When the girls were in 2nd grade they made applesauce cinnamon Christmas ornaments at school. All these years later-the little gingerbread men still smell so good each year when we get them out to put on the tree.
Chitter and Chatter like to give little gifts to family members-especially the Aunts and Grandmothers. As I tried to think of something inexpensive, neat, and pleasing to everyone-I came up with applesauce cinnamon ornaments. I told the girls-if we make them in a shape that would be appropriate for year round use-it would almost be like giving them a scented candle-but a whole lot cheaper.
There are all kinds of recipes for the ornaments. You can see one here and here. Basically you form a dough out of cinnamon, applesauce, and glue. We started with a cup of cinnamon, a cup of applesauce, and a teaspoon of glue-we ended up adding more cinnamon during the process.
After the girls mixed up the dough-they rolled it out. The thinner the ornament-the more easily it will break-so you need to leave them kinda thick. Ours ended up a little over 1/4 inch thick-I'm sure they should be thicker. Mr. Gingerbread Man from days gone by is almost a half an inch thick.
Since we were going for a shape that could be used year round-we went with stars. After they were cut out-the girls decorated them by making designs in the surface-and used a straw to make a hole in one corner. Once they dry completely we'll add a piece of ribbon for hanging. They will air dry over several days-I helped ours along by putting them in a barely warm oven.
I had the applesauce and glue-all I had to purchase was the cinnamon-I got bargain bin cinnamon which were 2 for a dollar. For 2 bucks we made several presents-you can't beat that. And my house-smells wonderful!
Ever make applesauce cinnamon Christmas ornaments?
Tipper
Tipper, I have no kids or grandkids to make these but I think I'll make them for myself and my friends. I love the smell of cinnamon and this seems pretty easy. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Glenda Beall | December 17, 2009 at 11:38 PM
My grandchildren would love doing this - I'm going to hold on to this post so we can do it next year. This year I won't have them long enough. :( blessings, marlene
Posted by: Marlene | December 16, 2009 at 08:22 PM
Ha to Pappy's comment! I miss the day when we made ornaments like this, and strung popcorn and well cranberries fresh were something the NE had, oh and do not forget the paper chains. I have to do this with my clients son...
Posted by: CheE | December 16, 2009 at 08:01 PM
Yes! A friend of mine gave me this recipe years ago. It was fun thing for the children to make! blessings,Kathleen
Posted by: Kathleen | December 14, 2009 at 09:01 AM
we've never made these, but have made something similar using 3 cups clean sawdust, 2 cups flour, 1 cup water, and enough cinnamon to darken the dough up a little and make it smell good! you can roll it out and cut it like dough, and bake it at 225/250 until it's dry and hard. you can even sand it! we used paint like icing to decorate the "cookies."
Posted by: trisha too | December 13, 2009 at 07:10 PM
I am looking for my glue!
Posted by: Paul | December 13, 2009 at 06:40 PM
Thank you for the reminder about these great ornaments! I too made them with my children and now the grandchildren are old enough making them too. I love your idea of making a shape that can be used year round...I think I will suggest we use an apple shape.
Posted by: Jan | December 13, 2009 at 01:49 PM
I have not seen this, I think this will be great for my girls to bring to their teachers.
Song came on, Joy to the World, and my daughter started singing along. . . .more Christmassy house this morning, now!
Posted by: Marie | December 13, 2009 at 10:40 AM
Love the smell of cinammon, Tipper! The power of suggestion! I can smell them here! ;)
Hope you're having a wonderful weekend! :))
Posted by: petra michelle | December 13, 2009 at 10:07 AM
Those are my favorite ornaments to make! Even after finishing them with a glue/water finish, they still smell great year after year. Sometimes I 'antique' mine with a thin coat of antique white paint.
Posted by: Mary | December 13, 2009 at 12:00 AM
Last night we decked the tree with all the homemade ornaments. Left the store bought junk in the box. And it's a wonderful, full tree full of history.
Posted by: SandyCarlson | December 12, 2009 at 06:59 PM
I made these several years ago and they still smell yummy. I am planning on making some more with the grandkids when they get off on break. Thank you for the recipe.
Posted by: Terry Stites | December 12, 2009 at 11:56 AM
My small group of students and I will be making these next week. The week before Christmas is always so full of programs and special events, it is hard to squeeze in a lot of teaching time. This project is perfect!
Posted by: Farmchick | December 12, 2009 at 08:48 AM
I have heard of these but never made them.
I have made salt dough ornaments for Christmas and other holidays.
Posted by: Becky | December 12, 2009 at 08:11 AM
Cinnamon is useful against bacteria in the air also. Personally, I just love the fragrance. I have never tried this, we only did the salt dough. Sounds like another thing to do this years. Thanks for the formula and the instructions. Appreciate it.
Frances
Posted by: Frances | December 11, 2009 at 08:58 PM
We made dozens of these! I haven't thought about them in years. Maybe the glue helps hold them together but we never added it. We painted one side after they were dry. If they start to lose their scent you can lightly sand the back side. I just helped my grandkids make ornaments for this year, I'll have to try and remember this for next. I love the idea of picking a shape that can be left out all year.
Posted by: Apple | December 11, 2009 at 07:16 PM
Never made these before, but I will for next year. I LOVE the smell of cinnamon! Will have to hang them on the wall though as we get little house mice every year and I wouldn't want them nibbling. :) Thanks so much for sharing this Tipper. xxoo
Posted by: Carolyn A. | December 11, 2009 at 05:18 PM
oh.....I am sooo doing this with my boys....you are the best Tipper!
Posted by: christina | December 11, 2009 at 12:34 PM
Tipper: That is a fun activity for the girls. What a nice treat.
Posted by: Fishing Guy | December 11, 2009 at 12:00 PM
Tipper,
Michelle made an apple sauce and cinnamon ornament when she was small. Not sure where that went. She may have it at her house.
These will make wonderful gifts. I'm sure you had a great time making them.
Blessings for a great weekend.
Mary
Posted by: Mary | December 11, 2009 at 10:59 AM
Never made these, but man have we made many many ornaments over the years.
I do hope you have a wonderful Christmas and New Year
Posted by: teresa atkinson | December 11, 2009 at 10:53 AM
Sometimes the gifts like these mean the most.
I guess I am old fashioned, I like the past better then the present in a lot of ways.
Posted by: Rick | December 11, 2009 at 10:22 AM
Years ago I had a friend who gave me one of these. It was an angel I think. It did have a fragrance for a long time.
They would make great gifts!
Posted by: susie | December 11, 2009 at 10:19 AM
No, I've never made these but I'm going to as soon as I find where DH put the glue. I often give little homemade ornaments with a plate of cookies as a gift. These will be ideal. By the way, your pralines do indeed melt in your mouth - in fact so many seem to have melted away that I'm going to make some more.
Posted by: annie | December 11, 2009 at 10:06 AM
My kids made these in school when they were little. I made some last year, too. I took them out of the ziploc bag that I had them stored in and I put them on our little tree a few days ago, and they still smelled so good!
Posted by: Janet | December 11, 2009 at 09:49 AM
You're right, you can't beat that price and you get the added bonus of a Christmas smelling house. How great is that.
Sam
Posted by: My Carolina Kitchen | December 11, 2009 at 09:15 AM
I guess when I took them off the tree and ate them, it was the glue that gave them that funny taste. :) Pappy
Posted by: Pappy | December 11, 2009 at 09:04 AM
Thank you so much for posting this. My son did something similar to this years ago in Sunday school. We still have the ornaments and they still smell good, but I have wanted to do more. Now I can!
Posted by: Julie at Elisharose | December 11, 2009 at 08:47 AM
Great idea! I'll have to try this!
Posted by: Vicki Lane | December 11, 2009 at 08:28 AM