Body Butter (Or, How You, Too, Can Smell Like Delicious)

Sometime last week-ish, Kim mentioned off-hand that she was making body butter.  Curiosity peaked, I asked for her recipe, which she sweetly provided.  (It's a pared-down version of the recipe in The Rhythm of Family.)  I was happy to see that we had almost every ingredient for it in the house, so--after procuring a fresh cake of beeswax at the store--Sweet Husband and I mixed it together once the baby was in bed.  (We're wild like that, I tell you!)

The next morning, when I opened a cooled jar full of it for a test, I had to grab the Kid's hand to keep him from reaching in and eating a bite.  Based on the delicious smell that came out of the jar, I could hardly blame him.  I think he thought I was plum crazy when I started rubbing it on my elbows instead of running to the kitchen for a spoon.  It took me several minutes to convince him that I wasn't pulling his leg when I said to rub it on his hands.

Seriously, I think beeswax is the most heavenly scent on earth, but toss a little coconut oil in and it becomes downright divine.  Forget moisturizing my skin--which it also does admirably--I want it as a perfume!

Are you tired of me gushing yet?

OK, I'll get on to the recipe.  

The original recipe calls for 2 1/2 ounces of beeswax, but the cake we got from the store was 3 ounces.  Horrible baker that I am, I just tossed the entire thing in.  It worked fine--maybe a little thicker than the original, but it makes the ultimate recipe easier to scale, so that's what's reflected below.

Ingredients

• 3 ounces beeswax (so, 1 part)
• 6 ounces coconut oil (2 parts)
• 12 ounces olive oil (4 parts--isn't that nifty?!)
• 1 cup water
• about 40 drops essential oil (I used lavender, but can hardly smell it over the other goodies.  I think next time I might not even bother.)

Directions

Add beeswax and oils to the top of a double boiler and heat until melted.  Allow the mixture to cool, and beat on high for 3-5 minutes, slowly adding the water as you mix.  (We heated the mix in the bowl of our stand mixer over a pot of simmering water, let it cool for enough time to have a glass of wine, then mixed it with the stand mixer.  Less dishes, less work=win!)  If you want to add essential oil, add it at the end of that mixing time, then mix for another minute to incorporate it.

By now you should be understanding what I mean about the yummy smell!  Spoon the mixture into storage containers--glass jars are awesome and cheap--and use within 6 months.

[And the winner of the Infinite Twist giveaway is Erin Maxwell!]