, I had to paint a Kincaid Star and bring it to that beautiful hill top to be photographed in their place. 

The design of the black and white with all kinds of half squares in one design, was representative of the gift my grandmother gave me that hot summer day.  The half squares represented the half seen story of an grey old abandoned home.  The black, white and shades of grey represent the beautiful story of a life past that can be remembered and seen in love and imagination.  It’s one of my favorite  and most loved original quilt designs because of that experience years ago. 

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Kincaid Star Barn Quilt Story

A Weed Is A Flower

A weed is just a flower in disguise if seen through loving eyes.  I have loved this thought for so many years.  It was hand-written into the cover of an old book gifted to me by my husband, and of course it found it's way into one of my most loved embroidery samplers.  

This saying is loved for the reminder that all things can be seen as beautiful and can hold value when seen with love.   In my drawings, paintings and natural dye processes I have found the most deep and beautiful colors in what some would call weeds.  All creations on earth were created by a creator whose nature is love.  

In our shop we have kits and frames for this embroidery sampler.  It is stitched on hand dyed fabric, simple black and includes lace flowers, wood buttons and ribbon leaves.  Also included in the kit are hoops, needle, snips, marking pen, and batting.  The frame for this piece is also available in our frame collection.  

All of the basic stitches in this piece are added to our Tweetle Dee YouTube Channel.  I am often asked how long it takes to stitch a piece, so I track it for you.  This piece took two evenings to stitch and just a few minutes to frame.   The finished size fits in a 11" x 16" frame as well.  
We hope you feel inspired to embroider along with us.  We all need a reminder to see each other and all of nature through the eyes of love.  

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A Weed Is A Flower

Spring is Here

We had such a happy weekend with the first signs of spring coming up on the mountain.  Easter is one of my favorite holidays because of how simple it is.  A few eggs, a few flowers, a cute bunny and the remembrance that our Savior died so that we can live and have second chances.  It is a perfect time to clear out the old and look at the fresh gifts we receive in our renewals.  
I painted a few wooden eggs with my favorite Prairie Paint colors, that looks so much like the natural eggs we find in our chicken coop.  It's inspired me to pull together a sampler pack of our colors for the season.  Watch for it come very soon.  

I finished the Bud and Dot patterns and created a couple of kits for them, and of course our darling bunnies wanted to show them off.  The kits are available in Our Shop with all the fabric, floss, hoop, needle and instructions to make these darling bunnies.  They are so cute you will want them all around year round.  

All of my ceramic bunnies became a collection of dark chocolate bunnies with a couple of coats of Espresso Brown Satin Spray Paint.  I gathered them together with some vintage Easter cards and Prairie Paint eggs.  It was quick and easy and was the perfect look for my spring table.   

The snow melted off just enough that we could have a small egg hunt on the lawn and the back patio and we all soaked up the rich, golden sun.  It was a lovely day to be together and help our two toddler grandbabies find their eggs.  It took a little wrangling to get them to put them in their baskets, but it was a really fun time.  

As soon as that sun was setting we lit up the porch lights and made our Sourdough Pizza Dough and fired up the Ooni.  We love having pizzas on the back porch because of how simple it is to prep for and each person can make their own creation.  My husband runs the oven and we had a great dinner as the sun set.  

One thing I have learned  is that it doesn't matter what the menu is, or what the weather is, or how many or few we have, as long as we gather together, we will feel love.  I'm thankful for the blessing of family and friends.  I'm also so thankful to see the sun shine on our fences, knowing that the snow will melt and new growth will come soon.  

We hope you had a wonderful weekend and enjoy all the little things that this season brings into your life.  Remember that everyday there is something to celebrate, something we can dream about & hope for, and something we can create.  It's the way I have survived and thrived in my life and I know there is something magical when we look for the small things we can celebrate and feel gratitude for, something we can dream-or hope for, and something we make with our hands and hearts everyday.  

Sending you a hug for a great week!

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Spring is Here

Sweet & Light Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

Every spring we make cinnamon rolls for your family.  It's been a tradition for 30+ years with the scent of sweet dough and cinnamon that brings you home.  This year with the a new sourdough journey, we made a smaller sourdough batch of rolls with many of the tricks we've learned over the years, and they were the best we've ever made!  So I though with Easter coming this week, it may be nice for you to try them as well.  

Sweet & Light Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

Dough

140 grams milk

28 g melted butter

1 egg

100 grams active sourdough starter

300 grams flour

5 grams grey salt

Cinnamon Filling

2 tbs soft butter

1/2 c sugar

2 teas cinnamon

1/2 c brown sugar

Glaze

1/4 c soft butter

1/4 c soft cream cheese

1 teas vanilla

3 c powdered sugar

1 to 2 tbs of milk

First, let's make the dough.  Pour the milk and butter into a small bowl, whisk and set aside.  In your stand mixer bowl, add egg, active sourdough starter and with the paddle attachment mix together.  Add the butter/milk mixture until incorporated.  Add flour and salt.  Mix into a sticky mixture, cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes in 68 to 75 degree temps.  I like to turn on the light in my oven and proof my dough in the oven with the door closed.  This is especially helpful in the winter. 

Change the mixing attachment to the dough hook and knead the dough for 5 minutes on a low speed.  If the dough is too sticky while kneading, add a little more flour until the dough forms a soft ball.  Butter the sides of a large bowl and place the dough in it, cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm (68 to 75 degree) place to proof for 12 hours or overnight.

When the dough has proofed and it should be doubled in size.  Oil and flour your counter surface and lightly pull the dough from the bowl onto the prepared counter space.  Let rest 20 minutes.  This is a good time to make the Cinnamon filling.  

In a small bowl add white sugar and cinnamon and whisk together with a fork.  get your brown sugar and soft butter ready.  Prepare a 9" springform pan by placing a piece of parchment paper in the bottom and up the sides of the pan.  Set aside. 

Lightly roll out the dough into a 16" x 12" rectangle om the oiled and flour counter.  I like to make a few soft rolls with my rolling pin and then use my fingers to stretch it into shape lifting and lightly pulling it into shape.  Once you have the shape, spread the softened butter over the dough.  Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture onto the butter and then sprinkle the brown sugar over it all.  

Now it's time to make your rolls.  Take the long side of the dough and roll it from one side to the other to make a long tube of dough.  Using a piece of baker's string, slice 2" rolls by sliding the string under the roll, and then crossing the two ends of the string to cut off each section.  

Place each roll into the parchment lined pan.  Make sure to give them some space.  

When all of them are in the pan, use your fingers to lightly press each roll down a little to make them more round than upright.  Cover the pan and let rise for 2 hours in a warm place.  

When the 2 hours are up, preheat oven to 350 degrees and place in middle rack of the oven.  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the tops are slightly brown. Remove from oven and let sit in pan for 10 minutes before lifting the parchment paper out of the pan to cool on a rack.  

While they are cooling, it is a good time to make the glaze.  In your mixer and with the whisk attachment, add the butter and cream cheese and whip on high for a few  minutes.  Add vanilla and mix.  Add the powdered sugar and whisk.  It will look dry,  add the milk a little at a time until you get the consistency of a light whipped frosting.  
You can either frost while warm and have the glaze sink in or frost cold and pile that yumminess up.  We love to serve these slightly warm.
We hope you enjoy these Sweet & Light Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls.  They turned out so sweet and good.  The slight tang of sourdough set off the sweetness and made for a perfect bite of cinnamon goodness.  To watch the video you can go to our Unstagram @tweetledeedesignco or our TikTok channel @tweetledee.

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Sweet & Light Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls