Easy 3-Ingredient Cinnamon Ornaments

December 15, 2013
Looking for a kid-friendly homemade ornament for gift giving or decorating at home?  Look no further.  Classic Cinnamon Ornaments are the perfect easy homemade ornament project for little ones.  Plus, they smell as good as they look! (If not even better, that is.)
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Easy 3-Ingredient Cinnamon Ornaments Image

I belong to a group Pinterest board called 'It's Beginning to Smell Like Christmas' ... and with these Cinnamon Ornaments around, that's certainly true!  

Chock full of ground cinnamon, these kid-friendly homemade ornaments smell absolutely wonderful.

I made these adorable little cinnamon ornaments with my 2nd grade students ... all 23 of them ... last week.  {Very thankfully, I had the help of the fabulous student teacher who's partnering with me this year.  So I actually should say, she made these with my 23 2nd grade students.}  And I must say, my classroom and my house couldn't smell better!  

Classic Cinnamon Ornaments are the perfect easy homemade ornament project for little ones.  Plus, they smell as good as they look!

Each morning when my students walked in while these were drying, they'd say, "It still smells like cinnamon in here!"  To which I'd reply, "It's going to smell that way for a while!"  Which to me, is a wonderful thing.  I love the smell of cinnamon.  Fortunately, my students do, too.

Cinnamon Ornaments Image - the perfect kid-friendly homemade ornament for gift giving or decorating at home!

Also fortunately, these adorable little cinnamon ornaments are pretty easy to make ... with just three simple ingredients and some drying time.

The three simple ingredients are applesauce, liquid white glue {you know, like the Elmer's white stuff}, and .... can you guess??? ... CINNAMON!  Yes, I bet you had figured that out.

You can put in a little bit of ground cloves or allspice, if you'd like, for a bit of a twist on the aroma.

Or, as I discovered ... you can even use a mixture of cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice.

See, I kind of waited to the last minute to get all the cinnamon I needed to make these cinnamon ornaments with my class.  I had about half of what I needed, so ran out the night before we were making these to buy the rest.  

These adorable little cinnamon ornaments are pretty easy to make ... with just three simple ingredients and some drying time.

Well, apparently this wasn't a good plan.  Because apparently I'm not the only teacher in my town who makes these with her students.

First store - no cinnamon.

Second store - no cinnamon.

Third store - no cinnamon.  And me?  No more patience for looking for cinnamon!

So I scanned all the spices thinking of what else could work ... when my eyes landed on a large amount of pumpkin pie spice lining the shelves.  Score!  I knew that would work and be jusssssssstt fine.

Now, once you mix up a dough with the applesauce, glue, and cinnamon, simply roll it out or pat out balls of it with your hands, like this ...

Making Dough for Cinnamon Ornaments Image

You want the dough to end up just about 1/2-inch thick.  Much thicker will take a long time to dry ... and much thinner will curl up a tad bit on the edges as it dries.

But there's certainly not an exact science to the thickness! ... approximate is just fine.

Homemade Cinnamon Christmas Ornaments Image

Next, press a cookie cutter into the dough to cut out your ornaments.  We used a gingerbread shape cookie cutter, but these can certainly be made in any shape you'd like.

How to Make Cinnamon Ornaments Image

Use a straw, pencil, or wooden skewer to poke a hole near the top for a ribbon ...

How to Make Cinnamon Christmas Ornaments Image

... and then set the cut cinnamon ornaments aside on waxed paper or paper towels to dry.

They'll air dry in about three or four days ... or, if you need a faster turn-around, they can dry in a few hours in a 200 degree oven.

Handmade Cinnamon Christmas Ornaments Photo

When rolling out the dough and cutting the ornament shapes, keep in mind that the cinnamon ornaments will dry exactly how they look when they're cut {aside from a slight change in color}.

So if you want them to have a smooth surface, work the dough until it's smooth on top.  If the shape warps a tad when removing them from the cutters, reshape them immediately.

When rolling out the dough and cutting the ornament shapes, keep in mind that the ornaments will dry exactly how they look when they're cut.

Of course, I think the 'character' of the ornaments made by little 2nd grade hands is precious.

Some with thumbprints right smack in the middle of the body.

Some with ribbon holes right smack in the middle of the face.

Some with a few 'character lines' {aka - cracks} ...

Handmade Cinnamon Christmas Ornaments Made by Kids Image

And some with interesting shapes ...

Cinnamon Christmas Ornaments Made by Kids Photo

But fingerprints, interesting shapes, 'character lines,' and all ... these cinnamon ornaments were all made with love and joy.  

And I'm reminded of that beautiful love and joy each time I catch a wonderful whiff of cinnamon from these drying around my classroom and house.  

Christmas Ornaments Made with Cinnamon Image
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Cinnamon Ornaments
(NOTE:  These ornaments are not edible)
Source:  My teaching friend Christy
(Printable recipe)
Ingredients
Directions
  1. Mix together the applesauce, ground cinnamon, and glue until well combined, forming a soft dough. Knead with your hands until smooth. If dough is too sticky, add some more cinnamon.
  2. Roll or pat out dough to approximately 1/2-inch thickness and cut with a gingerbread shaped cookie cutter, or other desired cookie cutter shapes. Use a drinking straw, pencil, or wooden skewer to cut a hole near the top for a ribbon.
  3. Place on a cookie sheet . Dry in a 200 degree oven for 2 to 3 hours. Or, set aside to air dry for 3 to 4 days, flipping about once per day.
  4. Once dry, insert a ribbon through the hole and tie it in a knot.
NOTES:
  • Some ground cloves, allspice, nutmeg, and/or pumpkin pie spice can be added in with the ground cinnamon.
  • Recipe makes approximately 6 ornaments cut with approximately 3-inch sized cookie cutters.  Yield will vary significantly based on the thickness the dough is rolled or patted out and the size of the cookie cutters used.
  • For a classroom-sized batch (approximately 30 ornaments), I used:  48 oz. applesauce, approximately 24 oz. ground cinnamon, and approximately 1/3 c. glue.
  • Ingredient amounts needed may vary based on the consistency of the applesauce and/or glue used.  The goal is to achieve a soft dough that's not so sticky it glops on your hands, and that can be rolled or patted out.  If after combining the ingredient amounts in the recipe the dough is not a workable consistency, add more cinnamon until a workable consistency is reached.
  • Due to the glue in this recipe, these ornaments are NOT edible.
Enjoy!




Please enjoy these other kid-friendly projects from The Kitchen is My Playground ...





EASY 3-Ingredient Cinnamon Ornaments ~ The perfect easy homemade ornament project. Just 3 ingredients, a cookie cutter, & some drying time. Not to mention, they smell as good as they look! (If not even better, that is.) #cinnamonornaments #easyornaments #Christmasornaments  www.thekitchenismyplayground.com



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22 comments

  1. I just might have to try to make these. Love the little helping hands in the pictures.

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  2. Thank you, Rachel! Merry Christmas to you and your family, too!

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  3. I bet those ornaments smell amazing! Looks like a very fun craft for littles to celebrate the season!

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  4. I think I will have my daughters make these for gifts this year! I just pinned it :)

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  5. I've always made them with just cinnamon and applesauce. No need for glue. Also, lay flat to dry and turn once or twice a day to keep them from curling. The smell lasts forever <3

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    Replies
    1. Didn't know you could do them without the glue ... thanks so much for that option!

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    2. Would you use the same ingredients if you weren't making it with glue?

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  6. I love these ornaments. I try to make them every year with my son. They smell sooo good!

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  7. What a fun and easy project! I'm a retired teacher, and years ago our preschool class gave me an ornament like this in the shape of a bell. Every Christmas, as I put it on my tree, I think about those sweet little ones and how excited they were as they delivered their gifts to each of us. And it still smells "cinnamonny" even after all these years!

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  8. Thank you for the helpful tutorial! I made these ornaments with my first grade class yesterday. Our classroom smells AMAZING! Thanks for the measurements...it helped me know how much of everything to buy for a class set!

    I described my class' project over on my teaching blog and I put a link in the post to your blog since it helped this teacher out so much! Thanks!

    Melinda
    First Grade Pizzazz

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    Replies
    1. Your comment just made my heart smile, Melinda! I'm so glad the tutorial helped you out. And I'm so glad you and your little ones enjoyed the project!! Oh, oh, yes ... your classroom will smell AMAZING for DAYS!

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  9. Cinnamon is such a warm, homey smell. Love the fact that these would also make beautiful gifts!

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  10. I also made ornaments with just cinnamon and applesauce with the help of my grandson when he was about 3 or 4 years old. He is now 22 and you can still smell the cinn. Thanks for sharing.

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  11. I made these in 2005 with the handicapped individuals I worked with but we only used cinnamon and applesauce, I bet the glue would make them stronger, though I think I've only had one break. We decorated them with glitter glue (great for adding the year made) and I have a few I pack with my ornaments and also with my garlands, etc. Keeps down the musty smell of storage, and every year, I'm still surprised when I open the container and you can still smell the cinnamon!

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  12. I made these in 2005 with the handicapped individuals I worked with but we only used cinnamon and applesauce, I bet the glue would make them stronger, though I think I've only had one break. We decorated them with glitter glue (great for adding the year made) and I have a few I pack with my ornaments and also with my garlands, etc. Keeps down the musty smell of storage, and every year, I'm still surprised when I open the container and you can still smell the cinnamon!

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  13. I love this craft. Years ago I made an assortment of ornaments to sell at Christmas Craft fairs. This is one of those that was very popular. I didn't use the glue, either. I rolled them a little thinner and flipped them as they dried. They last for years, and to refresh the smell next year, just lightly sand them. So cool that you did them with your class. (BTW, I bought cinnamon in bulk from Frontier Co-op Spices.)

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  14. Sam's Club sell cinnamon by the pound. Some applesauce brands are wetter than others so take more cinnamon. I make and sell a small tree with the cinnamon ornaments. Have made over 3,000 gingerbread men. I line a cookie sheet with foil and then wax paper to keep the cinnamon smell going into the finish of the cookie sheet and it won't wash off. Do not use glue.

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  15. Can the dough be made the night before and stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator? Thank you!

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  16. What a lovely, creative Christmas craft, and what a great project to make with little ones! Thank you so much for sharing with the Hearth and Soul Link Party, Tracey. I’m featuring this post at the party this week. Hope to ‘see’ you there! Have a great week ahead!

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  17. I may be the minority, but we just tried making this and it was a sticky mess. I ended up using an entire 7oz jar of cinnamon and it was never not sticky.

    We made a second batch without the glue, and same issue.

    What in the world am I doing wrong?

    ReplyDelete

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