Recipe: Cookie-Cutter Soaps and Soap-On-A-Rope (homemade soap, not edible)

COOKIE-CUTTER SOAPS

"Quick and easy, cookie-cutter soaps are fun to make and use. Mom or Dad should be on hand to supervise, but even a four-year-old can create soap shapes with success, leaving only suds to clean up."

4 cups Ivory Snow powdered detergent (see note)
Large bowl
1/2 cup water
Wooden spoon
3 small bowls
Red, green, and blue food colorings
Vegetable oil (see note)
Waxed paper
Saucer
Cookie cutters
Paper towels
Spatula
Baking sheet, lined with waxed paper

Pour the powdered detergent into the large bowl. Add the water, cup at a time, stirring with a wooden spoon until it forms a thick batter the consistency of sticky play dough. Divide the mixture among the 3 small bowls. Add 2 or 3 drops red food coloring to the first bowl. (For a darker color, add more drops.)

Coat children's hands with vegetable oil. Let them work the color into the dough until it is completely blended. Have them wash their hands and apply more vegetable oil before mixing a new color. Repeat with the green and blue food colorings.

Cover a flat, clutter-free surface with long sheets of waxed paper that overlap by 2-inches. Pour several teaspoons of vegetable oil into a saucer for dipping the cookie cutters. Have paper towels handy for cleanups.

With clean, oiled hands, pat out each portion of soap dough 1-inch thick. Dip a cookie cutter into the oil and, pressing firmly, cut through the soap. Carefully remove the cookie cutter. (If the soap shape sticks to the cutter, gently remove it with your fingertips.) With a spatula, place the finished shapes on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper. Set the sheet in a safe, dry place to cure for 24 hours.

*If Ivory Snow is unavailable, use another gentle-care powdered detergent such as Dreft. Do not substitute heavy-duty stain-removal detergents that contain skin or eye irritants. Much in the same way a powdering of flour is needed for working with pastry dough, a generous coat of vegetable oil on hands (and even on the waxed paper or work surface) will make the soap dough manageable and easy to work. Otherwise it can be too sticky to handle. Keep an extra cup of powdered detergent on hand to add if the mixture is too sticky.

VARIATIONS:

SWEET HEARTS AND FLOWERS:
Follow the basic recipe, adding 18 to 30 drops of essential oil such as lavender, rose, or vanilla. Divide the dough among 4 small bowls, and add 2 or 3 drops food coloring to each, making 4 different pastel shades. Continue as directed, using heart- and flower-shaped cookie cutters. Arrange the finished soaps in a small basket on a bed of tissue paper.

"YOU'RE THE STAR" SOAP-ON-A-ROPE:
Proceed as directed, but leave the mixture in the large bowl. Omit the food coloring. Add cup old-fashioned rolled oats or cornmeal and a few drops of an essential oil such as lemongrass, eucalyptus, or rosemary. With clean, oiled hands, roll the soap into a ball before molding it into the shape of a 1-inch-thick star. Using a straw or pencil, pierce one of the star's points at its base, piercing it all the way through. Thread a 2-foot length of 1/4-inch rope or twine through the hole. Tie the ends in a tight double knot and pull it back through to the center of the hole created for the rope.

Makes 6 to 8 soaps, depending on size
Source: Summertime Treats by Sara Perry