(Donna Erickson)

Do you want to make some dough with the kids this weekend? Put away the eggs, the flour and the butter, because this aromatic dough requires only two ingredients in very odd proportion — equal parts applesauce and cinnamon. Sound delicious?

You definitely won't want to eat this concoction, but you can enjoy its delicious scent as cut-outs for tree ornaments, gift tags and even jewelry for holiday gifts. Welcome to Apple Cinnamon Dough!

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL NEED

1/2 cup ground cinnamon (I bought in bulk for less than a dollar)

1/2 cup commercial applesauce (homemade is too runny)

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL DO

Mix together equal parts cinnamon and commercially made applesauce. If it gets a bit sticky, add more cinnamon. If it's too stiff, add more applesauce.

Scoop onto a piece of waxed paper. Place another sheet on top and roll it out until it's almost 1/2-inch thick.

Decide what "charms" for jewelry or ornament shapes you would like to create — stars, hearts, pine trees, alphabet letters, etc. Use cookie cutters or make templates by cutting out pieces of cardboard from a cereal box in the desired shapes. Place on top of the dough and trim away the dough around the pattern.

Use a drinking straw to poke a hole in shapes for threading later onto ribbon or string. Use a toothpick and carve details, such as scales on a fish or a smile on a crescent moon.

When complete,

Advertisement
place the shapes on a cooling rack and allow them to air-dry for about 24 hours or more until they are very hard. Or, an adult may set them on a baking sheet and place in a 200-degree oven for about two hours or until hard.

Time to decorate! Using acrylic craft paints in squeeze bottles, create patterns of any kind on your shapes. Dry.

Fashion a pin or brooch by gluing a clasp on the back or make a necklace by stringing together a few alphabet-letter shapes or smaller charms.

Tie a string through the hole for ornaments. For gift decorations, make shapes of objects that are a clue to what is inside the package. For example, if you are giving Uncle Jim a windbreaker for sailing, make a sailboat shape. Tie it to the ribbon on the gift, and it will be like giving two presents in one.

Donna Erickson's award-winning television series, "Donna's Day," is airing on public television nationwide. Watch it in the Twin Cities at 7:30 a.m. Fridays on tptLife on channels 13 and 17. Sign up for Donna's e-newsletter at donnasday.com. Her latest book is "Donna Erickson's Fabulous Funstuff for Families."