How to Make Cinnamon Ornaments

Set out half a cup of unsweetened applesauce, half a cup of ground cinnamon, and a bottle of plain white school glue. Any brand of school glue works. A glass measuring cup with a pour spout makes mixing and pouring easier later, but a regular mixing bowl is fine.

If you have it, add a teaspoon of nutmeg or pumpkin pie spice to the cinnamon for a deeper holiday scent. Toddlers and kids can help with this part safely - the dough is non-toxic, just not for eating.

Pour one tablespoon of plain white school glue right into the bowl with the cinnamon and applesauce. The glue is what keeps the ornaments from cracking as they dry, so don't skip it. A jug of Elmer's works, but so does any cheap kids' craft glue.

One tablespoon is the right amount for the half-cup recipe. More glue won't make the ornaments stronger and can make them gummy. Less and they get brittle.

Stir everything together with a spoon at first, then switch to your hands once it starts coming together. The mixture should pull away from the side of the bowl and form a soft ball that feels like Play-Doh or cookie dough.

If the ball is sticky and won't hold its shape, add another tablespoon of cinnamon. If it's crumbly and won't come together, add a teaspoon more applesauce. The recipe is forgiving - adjust by feel until you get a workable dough.

Place the dough on a sheet of parchment paper and lay a second sheet on top. The parchment keeps the dough from sticking to your rolling pin or to the counter, so you don't need any extra cinnamon to dust the surface.

Roll the dough out to about a quarter inch thick. Any thinner and the ornaments crack while they dry. Any thicker and they take days to dry through. A quarter inch is the goldilocks number.

Press cookie cutters into the rolled dough to cut out shapes. Christmas trees, stars, snowflakes, gingerbread people, and simple circles all work. Plastic and metal cutters both do the job. Vintage tin cutters from a thrift store have the best character.

Cut shapes close together to get the most out of your dough. Peel away the extra dough around the cutouts and re-roll it for a second batch. Leave the shapes on the parchment paper - it makes transferring them to a baking sheet effortless.

Slide a stainless steel straw, a wooden skewer, or the back of a pencil through the dough near the top of each shape. Twist it once before pulling out so the hole stays clean. The hole has to go in now while the dough is soft - drilling one after the ornaments dry just cracks them.

Aim for a hole big enough for baker's twine or thin ribbon, maybe a quarter inch in. Position it close to the top edge but not so close that the loop tears through later.

Two drying options. The fast one: transfer the parchment-and-ornaments onto a baking sheet and bake at 200 degrees Fahrenheit for two to three hours, flipping them halfway through. The patient one: leave them on a wire rack at room temperature for one to two days. Both give you a hard, fragrant ornament.

Once they're dry, thread a six-inch piece of red and white baker's twine, jute, or thin ribbon through each hole and tie a loop. Hang straight on the tree or use as gift tags. Skip the paint for that rustic brown look, or seal with a coat of Mod Podge if you want to brush on color.