Apple Cinnamon Spice Ornaments

Years ago I remember my Mom making these ornaments for our Christmas tree. When I asked Mom if she still had the recipe, she was shocked that I remembered them. I guess she made them quite a few years ago. I don't know how long ago it was, but they still smell wonderful!

Mom's recipe used orris root, which I could not find. If you can find it, then look up the recipe online because orris root enhances the aroma and I remember Mom's smelling a lot stronger than mine do.

I looked up the recipe on line since I couldn't find orris root, and made this version. They still smell wonderful and will be really pretty on my tree next year, once I get them finished. But I ran out of time, so I'll have to finish them next time we're home.

Here is what you'll need:

4 oz. ground cinnamon (cheap spices can be purchased at dept. store)

1 tbsp. cloves

1 tbsp. nutmeg

2 tbsp. white school glue

3/4 c. applesauce

I'm not sure what the glue is for, unless it acts as a preservative. It was a strange ingredient, but I mixed it in anyway. Mom's did not have glue in them.

You will also need an assortment of Christmas cookie cutters.

I found this box of "copper" cookie cutters on sale last year at Hobby Lobby for $5. They are kind of flimsy, but they serve their purpose well enough and are pretty to look at. There is just something about copper cookie cutters. If they just weren't so expensive!

Combine the ingredients in a bowl, dry first, then stir in the wet. It will form a ball of dough.

If its too sticky, add more cinnamon. If its too dry, then add a little applesauce. Just use your judgement on the consistency. You need it to be a good consistency to roll out.

Next, sprinkle some cinnamon on the surface your using to roll your dough. Mine didn't stick too much, so it didn't take much extra cinnamon.

Roll the dough out to no less than 1/4", and cut out the shapes with the cookie cutters. The recipe says it makes 12 large ornaments. I guess it meant really large, because I ended up with more than 2 dozen.

Use a pencil or small straw to poke a hole in each ornament. Keep in mind that they are going to shrink some as they dry, so you need to hole to be large enough.

The original recipe says to dry them on cooling racks for 3-4 days, turning frequently.

I stuck mine in the food dehydrator, and they were done in a few hours. I don't know if this changes the potency of the aroma, but I was leaving the next day, so I wasn't going to be there to turn them. They still smell wonderful, and it was a lot easier this way.

Once they were dry, I took a nail to clean out the holes of any residue. Then take a piece of fine sand paper to clean up the edges. Use decorative ribbon to make a hanger, and voila....Apple Cinnamon Spice Ornaments.

You can use these plain, as Mom did, but you can also decorate them. Brush some glue on them and sprinkle glitter to make them sparkle. I read on one version that they were painting them. I'm thinking how cute they would be outlined with some kind of puffy white paint as if they had icing piped on them, like cookies.

Anyway, I'm not using them this year, but next year I plan to put up a small tree in my kitchen and decorate it with food ornaments. I'm going to use these, string some popcorn and cranberries, and maybe a few other things as the ideas come to me.

They were really easy to make, add the sweet aroma of cinnamon to your tree, and last for years to come. I love Christmas and I love decorating with home made creations. Check back with me next Wednesday for another Christmas post about my Christmas ornament collection. I'm going to share some of my favorites with you from a lifetime collection.

Until then, I hope you are all having fun sprucing up the house for Christmas and staying warm and dry. We're heading to South Carolina, and looks like we'll be traveling behind that mid-west storm, provided they get the roads in Iowa back open.