Yesterday when I was at Walmart I looked at the applesauce jars and I thought I should probably buy some for the cinnamon applesauce ornament project that was somewhere in the Advent calendar. But the jars were on the very bottom shelf and I didn't feel like bending over to haul one up and wow that is the top tier of lazy, isn't it? Anyway, I didn't buy any applesauce yesterday despite pausing my cart right in front of the stuff and taking a moment to look at it.
Today, Claire opened the sleeve and it said, "Make cinnamon applesauce ornaments!"
Shit.
After I dropped her off at preschool, Charlotte and I took a bonus trip to Target where we picked up:
1 giant jar of cheap applesauce
2 jars of ground cinnamon
1 Christmas card and some stickers to send to a friend
Things I considered purchasing, but passed on:
A serving tray
One of these weird curling iron wands that I keep seeing. (Does anyone have one? What is the deal with those?)
A pair of silver reindeer to put on the mantle (am actually still thinking about this one)
I also considered helping myself to a peppermint mocha at Starbucks but the dude that was working is overly friendly (ha ha, YES I am familiar with my local Target Sbux dude) and he does that high-five HEY YOU! chatty type thing and I didn't feel like interacting with him so no peppermint mocha for me today. (Related: Do not order one of those awful skinny peppermint mochas. It sounds like a good idea, but it's a terrible one. The non-fat milk with the sugar free syrup tastes like used motor oil with mouthwash and what is the point of a holiday drink if there is no whipped cream, COME ON. Go full fat, all-the-way or not at all. That is my advice.)
So, uh, anyway, the ornaments! We did this last year with Jennie and Kyle and it was pretty fun. Basically you just dump the cinnamon into a bowl and spoon applesauce in and stir it up until you get a dough-like consistency. Roll it out, use cookie cutters to make shapes, bake on a low heat for a couple of hours to dry them out. A nice side effect is it makes the house smell delightful all afternoon.
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Step 1: Situate baby in high chair with a holiday-themed spatula to chew on. Ensure she is wearing ruffle gingerbread pajamas that Grandma sent. Comment to yourself once again how godawful ugly this high chair is.
Step 2: Dump cinnamon in bowl. Dump applesauce in bowl. Stir. Try not to wince when the child ends up thwocking several tablespoons of cinnamon on the floor. (At least it's a pleasant smell.)
Step 3: Roll out the dough. Use mini-rolling pin that Grandma sent.
Step 4: Use cookie cutters and cut shapes. Repeat until you use up all the dough.
Step 5:Place on cookie sheet. Use a straw to punch a hole to run a ribbon through. Bake at 200 or 250 until they get dry. (This took about 90 minutes at our house. It depends on whatever ratio of applesauce-to-cinnamon and moisture you end up with.)
Step 6: Clean up. Make a mental note to stick to no more than four shapes next year because cookie cutters are SUCH a waste of top-rack dishwasher space.
Step 7: Run a thin ribbon through the hole and gift the ornaments or keep for yourself. The ones we made last year held up pretty well and my mom has some from the nineties that still smell good and aren't like, gross or moldy or anything. These seem to last, which is rather nice since most projects like this really don't.
***
PS I went to a Christmas party last night, and I took this crappy low-res photo with Instagram and I kind of like it. The end.
Well you SHOULD like it because you look hot. Yup, indeed.
Posted by: Home Sweet Sarah | December 02, 2011 at 06:37 PM
I totes wanted to make these! Perfect timing! Thanks for the photo step by step.
Posted by: Erica | December 02, 2011 at 08:34 PM
Last year I fully intended to do this and...didn't. Maybe we'll make them tomorrow! We do have jar of cinnamon and lots of applesauce.
Posted by: Jesabes | December 02, 2011 at 09:17 PM
So I've never heard of doing this, but what a great plan....totally going to use this for "do a craft with mama" day, and add on to gifts.
Unrelated: great pic of you!
Posted by: Arina | December 02, 2011 at 10:37 PM
Some things:
You look great in that photo - so pretty!
Your baby is ADORABLE.
I love how serious and earnest Claire is while making the dough.
These ornaments sound pretty awesome. I am particularly won over by the good smell aspect.
Posted by: Life of a Doctor's Wife | December 02, 2011 at 11:09 PM
I think you looked amazing too, thanks for coming over to say, 'hi'! I have a question: do you think 2 yrs old is too young to make the ornaments?
Posted by: _conscientious | December 03, 2011 at 12:08 AM
You have inspired me to make these cookies so our kitchen will smell good. Wish I had a good helper like Claire.
Posted by: Grandmother | December 03, 2011 at 06:22 PM
What a hottie! I've never heard of these ornaments, what a great idea!
Posted by: natalie | December 04, 2011 at 05:01 AM
I have never heard of applesauce cinnamon ornaments. I am totally planning to make these soon. thank you
You look great!
Posted by: Christy | December 05, 2011 at 11:49 AM
Thank you so much for the peppermint mocha PSA. I LOVE those things and have been seriously considering the skinny version. I'm not afraid of low-fat milk; however, the sugar-free syrup is a deal breaker. Yuck.
Also, you look great in that picture.
Posted by: Hillary | December 05, 2011 at 03:22 PM
Never heard of this, it seriously makes a dough when you mix it all together? Crazy! We may have to do this!
Posted by: Jen | December 07, 2011 at 01:54 PM