I’m convinced that Charlotte is part Christmas Elf! This past May, during the height of our quarantine, Charlotte begged me to make Christmas cookies so she could decorate them. Cookie decorating is among her top favorite activities, keto cookies or not, she will happily sit for hours decorating because it brings her so much joy. Not wanting a bunch of cookies sitting around, I had the idea to use a cinnamon and glue dough so that these decorating efforts could be turned into gifts when Christmastime came around. These DIY Cinnamon Ornaments worked so well and it was so much for for her! She spent the better part of a week diligently decorating each ornament with puffy paint and glitter.
I can not think of a better alternative to decorating real cookies for our keto kids! You get all the same great cookie smells, decorating fun, and even the mess 😏. For very sensitive keto kids, you would probably still want them to wear gloves while mixing or working with the wet dough. Once it is dry, it should be ok to handle! I found a recipe for the dough here, my printable instructions are below.
What a FUN activity this was! Everyone in our family eventually decorated a few of their own cookie ornaments. Charlotte is really looking forward to gifting these to her friends and family!
Supplies
Do not buy good quality cinnamon or applesauce for this project. since you are not actually eating any of it, go ahead and buy the cheapest you can find. You will also need plastic wrap, straws, and a baking sheet lined with parchment.
DIY Cinnamon Ornaments – Directions
Cinnamon Ornaments – Not Edible!-
Materials
- 1 cup applesauce, unsweetened
- 1 1/2 cups cinnamon, ground use any combo of warm spices like ginger, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, etc.
- 2 tbsp white glue
- 2 tsp extract vanilla, pepermint, almond, whatever you like!
Instructions
- Mix the applesauce, cinnamon, glue, and any additional spices and extracts. I like to use a foil pan that I can throw away. If you want sparkly dough, add some glitter.
- Use your hands to mix. Disposable gloves are helpful becuase this part gets messy! If the dough seems too wet, just add more cinnamon. If it seems to dry, add a little more applesauce. You do want the dough more on the dry side, otherwise it is too hard to cut the dough and transfer to a baking sheet.
- Roll a portion of the dough between two pieces of plastic wrap. Aim for about 1/4 inch thick.
- Remove the top piece of the plastic wrap and cut the shapes. Leave the cut shape in place and clear the scraps away. You can use the bottom piece of plastic wrap to help transfer to a pan. Lift the cut shape while still on the bottom piece of plastic and flip it onto a parchment lined baking sheet, carefully peel off the plastic wrap. This is easiest if you cut one or two shapes at a time.
- Use a straw to cut holes in the top for ornaments. We forgot this step, but you can still use hot glue to add a string to the back.
- Bake at 200°F for about 2 1/2 hours flipping once.Use a dehydrator at high for about 5-6 hours (this is what we did)Air dry! These dont need to be baked at all but the drying process will take several days.
- Decorate! Puffy paint is by far the easiest becuase it looks just like decorating icing. We added lots of glitter too! You can add beads and ribbons and whtever else you can imagine. Just have fun with this craft and remember not to eat them!
