Austin, TX

When I was a kid we often made our own ornaments for the Christmas tree. We also sat around with huge bowls of popcorn and cranberries and made our own garland. That’s something I never see these days. I wonder if it’s because parents are scared to give their kids a needle and thread. As protective as parents are these days you might think it’s a miracle that kids from my generation survived their childhood. We did all sorts of things that would be considered too dangerous these days. I can recall riding in the back of my Grandpa’s truck to the apple orchard and standing in it to pick pluck the apples off the tree as he slowly drove through the orchard. Occasionally I’ll see people riding in the back of a pickup these days and even I feel a slight sense of panic that they’ll be hurled out if the driver suddenly hits a bump or has to break hard.

Anyway, if you’re looking for something fun to do with your kids, why not make your own ornaments for your tree. These also make very sweet Christmas gifts and it’s a very inexpensive project. All you need are cookie cutters, flour, salt and water. If you don’t have cookie cutters you can use a pizza cutter or a butter knife to cut out your designs. Here is the recipe for the dough:

Morton’s Salt Dough Recipe

2 cups (all purpose) flour
1 cup Morton® Salt
1 cup water

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 325° to 350° F. Cover the bottom-sides of the baking sheets with foil and set aside upside-down.

2. Combine the flour and salt in a large flat bottom mixing bowl. Mix a little water at a time while stirring with a spoon to form a ball of dough. Knead the dough in your heavy duty mixer with a dough hook for 4 minutes or by hand for 7 to 10 minutes. The dough should have a firm and smooth texture. Add a little water if necessary. Place the dough in a plastic bag to prevent drying. You can store the dough in the refrigerator for 5 days.

3. Roll the dough out with a rolling pin on the prepared cookie sheet pans. Roll dough to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness. Use the Christmas cookie cutters to cut out the cookies and simply remove the excess dough from between the cookies. Make a small hole with the end of a straw for the hanging ribbon or string.

4. Bake the cookies 1/4-inch thick for 20 minutes, 1/2 inch thick for 40 minutes or until the dough is golden brown. Cool completely.

5. You can use water color or acrylic paints to finish your cookie decorations. Once the paint is dry, apply a coat of polyurethane varnish. Best to paint and varnish cookie decorations on one side, let dry and then paint the other side. You can also glue appliqué decorations on the cookie decorations.

When using cake, candle or gelatin molds, always wipe inner surfaces with a light coat of cooking oil before pressing in the dough. This prevents sticking and leaves a cleaner impression.

Important: Before you begin, here’s a word to the wise. With this recipe for
dough sculpture, you can make all sorts of dreamy creations that look good enough to
eat. Let us remind you that these creations are art, not food. For that reason, we
urge: “Please don’t eat the art.”

Baking Tips

If sculpture puffs up, poke a hole with a pin or toothpick to release air, and reduce oven temperature 50° to 75°. Give special attention to extra thin pieces which tend to bake more rapidly. You might wish to reduce oven temperature. To prevent large, flat sculptures from curling during baking, just weight down edges with a metal tool or heavy object after the surface has cooked long enough to support the weight without leaving indentations. (Test by tapping with spoon.)

To have colored dough just add food coloring or paint in the water before you mix your dry and wet ingredients together.