If you missed my last two attempts at making cinnamon ornaments, you can read all about it HERE. (As an update to my previous post, after wiping the cinnamon salt dough ornaments with a damp sponge, in hopes of eliminating the chalky appearance, they did dry a tiny bit darker, but still not to my liking.)
So I changed gears and turned to a cinnamon applesauce recipe that I tweaked a bit.
Scented Cinnamon Ornament Dough
1 cup applesauce
1-1/4 cup ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground allspice
Plastic drinking straw
Preheat oven to 200 degrees (Fahrenheit).
Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or spray cookie sheets with cooking spray.
Combine all ingredients ... except the straw! :)
I used my stand mixer with a paddle attachment, but it's not necessary - you can mix easily by hand in a bowl with a large spoon.
The dough should form easily into a ball when rolled in your hands and if you find its a bit too dry or too sticky, incrementally add a little more applesauce (if too dry) or cinnamon (if too sticky).
Sprinkle your counter or work surface lightly with cinnamon and roll the dough out to 1/4". If you don't have a rolling pin, a large glass jar works well in a pinch.
Now for the fun part - select your cookie cutter shape and press into the dough.
Remove carefully from the work surface - a metal spatula sprinkled with cinnamon helps for lifting the dough easily from your work surface.
Place ornaments one inch apart on parchment lined or oil sprayed cookie sheets.
With the straw, poke a hole into each ornament.
Bake for 1-1/2 hours, turning halfway through baking process. Your entire home will smell so wonderful!
These turned out exactly as I had hoped - dark brown and gingerbread-like in appearance. The cinnamon salt dough that I had previously made resulted in much lighter colored ornaments.
To decorate, I added a few round dots at each corner of the star with white acrylic paint and an artist's brush, and tied a red/white grosgrain ribbon for hanging.
I'm so glad that I didn't give up on finding a dough recipe that worked well for me. If you try either of the versions - salt dough or applesauce dough - please let me know. Would love to hear how you like them!
Wishing you a creative day!
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So glad you found one that worked! I need to save this post so I have it too. I bet your home really did smell amazing while these were baking!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lisa! They were really fun to do and even more fun when I found out the recipe worked well. LOL! Hope you give them a try - they'd be so cute on a kitchen counter tree. Have a great day!
DeleteI meant to send you the applesauce recipe one and it slipped my mind. I've had mine for a good 6-7 years and they still smell great. I store them in a ziploc baggie. A couple have cracked apart so I may have to make a new batch soon.
ReplyDeleteThanks for thinking of me, Yvonne! So good to know they'll last a long time. Great idea to store in a ziploc bag - will do that. They smell so wonderful and the color is awesome, too.
DeleteMMM I love the smell of Christmas. These would be great to make with my kids.
ReplyDeleteThey really would be perfect to do with kiddos - and a neat family tradition!
DeleteSo glad you found a recipe that worked!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Bless! Sometimes stubbornness pays off! :)
DeleteThis is the first time that we are going to try these out and I am so glad that I found you. Wow, what a difference in the salt dough and applesauce dough! Pinned this!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you kept trying. It looks like you had terrific results. I've read about these for years, but I've never tried them.
ReplyDeleteBlessings from Harvest Lane Cottage,
Laura