I make these around Christmas time for my Booth#555 at the Peddlers Mall. They are a steady seller. Especially at Christmas time because they are adorned with the yummy smell of cinnamon!
Here's how I make them. I start out by making up a batch of salt dough.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup salt
- ½ cup water (sometimes you add a bit more)
- 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil (this makes it a little more flexible, and is optional)
I mix it all up in a bowl, adding a bit more of water, if needed. It should be firm but still good and flexible.
Knead it for a bit and get it all mixed good. If you want colored dough, you could easily add food coloring or something natural like coffee or tea. I prefer it plain for most uses.
I then knead it out into a big ole baking sheet. Then use my star cookie cutter to make the shapes. And then here's where I add a little extra. I take a small star stencil and press it into the center of the star. It just adds a lil extra touch and makes it cuter. And it's totally optional!
And this is what a few of them looks like, notice the star stencil at the top:
and here's a closer pic of the star, after I pressed down on the stencil, just a tad bit. And repeated it on every other one, if you want.
Next, it's time to do the dusting of cinnamon to make them totally smell yummy! I just spread them all out on the old baking sheet and sprinkle with some cinnamon sugar. I press the granules down into the salt dough very easily to make it adhere, but not hard enough to misshape the star.
Then I stick them in the preheated oven at 300* for about 45 minutes. Sometimes more, sometimes less. It mostly depends on the thickness of the salt dough. The just take them out and let them cool, then package as desired.
UPDATE: Sometimes, but not always, I take it a step farther. After allowing them to dry from baking, I dip them down into some scented, melted wax with an old fork, one by one. In the pic below, I had scented my wax with apple cinnamon. Then set aside to dry on wax paper. And here's what it looks like:
Here's another look at them UNDIPPED of wax, just with the cinnamon sugar finish:
And here's a closeup of a few of them dipped in the wax:
Ah, I think my favorite is the dipped in wax finish!
When they are all finished, I package 5 of them in a cellophane treat bag, from Walmart. And add a string of homespun fabric as a tie. Sometimes I will also add a stick or two of cinnamon to the bag. It makes for an almost instant bowl filler. I then price them for $3.95 and put them in my Booth#555 at the Peddlers Mall
Have you ever made anything from salt dough before?
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