In this post: No Bake Cinnamon Applesauce Christmas Ornaments Recipe: Easy, DIY recipe for making homemade tree ornaments. Just 4 ingredients!
Christmas is coming quickly…but there’s still time for one more little craft project! For the past couple of years, I have given a handmade, very small gift to the girls in my husband’s office. Last year I made chocolate Christmas tree pretzels, which were very cute. I’ve always wanted to make no bake cinnamon applesauce Christmas ornaments, so I decided that would be my gift this year.
Sometimes I get myself into these craft projects and wonder what I was thinking…but not this time! These little ornaments were very fun to make and more important than that, they were easy. I made three batches of dough and from start to finish, it took about an hour.
| Prep Time | 1 hour |
| Cook Time | 0 hours |
| Passive Time | 2-3 days |
| Servings | 10-12 ornaments |
- 1 cup ground cinnamon
- 3/4 cup applesauce
- 2 tablespoons basic white glue
- 1 tablespoon ground nutmeg or cloves
Ingredients
| |
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Use a spatula and make sure all the cinnamon is absorbed into the applesauce.
- Gather the dough with your hands. Knead it several times, pressing the dough firmly into a ball. It will be about the size of a softball.
- Sprinkle some cinnamon on a cutting board or other smooth surface. Flatten the ball into a disc with your hands. Using a rolling pin, begin to roll out the dough. Turn the dough several times while rolling, adding more cinnamon to prevent sticking.
- Roll until the dough is about 1/4 inch thick and cut out the shapes using cookie cutters.
- Gather the leftover dough after the first cutting and again knead it several times, pressing it firmly into a ball. Repeat the rolling process.
- Repeat until all the dough is used.
- Lay the ornaments on a cookie sheet covered with wax or parchment paper. Using a skewer or small straw, make a hole in the top of each ornament.
- Ornaments should dry in 24 to 48 hours. It helps to turn them occasionally so they dry evenly.
- String with a piece of twine or ribbon to hang.
I made three batches of dough and got 36 ornaments.
We’re not going for perfection here, but I do have a few tips that will make your ornaments pretty enough for gift giving.
- The dough, when rolled out, should be at least 1/4 inch thick. Any thinner and the ornaments may curl when they are drying. They can definitely be a little thicker than 1/4 inch, but keep in mind they will take a little longer to dry.
- After you have cut out a batch of shapes, wet your finger and clean up the edges a bit. Depending on how sharp your cookie cutters are, the edges are sometimes a little ragged.
- If you are in a hurry, you can bake the ornaments in a 200 degree F oven for about two hours. Turn them over halfway through the baking time. (I did not bake mine…they took two full days to dry.)
- If you choose to let them air dry, turn them over whenever you think about it. I turned mine several times over the two day period and they dried nicely.
- Because there is glue in the recipe, which I really think is necessary, these are not edible. I’m going to package mine in little cellophane bags with THESE TAGS. I would hate for someone to bite into one of these and be totally shocked!
Of course, in addition to looking adorable, these little ornaments smell wonderful. I dried them on my dining room table and every time I walked through the room, it just smelled like Christmas.
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- Chunky red twine
- Scissors (similar)
- Cinnamon
- Cookie cutters
These sound so easy to make but a few questions. Can I make the dough ahead and keep it in a air tight baggie until I’m ready to roll out the dough? I want to make these with my Kindergarten students but figure I could save time by having the dough ready beforehand. Also, I tried making this dough but it was very runny and sticky with the exact measurements. I ended up throwing it out. :( Should I have added flour?
Hi Mimi…I think you could make the dough ahead of time as long as you mold it tightly into a ball before you put it in a baggie. I’m not sure what happened to your dough that it was runny and sticky. I wouldn’t recommend adding flour but your could add more cinnamon. I didn’t have a problem at all and I made three batches. Let me know how it comes out if you try again.
I could not get these rolled or cut out they were so sticky. What am I doing wrong?
Hi Meagan…I’m sorry you are having trouble! I’m not exactly sure what’s going on…but if the dough is sticky, add more cinnamon. Make sure to dust your rolling area with cinnamon before you roll out. Use as much cinnamon as you need to get the dough to work. I hope this helps!
I made these many years ago with my children. So happy I found the recipe again so now I can make them with my grandchildren. They smell wonderful and lasted quite awhile.
Live these ornaments! I am going to make for my students as their holiday gift!
Thanks for tip about using sprinkling some cinnamon when rolling out the dough!
This is exactly what I was looking for! Thank you so much!
Love this recipe! Thanks so much for sharing :)
Hi Ann I must say your ornaments look wonderful and delicious even though you can’t eat them. I need to ask you one question though .What I would like to know is can I substitute the applesauce with something else since I can’t find it here in Greece? thank you so much for another wonderful post Have a wonderful day.
I love the gift tags. I thought I could just print them off your site. Now I have to find the Adobe site.
I can attest to how easy these cinnamon, applesauce ornaments are to do. For years, I made them with 25 third graders. I used it as a lesson on reading and following directions. (I was always trying to figure out fun projects that could meet a curriculum objective! For a few years we made sock snowman, filled with rice. That was more involved, but fun, too.) I love the smell of these ornaments. I’m thinking of putting them on my “to do” list for next year and hanging them on the garland across my kitchen sliding glass door. Thanks for the reminder and have a wonderful holiday with friends and family!
These gingerbread cookie ornaments sound and look yummy,( but not eatable) What a unique idea, and project. Thank you for sharing.
Pinning this for next year,traveling so no time but love these,thanks for sharing.Merry Christmas 🎄🎄
How fun!!! Easy and a cute gift or adding to the outside of packages. Will have to try these. Thanks for all you do throughout the year. I love your emails and all the wonderful info you share. May you and your family have a very Merry Christmas. God Bless.
🎄🎄⛄️❄️⛄️🎄🎄🌠🌠🌠🌠🌠
I have also used that recipe and made ornaments for the tree. They are fun to make and smell wonderful.
I have always loved these ornaments. My daughter is now thirty-six and I made these when she was two, so I can tell you the scent will last for many years!
I made these one year, with amusing results. Back story: I try out a lot of new recipes, some of them good and some not so much. My husband will eat even the worst experiments, the ones I turn up my nose at myself, telling me “Oh, you’re just too fussy.” I had these cinnamon ornaments drying on the kitchen island when he came in and started to nibble on one. When I told him to stop, those were inedible, his response: “Oh, you’re just too fussy. What’s wrong with them?” So I told him.
I have made these with my special education class and they turned out great. After several days we tied a blue ribbon to them.
What is the shelf life of these ornaments? Should they be tossed out after Christmas?
No don’t toss them! I don’t know how long they will last but they should be good for at least a few years if they are stored properly. Enjoy!
I made these with my step-daughters nearly 25 years ago & I STILL have the ornaments. We actually painted ours with craft paints, but I love these unpainted with a cute ribbon.
I have been wanting to do this but didn’t have the recipe! Very sweet!
What a great craft to do with the grandchildren; just printed your recipe Ann. Thanks so much.
These are adorable and I love no bake !
Ann, these are adorable. Can you save them from one year to the next? Thank you for all of your Christmas inspirations.
Yes they can be carefully stored in tissue paper. I don’t know exactly how long they will last but they should be around for a while!
I may just be able to handle these. I have an idea who would like them but they would be nice to keep close for an unexpected gift!
And I can’t wait for the cranberry crumble. I dearly love cranberries!
Absolutely Precious – Must try !!
Merry Christmas, Ann !!
Thanks, Ann! Making these for grandbabies today.
Merry Christmas to you and your family!
This is one of the best Christmas crafts I have done. Makes a great addition to a gift bag.
Smells delightful… and I have hung these on my knobs on my kitchen cabinets….
Easy easy..
I love the smell of cinnamon, but unfortunately the smell of cinnamon can cause headaches in people that suffer from migraines. Several stores sell the cinnamon pine cones this time of year, the minute I walk in the store I get an instant horrible headache. I think these ornaments are so cute, smell so good but please be careful who you give them too.
Thank you, Ann, for the recipe with additional tips. FYI, one year I received one of these as a gift, and LOVED the smell of cinnamon, so after the tree came down, I kept the ornament hanging out all year.
Oops! Sorry Anne! Just saw that you gave a source for a large bottle of cinnamon!
These look wonderful Ann! Seems like the cinnamon could get expensive if you buy it in the standard sized containers. Do you have a source for buying large quantities at a less expensive price?
Merry Christmas Ann, Another simply beautiful and beautifully simple post ! Thank you for all you do for us….Merry Christmas to all on Sutton Place !….Smiles……Anne
I can confirm that a these are easy and smell wonderful! I have made them to decorate a small tree by my kitchen sink, to cheer my view while doing kitchen chores. I used ribbon hangers, but the baker’s twine is just darling.
I love this idea! I’m going to try this recipe with a snowflake cookie cutter and that way be able to enjoy them for a longer time.
Oh how adorable these ornaments are and thank you for sharing them and the diy