Cinnamon and Applesauce Christmas Ornaments

These are one of our favorite holiday crafts; they're so easy to make and so cheap! They smell so good, but don't eat them. If your family likes to hang gingerbread on the Christmas tree as our does, don't hang these on the tree as well. We have several stories of various family members nearly eating these ornaments instead of the gingerbread! :)

What You'll Need:

-Applesauce (get the cheapest stuff at the grocery store)
-Cinnamon (again, get it cheap; it's just for ornaments)
-A tablespoon or two of glue for helping the ornaments hold together better (optional)
-Your choice of holiday cookie cutters
-Baking sheet, measuring cup, mixing bowl, and fork or hand mixer

Decide how many ornaments you need. A cup of dough makes about ten or twelve medium sized ornaments, but it will differ based on the size of your cookie cutters and how thick you make the ornaments. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees.

Measure out your cinnamon and applesauce in equal amounts and mix. Add glue if using. I usually use a half cup each of cinnamon and applesauce which makes a cup of dough. If you have a hand mixer, you can use that as I did. Otherwise, use a fork.

Your batter should be sticky, but shouldn't stick to your fingers. If it does, add a little more cinnamon. Roll out the dough on a cookie sheet and cut out the shapes. Try to make them about a half-inch thick. Use a butter knife to scrape away the excess dough from the edges of the ornament to give it a clean look. If you would like to run a string through to hang the ornaments, use a straw to poke holes in the top. Otherwise, you can glue the ribbon on the back.

Bake your ornaments for 2 1/2 hours or until hardened. Make sure the rack is in the middle of the oven so that the top or bottom don't get burnt. If the insides are still not fully hardened, that is fine as they will harden as they cool.

When they come out of the oven, lay them on a rack to cool completely before stringing and hanging. Enjoy!