No-bake Cinnamon Ornaments

As a mom I strive for projects that are simple; I especially love when I can throw them together using items I keep in stock in my pantry. These beautiful cinnamon ornaments cover all the bases of being easy, frugal and fun (plus they smell amazing)! My oldest and I have been making these together for a few years now and each year they come together absolutely perfect.

So what is actually in these ornaments? There are only three ingredients: cinnamon, applesauce and glue. I don’t worry about using organic Ceylon cinnamon for these because you are not ingesting them (it’s absolutely okay to buy the cheap stuff). And if you can’t find cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice works as a great and fun substitute. I like the way straight cinnamon smells in these; however, if you would like you can add a tablespoon of cloves or nutmeg to the mix. I also used homemade applesauce because that’s what I had in my pantry. If you don’t want to use homemade then you can use store bought.

You may have noticed that I used glitter glue. This is a little trick that I’ve found that makes the dough sparkle when it’s against the lights of the tree. You can use regular white liquid glue; I just highly recommend the glitter because it makes it so pretty. We have to put glue in these as a binding agent because they are not going to be baked. As the ornaments dry the glue will hold everything together.

When rolling the dough out you won’t want it to be thicker than a 1/4 inch otherwise it won’t dry properly. Also, keep in mind when cutting these that they will dry in the exact shape you cut them into. My daughter was old enough this year that she was meticulous to make these perfect. In years past we’ve had plenty that had fingerprints all over them or sides that were bigger than others (this just makes them charming!). A trick for cutting the hole out for your ribbon is to use a disposable straw. It will remove the dough in a perfect circle that is just big enough for a ribbon to hang the ornaments. Be mindful that you don’t want your holes too close to the edge of the ornament or they may break.

There are so many ways to decorate these and we change what we do every year. There is something beautiful and simple about leaving them plain. If you want to paint them you will want to use acrylic paint (there is no need to use a glaze to seal it). I absolutely love using puffy paint because it makes these look like they have royal icing on them. When you’re satisfied with how the look hang them on your tree and enjoy! If you store them in an airtight container they will smell spicy again when you pull them out to decorate next year.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cinnamon
• 3/4 cup applesauce
• 2 T liquid glue

Method:

1. Mix together cinnamon, applesauce and glue until it becomes a playdough-like consistency.
2. Roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness and cut out shapes with cookie cutters.
3. Using a disposable straw, cut out holes to hang the ornaments being mindful to not cut them too close to the edge.
4. Transfer ornaments to a parchment lined baking pan and let sit for 3-4 days or until fully dry.
5. Decorate to your liking.
6. String with ribbon, hang on your tree and enjoy!