Hand-Made Ornaments: Imperfect Little Perfections

Here are two of my favorite things about Christmas this year, wrapped up into one little idea:

It's chilly out, perhaps like yesterday it just snowed, and I'm snug inside with the thermostat on 65, sitting on the couch and sipping some tea. Christmas is on its way, and it's the first time I'm not going back to my childhood home for the holidays or visiting other folk's parents. This Christmas is uniquely my own and my husband's - this means we will create new memories and traditions, begin to collect our very own cache of holiday decorations, and because our little family is still so new, we get to start from scratch! Since Austin and I share a lifestyle that is all about trying to remain anti-commercial, eco-friendly, healthy, resourceful, and thrifty whenever we can, Christmas to us will be devoid of all the store-bought, plastic junk that most families buy in heaps to fill their homes (the most gross display of this concept can be seen in the 10-foot-tall blow-up snow globes that adorn certain people's lawns). Naturally, I'm steering clear of stuffed snowmen and aluminum tinsel, bold red and green bulb ornaments coated in shiny shellac and glitter, mechanical singing elves, and plastic holly wreaths. Instead, I'm trimming the tree with all sorts of home-made, one-of-a-kind ornaments that are full of character and in years to come will hold special meaning to us.

On my home-made holiday kick, I got my hand on an amazingly easy recipe/craft idea for Cinnamon Applesauce Ornaments (not to eat, just to hang) that you form with cookiecutters and dough and then bake in your oven. You can whip these up in a single afternoon. Not only will they smell great while you're baking them, but the decidedly delectable scent of cinnamon will remain on these ornaments for whenever you want to put your nose close to the tree and take a sniff.

Here's how you do it:

You'll need a large amount of cinnamon (depending on how many ornaments you want, could be anywhere from 2/3 cup to 1 1/2 cup, or you could go crazy and make a zillion of them, in which case you'll need more cinnamon). You'll also need an equal amount of applesauce. For both the cinnamon and applesauce, you can get away with buying the cheapest stuff around - they're still going to make awesome ornaments. If you're concerned about the footprints on the environment, buy organic and local. It's up to you. But if you just want to make a ton of these without shelling out a fortune, you can buy bulk cinnamon at your grocer's or get a bunch of jars from a dollar-store or chain pharmacy like Walgreens or Rite-Aid. Remember, you're not eating the ornaments, so as long as the cinnamon and applesauce smell, you're set. You'll also need cookie cutters, in your desired shapes, and some string, twine, or ribbon. Beads are an optional way to adorn the string with some added character. You could also use craft glue and glitter or paint to decorate the finished ornaments, but I personally like the natural, organic look of the dark brown cinnamon.

To make the ornaments, simply mix your applesauce and cinnamon together to form a dough.

It's going to be somewhat sticky, but if it's too sticky, add more spice. Too dry, add more sauce. Then roll out, or hand knead the dough to flatten and cut out shapes with your cookie forms. And don't forget to poke a hole for future hanging - a chopstick or skewer work perfectly. Then place on a cooling rack to air out for 24-hours, or if you want to speed up the process, bake on your lowest oven setting for 1 hour, then flip the cookies over and continue baking for 1 more hour. When dry, string ribbon or twine through the holes and hang the finished ornaments!

Note: Wax or parchment paper, or I've even aluminum foil, to line your baking sheet helps so the ornaments don't stick. Greasing your pan will discolor the ornaments...but if that's all you have and you're going for convenience, go ahead and try that. Just note that placing them directly onto a pan without a buffer can result in your ornaments being ruined when you go to remove them from the pan and they're crusted down. I have made this mistake, and getting them off the pan resulted in them breaking and crumbling.*

*In a recent batch, I sprinkled both sides of the flattened dough with nutmeg before cutting my shapes, similarly to how you might sprinkle a bread dough with flour to prevent sticking. This resulted in a faster drying time and allowed me to skip the parchment paper during baking. But it took away some of the cinnamon smell. It also gave the ornaments a more toasted brown color. I suppose it makes sense to sprinkle the dough with cinnamon, but I haven't tried that.