Thursday, October 1, 2009

Cinnamon Applesauce Ornaments

My house has smelled wonderfully fall-like for the last two days. I've finally made cinnamon ornaments, something I've been wanting to do for years but just never got around to. They're terrifically easy, and don't make as much of a mess as I had expected. Here's my recipe:

1 1/8 cup cinnamon
1 Tbsp ground cloves
2 tsp allspice
3/4 cup applesauce
2 Tbsp tacky glue

Mix all ingredients until well combined, the mixture should stay together but not be sticky. Work the dough in your hands for a few minutes. (It will turn your hands brown, but it washes off simply with soap and water... and maybe a little scratching.) Roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness and use your cookie cutters (I got 13 large.) Use a straw to poke holes for ribbons (be sure to poke two per ornament if you want it to face you when hanging.) Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 200 degrees for 2.5 hours, flipping twice to prevent the edges from curling. Use white fabric paint to decorate (it looks like icing.) Voila! Simple, easy, ornaments that will smell good for years.

I've been throwing around the idea of making a gingerbread house from the dough so that I'll always have one to put out, even if I can't get around to making the edible ones. This time though, I used letter cookie cutters to stamp out "Welcome" and I plan to string it from the wreath I'm making for the front door. I also cut out the letters for the first names of everyone in our family to decorate and hang on our tree this Christmas.

1 comment:

Jen said...

Awww, so cute! I'd love to see this! (You'll have to make sure the Wonder Twins don't decide these smell good enough to eat...)