Cinnamon Ornaments
Cinnamon Ornaments is a simple and easy homemade holiday craft or Christmas tree adornment with an amazing aroma. Made with only 3 ingredients, this recipe is a fun way to make a memorable gift.
Servings: 6 large ornaments
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup ground cinnamon divided (plus 1-2 additional Tablespoons, optional)
- 2 tbsp ground allspice
- ½ cup cinnamon applesauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit and cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together ⅔ cup cinnamon and the allspice until combined.⅔ cup ground cinnamon, 2 tbsp ground allspice
- Add in the applesauce and stir together to get a semi-firm dough. If the dough seems wet, add in 1 Tablespoon of cinnamon and stir together.½ cup cinnamon applesauce
- Test the dough by pinching it between your fingers. You should have a sugar cookie dough consistency that holds together but isn't wet. Add the last Tablespoon of cinnamon if needed.
- Use your hands to knead together the dough and be sure it holds together in a ball. If it is too crumbly you can sprinkle on a few drops of water but you do not want a wet dough.
- Cut out two large squares or rectangles of parchment paper and place one on the counter. Place your cinnamon dough ball on top.
- Place the second piece of parchment paper on top of your dough and use a rolling pin to roll out the dough to about ¼-½ inches thick. You want it to be thicker than most cookie dough so that it can be transferred without breaking but the thicker it is, the longer it will take to bake.
- Use a cookie cutter to cut out Christmas shapes from your dough. Use a spatula to gently transfer the shapes onto the prepared cookie sheet.
- Use a drinking straw to cut out a hole from the shape, being sure to keep the hole far away from the edges.
- Bake for 3-4 hours or until the ornaments have hardened in the middle. You should be able to tap them in the center and not feel them give. For a more uniform color, you can flip them halfway through baking but be very gentle.
- Once fully baked, remove from the oven and allow them to cool completely on the cookie sheet.
- String with Christmas ribbon and decorate, if desired.
Notes
Storage:
Wrap your ornaments in tissue paper or a cloth and store them in a cool, dry place. See details below.
Tips (also please see tips in post above from our recipe developer):
- Use your hands to mix up the dough. I tried all sorts of spoons and whisks but the best way I found of getting an even, consistent dough was to use my hands! It also helped me feel if the dough was too wet and was easier to mix with my hands.
- Don’t be afraid to add more cinnamon! If you’ve mixed up your dough and you feel like it is too wet, don’t be afraid to add another Tablespoon of cinnamon. I struggled more with wet dough than I did with crumbly dough. If the dough is crumbly, it is easy to sprinkle some water or apple sauce on it to get it to stick together. If it is too wet it will just fall apart and be impossible to transfer.
- Roll out a thick dough. With this particular dough, a thick layer is much easier to work with than a thin one. I found that thin ornaments were more prone to breaking, even before I got them in the oven, and they were much more difficult to transfer or fix. Make your life easy and keep the dough thick and solid.
- Be careful where you poke your hole. For shapes such as snowflakes, I found that a hole in the middle of the ornament worked much better than one at the edge. The shapes that are more detailed are also more likely to break so put those holes far away from the edges. Simple shapes, such as stockings or round ornaments, are much less prone to breaking and the hole can go closer to the edges.
- Although the ingredients are non-toxic, it's advisable to keep the ornaments out of reach of small children and pets. If ingested, they could pose a choking hazard or cause stomach discomfort due to the high spice content.
- Clearly label the ornaments as non-edible if gifting, to avoid confusion.