Cinnamon Christmas Ornaments

THIS RECIPE IS NOT EDIBLE!

Not all cooking is for eating, right?
no?
maybe?

Ok just this once, allow me a recipe that is only for decoration.



Cinnamon Christmas Ornaments.

1 1/2 c cinnamon {from the dollar store}
1 c applesauce
1 tsp ground cloves
1 small container of school glue {I used CraZart for only $.30 at Wal-mart}

Mix the ingredients in your Kitchenaid mixer.
If you don't have one, just stir one heck of an arm work-out.

The dough will be very crumbly.

So then you need to put it on your clean countertop and knead it to death.
Squeezing all that cinnamon and spice together with the glue.
Your hands won't get dirty.
{well, not THAT dirty}

anyway,

THEN I put the dough into gallon sized ziplock bags,
and let it sit for thirty minutes.

I don't really know why, but a lot of people suggested to me that I should.
So I listened.

Then leaving it in the bag, roll it out with a rolling pin.

I tried to keep the dough really thick.
About 1/3 of an inch or more.
The thicker, the stronger it will be, was my thought.

Then you will take the cookie cutter of your choice...
gingerbread man, snowflake, star, heart...
and cut out the dough and place on a cookie sheet.

Now, I have a really cool stamp that I got from an office,
{I didn't steal it, if that's what you are implying}
and you can arrange the letters into whatever you want.
Except I couldn't find the extra letters.
So I was stuck with the letters that were already in the stamp.
It was L.O.V.E.
Well, that's nice anyway.

I just wanted an ornament with all our names, the year,
and what were are up to that year.
Example:
Richard
2012
PhD Candidate

It was a nice thought...
Oh and by the way I found my stamps the next day.
Figures.

Anyway...

I wrote the names and the year.
More homemade looking that way I guess we could put it.

Then I dipped the snowflakes in salt.
Hoping they would get really sparkly.

You will want to poke holes now with straws or skewers or suckers.
{you get the idea}
it's for the string to hang them up.

Then you bake the dough at 200 degrees for at least 1 1/2 hours.
I did mine for 2 1/2 hours, and they got a little burnt on the backs.
Oops. Don't do it that long.

Then I let them sit on a cooling rack overnight, 
before I strung them up for the tree.
That way they really dry out and get hard.

It's a really easy way to make your house smell amazing,
do something fun with your kids,
save money on decorations,
and of course get into the Christmas spirit.