We are having a home-made Christmas this year. And it will be a beautiful one, as we are making the most gorgeous, easy decorations. All bespoke and individual, and in exactly the colours we want. In this case, a lot of gold and spots.
I got a big bowl of old, cheap plain flour, and added a little salt (the recipes say 1/2 to flour, but it makes my hands sore, so I only put a spoon or so in. The salt is there to preserve your decorations, but I plan to bake ‘em hard and then paint and varnish them).
I added just enough water to bring the flour into dough, and then gave it a bit of a knead and a flour-sprinkle to get the dough smooth.
Then the girls got started with their rolling pins and pastry cutters. Some were stamped out, and the big letters were hand-cut. We also made what will be a wreath once it’s painted, by rolling out a long sausage, ‘pretzeling’ it and pinching out ‘leaves’.
Consider how you will hang them. We used the tube of a biro to punch out holes, which we’ll put ribbons through later. Remember, your dough will grow a bit in the oven, so make your holes a little larger than you want.
I baked them at 170 (fan assisted), and whipped the teeny ones out sooner and the bigger ones later. Keep an eye on them so they don’t toast, which would make them brittle.
We then chose some rich, jewel colours, some white for snowmen and lots of gold paint, and proceeded to go wild. I admit to a little ‘touching up’. Both girls wanted extra spots, and these are a nice way to decorate your childrens ‘free’ work. You could certainly add glitter, jewels, buttons or those sprinkles people put on tables. I personally think the gaudier the better, but perhaps more tasteful decorations could be make in Swedish-inspired red and white.
I’ll varnish them later on, so they last better, but for now, we are very happy with our lovely, festive baubles!
