Cinnamon Christmas Ornaments

I love the smell of these ornaments. You can vary the spices, but  you must use 2 cups of cinnamon.  Nutmeg, allspice work well too, as well as ground cloves. These intensify over time. Make sure they are completely dry before using them. Amount varies on the size of your cookie cutter. This is a project that children can do with supervision.

You will need the following ingredients:
2 cups (by glass measuring cup) UNSWEETENED applesauce - nothing fancy. I got mine at our local dollar store
Finely grated rind of 1 orange
1 teaspoon orange extract (plus more for later)
2 1/4 cups ground cinnamon (use the cheapest that you can find - again I got mine at the 
    dollar store)
1/4 cup ground ginger
1/4 cup ground cardamon (or other spice)

Here is a list of tools needed:
glass mixing bowl                measuring cups
measuring spoons              wooden spoon
cookie sheets                        rolling pin
cookie cutters                        drinking straw or wooden skewer
bows, imitation silk cording (opt)

 

Grate orange zest into the glass mixing bowl.

Add applesauce and orange extract and mix well.

Add cinnamon, ginger and cardamon.

Mix well with the wooden spoon. You may need to use your hands. If mixture is too dry to hold together, add a few drops of orange extract. You are looking for the mixture to be clay-like.

Sprinkle surface with a little cinnamon. Roll mixture with rolling pin until it's about 1/4 inch thick.

Using your cookie cutters, cut out desired shapes and transfer to cookie sheet. Using a drinking straw or skewer, make a hole in your ornament.

Allow to air dry - turning every 12 hrs until hard and a finger nail doesn't leave a mark. This may take several days, depending on how warm your home is, and the humidity of the weather. To hasten this part, you can place the ornaments in a 250 degree oven for about 1 1/2 hours. Turn oven off. If you have an oven light, turn it on and leave it on. 

Thread about 6 inches of the cording through the hole and tie a knot. This will be the hanger. Add a miniature bow, if desired and you are done!