Project: Cinnamon Schtick

My mom gave me the recipe for these cinnamon ornaments a while ago and this is only the second time I've made them. The first batch I made are stored in my Christmas ornament box, and let me tell you, when I open the box it smells like Christmas. As Pat so quaintly says, "It smells like a cinnamon stick farted in here!" These ornaments are also non-toxic so just in case someone in your household decides to nibble on them, you won't be taking them to the vet/emergency room on Christmas Eve.

The recipe is crazy simple: 3/4 cup of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of ground allspice, 2 teaspoon of ground cloves, 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg and 1 cup of applesauce. This year I tried adding a little glue to try to keep the ornaments from getting too powdery.

Assemble your shape cutting devices. For my ornaments, I chose a star-shaped one.

Mmmm...gluey!

Keep mixing that stuff together until it resembles some really nice dirt. It should be able to hold its shape when you smoosh it in your hand.

Place the cinnamon mixture in-between two pieces of wax paper or cling film and roll it out until it's approx. half an inch thick.

I rolled out some little balls of the stuff and ran a skewer through each one so that I could string them up like beads. I also made little holes in the stars. Stick them in an oven set at 200 degrees for 2-3 hours or let them dry out in the open for 2-3 days...you decide. Your kitchen will smell fantastic either way.

All dried out. They still look a little powdery, but they don't disintegrate or rub off on things.

These ornaments totally look like they're made from rusty metal. I'm not a huge fan of the rusty-rustic look, but I can live with them in my house over the holidays because they smell so damn good.

I strung them together using some embroidery floss and a giant embroidery needle.