Scented Cinnamon Ornaments

These cinnamon ornaments are a beloved holiday craft that doubles as a natural air freshener. The dough is just ground spices, applesauce, and a bit of white glue worked together by hand until smooth. No oven required. They air-dry over several days and hold their warm, spicy scent for months.

The dough rolls and cuts like cookie dough, so any cookie cutter shape works. Poke a hole with a straw before drying so you can thread a ribbon through once they’ve hardened. A dehydrator speeds things up if you’re impatient, but air drying on a wire rack works just fine.

These make fantastic homemade gifts, tree ornaments, or package toppers. The cinnamon-clove-nutmeg fragrance is the real deal, not artificial, and it intensifies as the ornaments warm up near lights or in a sunny window.

Tips

• Work the dough for the full 2-3 minutes. Under-mixed dough cracks when you roll it out.
• Flour your surface and cutters generously with extra cinnamon to prevent sticking. Regular flour leaves white marks on the dark ornaments.
• Flip the ornaments daily while drying to prevent curling. They need air circulation on both sides.

Important: These are not edible. The white glue makes them a craft project only. Keep away from children and pets who might mistake them for cookies.