Fresh Baked Ornaments

Two of the most fun Christmas activities are baking and tree trimming. Combine them and you have a great time creating and  decorating fresh from the oven works of arts. Even novice bakers can join in on the fun with simple recipes.

If you want cookies without the calories, then think salt dough ornaments. Why a dough heavily laced with NaCl? Salt , as we all know, is an excellent preservative. It will contribute to the ornaments lasting a longtime without crumbling or breaking.it also deters mold from forming which would shorten the decoration's shelf life. Start with preheating the oven to 300 degrees F. What you'll need is four cups of all purpose flour, one cup table salt  and one and one half cups of  warm water. Pour the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl and slowly stream in the water as you stir . Keep stirring until all the water has been added in. It will take on the consistency of bread dough so it will be hard to work with. It's now time to use your hands. The dough should be smooth and pliable like pizza dough.It's then rolling it between two large sheets of parchment paper.The bottom sheet should be placed on a cookie sheet. The dough should be 1/8th of an inch thick. If it's too thick the ornament will crack and break due to the air bubbles trapped in the middle. Then cut out the shapes while the dough is still on the parchment. Peel away the excess dough from the cutters. You can then make designs, using a fork, straw or paring knife. Use a drinking straw to poke a hole in the top for the ribbon.

Now it's time for baking! They should go into the oven for about an hour. You'll know they're done when they feel hard.(Tap with a fork or spoon to gauge hardness). Don't worry if they turn brown. You can always paint over those. The real fun part comes after. It's time to get the paints,  glue and glitter!! You can mist the newly baked ornaments with a thin coat of white spray pain to even out any brown baking spots. They can be left white to look snow dusted which would be very dramatic on any tree. Some use puffy paints, others use paint pens for more precision. A fun idea is using them as place tags at a holiday party and personalizing them with guests names. Use gold and silver paint pens to write the names. Another idea is outline the ornaments in glitter, rhinestones or garlands . As for the type of ribbon to use, you could use classic red and green velvet or go a little more fancier with metallic.If you want really festive ones then look into Paper Mart. This  site has a wide variety of printed ribbons that would complement any ornament.

Baking fun and decorating Christmas trees  is combining two holiday loves. Whip up a batch today and have some fum. Create memories and ornaments!