Littlest daughter, Ivy and I spent the day making some yummy spicey scented Christmas ornaments we’d like to share with you. Cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Mmmmmm. Filling the house with the mouthwatering smells of pumpkin pie, hot cider, and clove spiked oranges really put our Holiday crafting mojo in high gear.
The McCormick site has a recipe for Cinnamon Ornaments that turn out just beautifully. Upon trying to find ideas to decorate these little gems I also noticed that there were several variations of the recipe floating around so I added my own touches. It’s easy to add whatever you’d like because if you find your dough to be a little on the dry side, you can just add a little bit more applesauce and if it’s a little too wet, just add a little bit more cinnamon (or another spice).
Here is the recipe we used:
1 cup of cinnamon
2 tablespoons of ground cloves
2 tablespoons of ground nutmeg
1 cup of applesauce
2 tablespoons of white glue
Mix ingredients until they come together to form a dough. Knead for a few minutes until you can form a dough ball. Sprinkle some cinnamon onto your surface to roll out the dough. We used cookie cutters to make our ornaments but freehand cutting would work as well. Me? Not quite that steady-handed. We made holes for hanging with a straw.
To finish, you can lay your ornaments out on a rack to dry for a few days (turning at least once a day) or put them in a 200 degree oven for a few hours. After they are dry -decorate as you wish. Ivy and I painted the front of our ornaments with mod podge and covered them in glitter. I may have mentioned before that we’re glitter fools! I imagine the spicy scent fades over time but I’ve also read that some crafters store their cinnamon ornaments in a plastic tub to keep them fragrant for many Christmases to come!
It’s beginning to smell a lot like Christmas!
Fun project! Ivy is just so adorable with those big eyes and squishy cheeks.
She’s growing up too fast, Amy. You know what I’m going through….;-) I love this kid. Wish she’d stay little forever!
Love the glitter!!!!…………we made some of these ornaments when I was in elementary school, at least 20 years ago, and they still smell yummy!!!!!
You are kidding me, Jessi!? That’s great news. Do you store them any special way? We had so much fun with them, we may have to make another batch (especially knowing that the scent lasts so long!!!)
My mom also still has one I made probably 25 years ago, and, though faint, the smell is still slightly there! She didn’t store them in any special way, and they kept a noticeable scent for years!
If you make them a little on the thicker side, about 1/4 inch or so you can sand them lightly which will revive the scent!
Such a great idea!
Will have to try these with my grand daughters!
Great idea for Christmas gift to teachers too.
Great idea! I am hosting a Christmas event at our church and am thinking this would be an inexpensive craft for the kids. I can make the ornaments prior to our event and have them decorate them. Do you think Sand Art would stick the same as glitter? We have a ton of sand left from previous events and would like to use it up. Also do you just cover the ornament with a thin layer of Mod Podge & sprinkle on the sand/glitter? Thank you for your input!
Hi Mindy,
I’m not familiar with sand art but if it’s just a sandy texture, I’m sure it would work fabulously! We did, indeed pain the front of the ornament with Mod Podge then sprinkled the glitter to our liking. Let them dry then tapped them so the extra glitter fell off. It’s a fun project – enjoy!
Did you spray the ornament with anything to keep the glitter in place?
Hi Jennifer,
Nope, I sure didn’t. As you can probably tell from the pictures, we put the glitter on pretty thick so even if a small amount came off in the ornament box each year, it wouldn’t make too much of a difference. I just couldn’t seal them as that would seal in the scent and the smell of the holidays is one of my favorites – it gets me in the spirit! 😉
Can’t wait to try these! Just a quick question. Why the addition of the glue in your recipe, when the McCormick recipe doesn’t have it? Do you find they hold together better, and/or are less susceptible to breaking, with the glue? Just wondering. Thanks!!
Hi Sally, I did add the white glue in hopes that it would make them stronger/less crumbly. I think it did the trick because I just pulled them out of storage and they are still perfect and currently hanging on my tree that we put up yesterday. 😉 They even made it through the move which means a lot if you saw how beat up my stuff was! ha!
I was wondering about how many ornaments does this recipe make? I am planning on making some to give away as party favors for my Girls Christmas Cocktail party, and have to be sure I make enough! Thanks for this post!
Hi Brooke, It depends on how big the ornaments are that you are planning to make. I believe, judging from what I have on my tree, I made about 10 – some big and some small. Have fun!
These are super cute!!
Thank you so much for the link Sarah! We enjoyed seeing the other clever ideas also! 🙂
My house smells so good! Making these tonight with my youngest son. We are baking them to dry out and I think I should have made a few thicker. This was a practice batch. Couple more batches to make in the near future. They have been baking for about 1.5 hours and I flipped them once, they started to stick, so I am glad I flipped them. Maybe a wire rack will work better for baking for me next time.
I am trying out some home made modge podge recipes, first one is flour based. Hope it works!
Have you tried to mix your glitter into the dough?
Hi Terra,
Would love to hear about how your home made mod podge works! I’ve seen recipes for it all over pintrest and have been so curious about it. I haven’t tried to place the glitter inside of the dough but it sounds like a great idea. If you do it in your next batch I’d love to see a picture of it! I’d think you’d have to use more glitter (maybe?) but it sounds like it would be really pretty!
Thank you for the recipe! These are perfect for children with allergies. My girls and I made them today. I had to add an extra tablespoon of glue because it’s been so dry up here (causing the dough to be extra dry). They rolled out beautifully though, and we can’t wait to decorate them with glitter. 🙂
I shared the link to your post on my FB page: https://www.facebook.com/AllergyFreeAlaska
Thanks again!!
Megan
So the mod podge didnt work so well. I just bought glitter glue from dollar store and let my son paint with that, and I also put glitter on the dough before baking and that worked too. I have to make 2 more batches of these for a winter class party! Thank you again!
This is a fantastic idea! I look forward to testing it out!
I tried making these but the dough will not make a ball? what did I do wrong?
Leigh, do you need more moisture in the dough? If so, add more applesauce.