'Tis the season to be baking! Have fun with your kids baking up something for the senses- applesauce cinnamon ornaments!
My girls and I started making these a few years ago and we love
how they turn out year after year. I like the simplicity of using just two
ingredients. I buy our ingredients at the
dollar store since we are turning them into ornaments. No need to get fancy, or organic. These are super easy, cheap and mix up quick. We put our ornaments on our
tree and give as gifts for friends and neighbors. The fragrance lasts a
full year or more and these ornaments can be composted if necessary.
Materials:
- 1 cup of applesauce
- 1 cup of cinnamon (an another 1/4 cup for dusting)
- Cookie cutters
- Parchment paper
- Skewer or toothpick (we used a chopstick)
I've toyed with the idea of adding some vanilla to go with the
cinnamon, but too nervous to mess with a good recipe. I may experiment with
that for our next batch.
Add the cinnamon and applesauce to a bowl and mix slowly. If you
mix too fast you will inhale the dust from the cinnamon (personal experience). So be careful if making with little ones. You can add the cinnamon a little at a time.
The consistency should be dough like, but may be a little
sticky. Use the additional cinnamon to sprinkle over the top of the dough and
knead it. Use another sprinkle to dust the rolling pin so the dough does not
stick.
Cut out shapes the same as you would a cookie. Place on
parchment lined cookie sheet. Use the skewer or chopstick to make a whole in
the top of each ornament. This will allow you to hang them by a ribbon, or
string.
Bake in the oven at 200 degrees for 2 hours. Enjoy the amazing aroma
filling the house. Clean up is minimal so you have time to enjoy a cup of cocoa
with your favorite little people while you wait for these to finish. You can even decorate these with paints if you want to. Get paints like puff paint that squeezes out from a tube. Otherwise painting with a brush may be difficult.
These are
fun to make early on a Saturday morning, or a chilly afternoon, and enjoy the warm
scent all day. Although these look very much like a cookie, I can assure you they
do not taste like a cookie.
Enjoy!
The Whatever Mom is a full-time wife and twin mama living on coffee and wine. She enjoys the pure rush of cleaning the BIG potty between loads of laundry. It is her dream that moms everywhere accept and embrace the Whatever Mom philosophy which can be found here. You can also find her musings and popular shares on Facebook and Twitter. Stay up to date with her creative ideas and outings on Pinterest.
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