Cinnamon Cookie Ornaments

I have a vision for our Christmas tree, and that is for it to be covered with nothing but handmade ornaments, photos, and ornaments given to us by friends or family. And since having Little Lovely last year, I would also like to start a tradition where she makes an ornament for our close family and friends each year.

Last year we did the typical handprint in clay ornament. This year I wanted to do something a bit different, so I was really excited when I saw this cinnamon ornament recipe circulating around Pinterest. My idea was to use that recipe and make little heart-shaped ornaments with Little Lovely's thumbprints. Perfect!

Except it wasn't. The Pinterest recipe calls for a whole cup of cinnamon! That would've been fine if I was just making a couple, but I wanted to make a whole bunch, and this stay-at-home-mom doesn't have money to spend on that much cinnamon.

So I decided to try adding cinnamon to a generic flour play dough recipe. That way they would still have that holiday cinnamon scent, but I wouldn't have to break the bank buying spices. This is how it turned out.

Granted, it's a bit more rustic than the all-cinnamon recipe, but I like the look of it. It's like hanging a cookie from the Christmas tree. And I like that they still smell like cinnamon. And most of all, I like that my recipe made way more dough than the Pinterest recipe.

Cinnamon Cookie Ornaments
2 cups flour (any kind) 3/4 cup salt	1/4 cup cinnamon 1 cup water (more or less)
Directions 1. Mix together flour, salt, and cinnamon until well blended. Add water gradually and mix with hands until a nice, dough-like consistency is reached. Add a little more water if the dough is too crumbly; add a bit more flour if the dough is too sticky. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before rolling out to make it easier to handle. 2. Roll dough out onto a lightly floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut with cookie cutters, make handprints, or design any type of ornament you like. Use a straw to punch a hole in the top of each ornament so you can add a string to hang it later. Move to a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil. 3. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until hard and dry. Let cool, then thread a string or ribbon through the hole to hang it.
Yield: 3 cups cinnamon dough	Calories per serving: NOT EDIBLE

One note: Although I'm calling these "Cinnamon Cookie Ornaments," they are not edible. They contain a huge amount of salt to keep the finished product from going rancid, so please don't try to eat them.