Thursday, December 17, 2009

Cinnamon Christmas Tree Ornaments

I made these this morning with five kids ages six and under. The mess was really minimal! :)

Mix together 4 cups cinnamon (use the dollar store variety!), 3 cups applesauce, 2 spoonfuls of cloves and 1/2 cup white glue. Mix and mash and knead these ingredients together.

Divide out the dough in small batches. I gave each kid a small hunk like I would have if they were playing with playdough. Roll the dough out (we just used our hands) and use cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Lay them out on a cookie sheet and poke a hole in each one (I used a straw). Let them dry. The recipe I used says bake at 200 for 6 hours or let them sit out on the counter for four days! However, please note, I did this this morning and it didn't take NEARLY 6 hours. Mine were dry in 1-2 depending on the thickness of the ornament. Check on them after about an hour, if they still have a little give when you squeeze them let them dry longer. If they're all dry, they're all dry.

We plan to paint these, leave some plain and use glitter on some.

Enjoy!