Apple Cinnamon Ornaments

Christmas has me feeling all festive and nostalgic. My lack of money has me feeling all thrifty and creative. Instead of going out and buying "the perfect gift" for each and every one of my family members, I decided to make some home-made treats and treasures.

I've been looking around the house to see what I have and what could be useful for handcrafted Christmas gifts. Without giving away too many of my gift ideas, I will say one thing I did find I had an abundance of was cinnamon. What do you do when you find you have a ton of cinnamon in your cupboard? Make gifts!

I don't know what made me think of it. The festive holiday season... all the Christmas decoration, the smells of sweet treats, cinnamon and nutmeg everywhere you turn... but something in my brain said "Hey! Remember those cinnamon ornaments you made way back in kindergarten? You should make those again."

They're actually really easy to make, and cheap too! They're a lovely little decoration you can use to dress up wrapped gifts, or give them as gifts themselves. I like them because they smell so yummy, and bring up lost of childhood memories of the holidays through the years. Not to mention how yummy they make the house smell while they're baking! Mmmm....

So here's my nifty little recipe for making some really delicious (smelling) ornaments.

Apple Cinnamon Ornaments

Ingredients:
3/4 cup applesauce
1 cup & 2 tbsp cinnamon

Supplies needed:
Cookie cutters
Drinking straw
Colorful ribbon
Rolling pin
Plastic wrap

Preheat your oven to 200°F. Mix applesauce and cinnamon in small bowl until a smooth ball of dough is formed. (You may need use your hands to incorporate all of the cinnamon.)

Using about 1/4 of the dough at a time, roll dough to 1/4-inch to 1/3-inch thickness between two sheets of plastic wrap. Peel off top sheet of plastic wrap. Cut dough into desired shapes with 2- to 3-inch cookie cutters.

Make a hole at top of ornament with drinking straw or skewer. Place ornaments on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Bake 2 1/2 hours then cool the ornaments on wire rack. Or, to air dry ornaments at room temperature, carefully place them on wire rack. Let stand 1 to 2 days or until thoroughly dry, turning occasionally.

Once your ornaments are dry, tie ribbon (or some twine) through holes and tie to hang. You can also decorate them with opaque paint markers if you want. I opted not to since I like the plain, simple country look of them.

WARNING: DO NOT EAT.

No, seriously, don't eat them. Don't eat the dough either. When cooking I have a habit of tasting my batters and mixtures, or occasionally licking a finger. I accidentally did this a couple times. Trust me, this stuff isn't worth eating.

Now if only I had a tree to hang them all on...