The Christmas Salt Dough Garland Decorates And Perfumes The House

Fortunately, the days of plastic decorations imported from China are over! Today everyone opts for handicrafts, preferably from local production or better yet, for a homemade decoration. Of course, gifts, greeting cards and especially Christmas decor are no exception to this magnificent trend. That's why we want to draw your attention to something very artistic and yet relatively easy to make - the pretty and fragrant Christmas salt dough garland!

Materials needed for a Christmas salt dough garland

For the salt dough:

1 cup of salt

2 1/2 to 3 cups of flour (and a little more for the countertop)

1/3 cup of cinnamon (and a little more)

1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups of lukewarm water

Straw

Rolling pin

Parchment paper

Cookie cutters

For decoration: hemp or linen thread, natural or colored wooden beads, ribbons of your choice, bells, silver or gold paint etc.

How to prepare the dough and work it?

Start by setting aside a few spoonfuls of flour and cinnamon to sprinkle on the counter later. Then, combine the salt, cinnamon and flour in a large bowl. Gradually pour water into the bowl and stir until the mixture begins to clump together. This is where you need to start using your hands to really put the dough together.

Keep adding small amounts of water, being careful not to over-dilute the paste. It should not be too sticky so that we can work it well and shape it into the desired shape. If, on the other hand, the mixture seems rather crumbly, add a little more water and do not stop kneading. Sometimes the amount of water needed varies depending on the type of flour used, the ambient temperature etc.

A less complex process that gives great results

When the dough becomes homogeneous, continue kneading the mixture on the counter until it is soft and supple. To make it easier for you, you can divide the dough in half. Combine the flour and cinnamon that you set aside before, sprinkle it on the work surface, and start rolling out the dough with the rolling pin. By the way, cinnamon is added so that future ornaments do not turn white, but also so that the Christmas salt dough garland is aromatic.

As you have probably already noticed, spreading this type of dough well requires a good deal of patience. Try the strategy of rolling slowly at the start and finish with shorter, faster strokes. For best results, you should obtain a dough between 1/2 and 1 cm thick. Having a fairly flattened dough, we arrive at the creative step which is crucial to the final appearance of our future Christmas salt dough garland.

Christmas salt dough garland - tips and tricks

One must choose his cookie cutters according to the targeted style of decoration and his own personal preferences. Of course, if you already have Christmas cookie cutters such as reindeer, cherubs, mittens and socks, trees, gingerbread men, snowflakes, candy cane etc., you will use them without hesitation. Who does not have this type of thematic material, however, can use the stars or hearts from their regular set of cookie cutters.

This is where you may run into difficulties but don't worry, we have a solution for you. If your dough starts to crack just before putting it in the oven, you can simply smooth it out with your fingers and a little water. Once the designs have been chosen and shaped, carefully transfer each of the cut-out figures onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper using a kitchen spatula.

In fact, baking paper plays a triple role in this scenario. Obviously, it will keep the dough from sticking to the cookie sheet, but it can also absorb excess residual moisture. The third reason that using parchment paper is a great idea is that it eliminates the need for multiple baking trays. We can continue to cut shapes and place them on a sheet of paper while waiting for the first batch to cook. Then the two sheets switch places and you are immediately ready to resume your work.

The gingerbread men are utterly wonderful

But back to our salt dough figurines! Use a straw to punch holes in each of the ornaments, otherwise, punching them after baking without breaking them will simply be impossible and you will not be able to thread them into a Christmas salt dough garland. Straw can quickly become clogged during this process, so blow it out each time to release the plug into a paste.

Finally, bake at 150 ° C for 30 to 45 minutes. Keep in mind that the cookies will continue to harden as they cool. Sometimes the salt dough figures swell a bit in the oven. It can be really awkward when talking about cherubs, reindeer and firs, for example, but can also be useful, even cute, especially when it comes to the gingerbread men. They have little round bellies!

You can also air dry your ornaments so that they are completely flat like the one on the left in the photo above. For your information, it will take 3-5 days for a complete drying and the figurines of your Christmas salt dough garland will become lighter.

The paste stars blend perfectly with natural wood beads

sources used: everydaylaura.com

rockyhedgefarm.com

hearthandvine.com