Deals, Steals, and Freebies from This Last Weekend

I am trying very hard to watch my spending this holiday season. It's difficult, though. I want to be generous with our giving to organizations that help others, to our church, and to friends who have supported us so well this past year. I also want to treat my family members during the holidays. Yet, there is only so much money to go around. 

With this in mind, I'm trying to treat my family without spending a huge fortune. I've been scouring the deals every week for a month, now. And these are the deals, steals, and freebies that I got over this past weekend.

Deals

• Bath & Body Works 3-wick candle to use as a gift, for $6.58 (regularly $24.00)
• 5 packages Nestle Toll House baking chips, including Mini chips, Dark Chocolate, and Semi-Sweet, for $1.49 each, to be used in baking throughout the holiday season and into winter (my other "best price" for baking chips is $1.78/package of store-brand chips on sale at WinCo, otherwise the regular price of Nestle morsels is $3.59/package at Fred Meyer)
• 1 dented can of artichoke hearts, 49 cents, to use in Christmas dinner (regularly $2.49)

Steals

• 12 ounces gourmet decaffeinated ground coffee for 99 cents, a price I never, ever find for ground coffee (regularly $6.99)
• Four 1-quart cartons (I only show 1 in photo, other 3 are in the freezer) of organic almond milk for 50 cents each (regularly $2.79 each)

Freebies

• One 3-ounce Theo dark chocolate bar -- FREE! (Regularly $2.99) This will become a gift.
• One Kinder chocolate bar -- FREE! (Regularly $1.29) This will become a gift.
• 1 full-sized bottle of Bath & Body Works shower gel -- FREE! (Regularly $13.50) This will become a gift.

I spent $17.51 for all of this. The regular retail value of the lot is about $80.37.

When the stress of potential post-holiday credit card bills starts to get me down, a shopping day like I had this past Saturday helps to level out my mood. Any deals, steals or freebies for you lately?

Almost Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies

Seeing as how it is not GS cookie season, I think it's okay to put a recipe out there for making a similar cookie without the high cost, while not highjacking any Girl Scout earnings. This cookie is very much like the GS version in flavor and texture, even though the cookie part is not a chocolate wafer but, instead, a lowly ritz-style cracker. 

Only 4 ingredients and no baking, making this a perfect cookie to whip up for a last-minute neighbor gift, potluck offering, or just a nice, sweet treat for your family. 

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vegetable shortening
2 dozen ritz-style crackers
2 to 4 drops of peppermint oil (oil and not extract)
table knife
sheet of waxed paper

In a microwaveable bowl, melt the chocolate chips with the shortening in short bursts of about 10 to 20 seconds, stirring with a table knife in between the bursts. 

When melted and smooth, stir in about 2-4 drops of the peppermint oil. (I poured a small amount of oil into the cap for the bottle, then dripped it into the chocolate, stirred and tasted until it was as minty as I liked.)

Working quickly, use the table knife to spread melted mint chocolate onto both sides of each cracker, then allow to firm up on a sheet of waxed paper. This is a bit messy, but I found that spreading the crackers with the chocolate resulted in smoother cookies with a more modest coat of chocolate than dipping (meaning the chocolate went further). 

Place in the fridge for an hour to quickly firm up or allow to sit for several hours at room temperature.

These mock GS mint cookies were fairly inexpensive to make. I used crackers from Dollar Tree, chocolate chips bought on the fall and holiday baking sale (WinCo store brand), Walmart shortening and just a couple of drops of peppermint oil. I bought my little vial of peppermint oil at Michael's, using a high-value coupon (I think it was 50% off), spending under $3 for 2 drams (vials) about two years ago. I originally bought the oil for making peppermint-flavored fondant for chocolate mint patties and now have most of the 2 vials leftover. In addition to the mint patties and thin mint cookies, I've also used the peppermint oil for making chocolate mint truffles.