Old-Fashioned Cinnamon Ornaments

My oldest son is getting to the age that he likes to help in the kitchen.  He also likes crafts and experiments, calling them "projects".  When I saw these ornaments online a while ago, I knew this was a craft he'd love and would be fun to complete together, while my youngest was napping.  I also remembered many of these "antique" ornaments hanging on a kitchen Christmas tree at my mom's house growing up, likely purchased at a primative/Americana store during that phase of my mother's adventures in home decor.  My house just smelled like Christmas while these were baking, and now they're the perfect gift to give his teachers before Winter Break!

1 cup applesauce

1 1/4 cups ground cinnamon, plus more for rolling

1 tablespoon ground cloves

Preheat oven to 200. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the applesauce, cinnamon, and cloves and mix until dough comes together (it may take a few minutes). The dough will be rather wet and should form a ball without being too sticky. Add additional applesauce or cinnamon if needed.

Sprinkle a clean surface with cinnamon. Place the dough on the surface and sprinkle with more cinnamon. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough to 1/4 inch thick, sprinkling with more cinnamon to keep from sticking.

Cut out with cookie cutters and place on the pan so that they aren’t touching. Use a wooden skewer or toothpick to poke a hole into each ornament (to attach string). Bake in the preheated oven for 1 1/2 – 2 hours or until rock hard.

Once cool, you may need to "re-hole" the ornaments to get the string through.

Makes about 12 ornaments, depending on size.