For this project I was able to combine two things that I love – baking and crafting. Crafting is something that I don’t make much time for these days but when I’m given the opportunity to pull out paint, glitter, ribbon and some creativity I’m one happy mama. My kids now are at an age where they can get involved in crafts and homemade gifts. This year we’ve been busy!
A few of our projects:
Cookies in a Jar
We followed the Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies in a Jar recipe and printed the instruction tag to go along with the gift. I also plan to include a bottle of canola oil, an individual applesauce and the bamboo spoon. I will place everything in a nice mixing bowl and wrap it up.
Ready to Eat Cookies
These are Emily Richards award winning Crunchy Munchy Cookies. A cello bag and a touch of ribbon can go a long way. We took these cookies to a play-date and everyone loved them. If you are looking for more edible gift ideas, Wendy has shared a variety of options in DIY Food Gifts for the Holidays. If anyone wants to bring me a box of that Honey Peanut Butter and Chocolate Popcorn featured in her post I will trade them for Salt Dough Decorations 😉 Just sayin’!
And our latest project – Salt Dough Decorations
I was inspired to make these from a posting that I saw on Facebook. It was easy, fun and your options are endless. Here’s what we did:
1. Make a batch of Basic Salt Dough (recipe below). Pick out your favourite holiday cutters, grab a rolling pin and get to work!
2. We chose to make some canola flowers for some of our farmer friends but we did make other shapes too.
3. Once you have your decorations placed on your cookie sheet don’t forget to make the hole for your ribbon or string. This step must be done before you bake them. I used a drinking straw.
4. Once the ornaments cooled we started painting. These bright little canola flowers are going to look great on our holiday packages this year.
5. And yes, we really did make something other than canola flowers! This cute Santa was made by tracing my kid’s hand. The Santa decoration is what inspired this project.
Basic Salt Dough Recipe
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup salt
3/4 cup water (plus 2 Tbsp, if needed)
2 Tbsp canola oil
In a medium bowl, mix together the flour and salt. Add water and oil to the flour mixture. Using your hands, mix to form a soft, smooth ball of dough. I used my stand mixer to make this go a bit faster. Add the additional 2 Tbsp of water, if needed.
Roll out the dough, cut into shapes and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Use a drinking straw to make a hole in each cookie for the ribbon. Bake in a 220F oven for 1 hour. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before painting your cookie decrations.
Note: You can refrigerate the dough. We baked our cookie decorations over two days.
Wishing you and all your loved ones a magical time of year!
Be Well…Jenn
Comments are closed.