Thursday, December 16, 2010

Good enough to eat: Body Scrub

It was called pampepato and it was going to be the answer to all my Christmas present woes. I'd found the recipe for this medieval Italian treat - a kind of panforte - and bought all the ingredients. I set aside an afternoon in my tumbledown kitchen and imagined all the grateful recipients sighing with joy as they bit into their handcrafted festive treat.
Then I took the finished products out of the oven.
"Oh," my flatmate said, peering over my shoulder. "It looks like a whole lot of cowpats."

I've since learned that Christmas plus stress plus the best will in the world will not necessarily equal success. By this stage in the game it's far too late to make chutneys and jams, but you can make this - a no-cook, no stress body scrub. And your friends and family will love you for it.


Chocolate Olive Oil Body Scrub
I snitched this recipe from Melissa at Tiny Happy, who has a really gorgeous blog about the things she makes for her shop. I've changed the proportions a tiny bit and added cinnamon for a bit of festive spice. It's moisturising and exfoliating (especially good for getting rid of dodgy fake tan streaks) - and possibly the most waistline-friendly way to get a serious chocolate hit. Enjoy!

1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup brown sugar (not raw sugar, unless you have the hide of an elephant)
1/2 cup cocoa
2tsp cinnamon

Mix everything together until well combined. Add a little more oil or sugar to get the consistency you desire - it should be a nice blend of grittiness and viscosity. Pack into a small glass jar and decorate in a festive fashion. Pin It

4 comments:

  1. I LOVE it! Perfect for my jar fetish and perfect for the waistline too! I'll be pinching that recipe for sure - thanks!

    That first paragraph reminds me of some of my own experiences!

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  2. Another great recipe and what a perfect gift. I've managed to make foot balm as a gift in the past and lip balm and nail oil, but this looks much more fun. And the jar and bow look great too.

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  3. Sounds fabulous. I made panpetato a few Christmases ago and your description is very apt (although you could say that about most panforte too). Cow-patness aside it really did taste wonderful.

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  4. Wow! What an amazing idea. I feel very conservative with my body scrubs now! Am going to make it at once and give to an unsuspecting husband with a slight scrub obsession (but don't tell anyone!).

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