Pages

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Is There Anything Better Than Cinnamon?

For quite a few years now I've been making gingerbread ornaments for our family room tree. They keep their scent for a couple of years and they're so easy to make!
There are only two ingredients to buy. The recipe is simple because the ratio is 1 to 1.....1 cup of cinnamon 1 cup of applesauce. Easy peasy. You can make as many or as few as you want. This year I made the recipe using 3 cups of cinnamon and 3 cups of applesauce and I wound up with 28. I found that my little guys from last year were still very fragrant and only a handful of the them were broken.....so I needed only a few for the tree this year.
Mix the two ingredients together just as you would for cookie dough . Remember, these aren't cookies......it won't hurt you obviously to eat them, but they don't taste very good because there's not enough sugar in the applesauce. Mix well. It will probably seem a little sticky to you so before you go to the next step.........and this is the fun part.............
powder your hands with cinnamon.
Turn the dough out onto a cinnamon-dusted cutting board or sheet. Pat out to about a third-inch thickness.
Using a gingerbread man cookie cutter cut out each ornament and place carefully on a sheet of waxed paper.
When you're finished cutting them out, take a big fat pencil eraser and poke a hole in the head. This is so that when they're dry you can take a length of red or green ribbon ( about an inch and a half piece) and make a loop for them to hang from.
Here they are on my kitchen counter where they'll stay for the next 3 days to dry. Give them at least that long to dry.....here in Phoenix with our dry air it takes about that long. In other more humid climates it may take a day or two longer.
The finished product. These little guys are from last year. When Christmas is over I usually keep them in a tin or box cushioned with tissue paper and they will be ready for next year.
Believe me.......any room you hang these in will smell heavenly! So Christmasy!!!

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

These are so cute! I think I might try making them. They look easy enough for kids to do too. The weather is so cold where I live but I'll give them an extra day or two to dry. Thanks. This should be fun.

Kristi

Holly said...

Just found your blog. It's late and I could't sleep. Now I'm glad I couldn't. Love these gingerbread ornaments. I bet these do smell heavenly. My tree is already decorated but I'm going to remember this for next year.

YayaOrchid said...

Hi! Oh my goodness! I love your blog! I am so going to try those gingerbread cookies for decoration. Thanks for the tutorial!

~Becca~Bluebird Rose said...

You know what; I've always intended to make those but never have! Maybe this will be the year!!
Thanks so much for sharing, and thanks for the kind comment on my blog!
(I have a Christmas blog too:
www.ofbluebirdsandroseschristmas.blogspot.com
:)
Becca

Barb said...

Oh yum. Now I'm really craving gingerbread! Maybe I will try making some this year.

the voice of melody said...

What a great idea! And I'm sure they do smell absolutely terrific. :)

Anonymous said...

Elaine has anyone ever told you you should have your own either cooking or decorating show!!! I'm going to try making these also. Your house is one of the warmest most comfortable houses I have ever been to, you and Debbie. You make me want to stay and never leave...your family is soooo blessed to have been blessed with you!!! I am sure they are aware of that! I love you! And miss you to! I am so happy I found this blog, I'm going to read it everyday!

YayaOrchid said...

Just want to verify on the recipe: There's no flour whatsoever? Only applesauce and cinnamon?

That's great!

Elaine said...

Yes, no flour at all. If it seems a little sticky to you you might want to add a little more cinnamon, but all in all it is very forgiving. Good luck. Mine turned out great this year.....so good that our 7 month old Golden Retriever pup helped himself to a few of them on the lower limbs of the tree! Just too yummy to resist I guess. LOL Good luck.

YayaOrchid said...

Thank you Elaine! I'll let you know how it goes. I'll have to shop for the applesauce though.

50s Housewife said...

The ornaments are so cute! We did this several years ago, but I had forgotten about it. We may have to try again. My girls would love it. :)

Kelli said...

What cute ornaments and I'll bet they smell so nice!
~Kelli