Scented Cookie Dough Ornaments

Some people purchase traditional wrapping paper, gift tags, bows and decorations to create a holiday theme at Christmas. Others like making and trying and making new things each year. If you fall into the last category you might be interested in making some cookies this year. You make cookies every year for Christmas? Well, make a few extra and you can use them to decorate! You might not know it but cookies make fantastic Christmas tree decorations, gift embellishments and more! Make a batch of scented cookies and youll have all the decorations you need while creating a lovely aroma throughout the room where the finished ornaments will hang. In a large bowl combine four cups of all purpose flour, a cup of salt, a quarter-cup of cinnamon, three tablespoons of nutmeg and two tablespoons of ground cloves. Stir these together. Pour in a cup and a half of warm water then mix all the ingredients well. As you stir the ingredients youll start to form a ball of dough. Soon, it will be impossible to stir it so get rid of the spoon and use your hands! (Note: although the cookie dough is edible it doesnt taste good!) Lightly flour a surface and roll out the cookie dough. Roll it to be from a quarter-inch to a half-inch thick. Use cookie cutters to create the ornament shapes you want or try other objects instead of cookie cutters. Drinking glass, lids from jars or bottles and similar things work great. You can even create Christmas cookie shapes by using an image cut from a magazine or a coloring book. Lay the image on the dough then draw around it with a toothpick or paring knife. In lieu of all these methods you can also just pat the cookies out to create simple shapes like squares, circles and ovals.

Lay all the cookies on a non-stick baking sheet but do not grease the sheet. Before placing them in the oven use a straw or toothpick to poke a hole in each one. With a straw, push it down through the cookie, then remove the tiny dough piece within the circle created by the straw.

Bake the cookies at 200 degrees for about an hour. Remove from the oven and allow the ornaments to sit at room temperature until they are cool. Use acrylic paints to embellish the ornaments or omit this step and hang them as-is. If youve painted the ornaments, allow it to dry, then spray the ornaments with polyurethane to protect. When its dry thread a ribbon or string through each ornament and hang them on the Christmas tree or tie them onto gifts. Theyre adorable!