Sugar and Spice Makes Christmas Nice

We have a small artificial tree that until yesterday had no decorations (all of our ornaments are on the big tree). So, I decided to make cookie ornaments for the little tree. Boy do they smell GOOD! They're hard as rocks but smell heavenly, and whenever you're near the tree you smell cinnamon deliciousness. The recipe is from www.handmadecountry.com.

Gingerbread Cookie Ornaments

3 T. shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 teas. baking soda
3/4 cup water
3 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon of cloves, ginger and cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat shortening and sugar together until light and fluffy, stir in molasses. Sift the dry ingredients together. Stir them into shortening mixture in 3 parts alternating with a 1/4 cup of water each time. Dough will be stiff. Refrigerate overnight. Cut dough into 3 pieces. Knead to warm dough slightly, then roll each piece out about 1/4 inch thick. Cut cookie out with a gingerbread pattern of your choice

Use a drinking straw to punch hole in center if ornament will be hanging. Place cookies on cookie sheet and bake 20 minutes, turn oven off and let cool in oven.
Remove from cookie sheet and place on rack to dry for about 3 days to totally harden.
These cookies are purely for decorative purposes and not to be eaten.
If you wish you can seal cookies with 3 coats of clear acrylic and decorate with colorful acrylic paints when dry.

I decorated the tips of the stars and angel wings before baking with Fairway Silvers. I'm not sure how old they are because they were in a huge box of spices and baking goods I inherited when my grandparents moved into the nursing home. Plus, the bottle looks straight out of the 50s. I figured it was safe to use them on something we wouldn't be eating ;)!

I went ahead and hung them up once they cooled and I didn't seal them with acrylic. I was too impatient to get the tree decorated :). You can almost smell the cinnamon just looking at the pictures . . . mmmm

Sugar and spice makes Christmas nice.