When Joe and I first met, I never knew he wouldn’t be okay with sleepovers. No pre-marital counseling or books on preparing for marriage has ever covered sleepovers! (gasp) 🤣 In all seriousness though, it wasn’t until our oldest child came to an age that she would be interested in it. Joe explained that his parents never allowed it and he agreed with their decision. I don’t remember their reasoning but knowing my in-laws, it was due to practicality. I can hear my mother-in-law now, “What’s the point of a sleepover? You’re sleeping!” 😁

When I was young, my mother allowed them and did her best to make them fun, but she couldn’t control the actions and feelings of all the children involved and someone always ended up upset. So now every month or so, we plan an evening of fun and call it a “sleepover.” We usually spend a little money but these can easily be planned without spending anything at all.

When my older children were younger, we sometimes called these evenings, “girls night out” and “boys night out,” depending on who we were taking out. The most important part is not what it’s called but that they enjoy themselves. Planned days or evenings like this also encourages sibling harmony rather than sibling rivalry, which makes for long-lasting positive memories.

It was Francesca’s turn to pick out the evening activities and one of them was to make cookies! I don’t cook with gluten flours anymore so this recipe includes oats and rice flour instead of wheat or white. This cookie recipe is super easy to make, even for your youngest child. The kitchenaid mixer is not required but the children enjoy using it.

Ingredients

• 2 sticks of butter or 1 cup of butter
• ½ cup of real honey
• 2 eggs
• 1 ½ cups of rice flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 4 cups of oats
• 2 cups of raisins (1 cup is plenty but we really like raisins 😍)

Directions

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. melt butter and pour into mixing bowl
3. add honey, eggs, flour, soda, oats and raisins one at a time, making sure to stir until smooth after each ingredient
4. butter cookie sheet (we use stoneware cookie sheets)
5. roll dough into small balls and place on cookie sheet
6. take a fork and flatten the dough into the shape of a round cookie
7. bake for 10 minutes or until lightly golden

RECIPE BEGINS AT MINUTE 7:30

Thank you for watching and have a great day!
 

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